*HELP* proposed statement received

[phoebe]

So, here I was on a high because we received in the proposed statement that DS would get 10 hours per week support "to be jointly funded by the school and the LEA." Then I have read the other post about putting the funding into the local school's budget and it seems, they may well withdraw the funding in April??????????????????

 

15 days to reply with our views - what can I do now?

 

Meeting in school planned for this afternoon too - HELP ANYONE????

 

Phoebe

Edited February 8, 2007 by phoebe

[PinkSapphireAngel]

Hi,

First of all you clearly cannot accept the proposed statement as it is so you need to let the LEA know this and let them know what canges you want made to it.

Please get onto your parent partnership as they can also help with this and can be a buffer between you and the LEA.

You need to sit down and work out exactly what you are not happy with in the proposed statement and also work out what changes you want made to these points.

 

It sounds like a mammoth task, but it has to be done and really is worth it in the end.

[JenRose]

I agree with Pinksapphireangel, you can also write to the LEA and tell them that you want a meeting to discuss the proposed statement (if thats not what the meeting is in school today) and when you have a meeting you have a further 15 days to ask for another one if im correct in what i say or, you could do what i have done last week and that is to tell them to make the statement final and appeal to the SENDIST tribunal.

[phoebe]

So, now we have had a meeting with the school and they are basically saying that although the statement calls for ten hours support per week, in practice, they will not be offering him any more support than he is currently getting. That there are times when he really needs and takes up a lot of time of the senior members of staff, but that 1-2-1 support would not be of any benefit to him in their opinion and thta there is no additional funding attached to this statement anyeay.

 

I have read and printed off some of the links pinned in the ED section about the proposed statement, but am panicking as time is ticking.

 

Any advice - please.

Phoebe

[helenl53]

Pheobe,

 

The statement is legally binding on all parties!!! It is not for the school to be deciding what your child will and will not get. Get help from IPSEA.

 

Perhaps the school don't want to meet your child's needs and are hoping you will choose somewhere else!

 

HelenL

[phoebe]

The statement is legally binding on all parties!!! It is not for the school to be deciding what your child will and will not get. Get help from IPSEA.

 

Perhaps the school don't want to meet your child's needs and are hoping you will choose somewhere else!

 

They say that they can and they will always be supportive of DS and consider his needs but as long as there is no extra funding they dont have to employ anyone to help him?

 

How do I get help from IPSEA?

Also, we are going on hols for half term, can I get an extension?

Edited February 8, 2007 by phoebe

[Kazzen161]

Does the statement say 10 hours of 1:1 support, or just 10 hours of support? If the latter, they may say that the class LSA will do the support (as it does not need to be 1:1).

 

Legally they DO have to provide the support that it states in the statement. It causes schools a lot of problems round here, as most statements do not come with any extra funding - they get no more for most children with a statement than they do for a child at SA+. When the SEN budget comes in - the first thing they have to do is take off what they legally have to provide, and then what's left (if anything) is what they have for the rest of the SEN.

 

Our LEA is very clear that schools shoudl not discuss the finances with the parents, as it is not for the parents to be concerned about where the money will come from.

 

Karen

[phoebe]

I haven't picked through it yet, or checked the wordings for water tightness, but it says "** will require an educational setting where he can receive some 1:1 and small group support. Within a mainstream school he will receive 10 hours per week learning support assisatnace from the school and local authority budgets, in accordance with the curent local authority regulations."

 

There are a list of objectives, which say things like ** will benefit from..... or ** will need to work on...... or ** will need adult support to .......There is a load of stuff about how his progress will be closely monitored and recorded and how he should be given specific, measurable, achievable and realistic targets with an agreed date for completion and which will be reviewed and evaluated on a regular basis. Will the school be able to say that this is what they have been doing through his SA+ targets, because they haven't been all those things and some of them are just carried over and over. If he doesn't get any help how will that change.

 

The school say that ** has used up plenty of 1:1 resource and he is coping well with his current teacher, but is he progressing????? The 1:1 time he "uses" is when they are in a damage limitation and are basically fire fighting. It is not used to help him with his problems or in educating him.

 

ANY THOUGHTS????

[lisa]

"** will require an educational setting where he can receive some 1:1 and small group support. Within a mainstream school he will receive 10 hours per week learning support assisatnace from the school and local authority budgets, in accordance with the curent local authority regulations."

 

I wouldn't be happy with this wording at all and would most definitely ask for it to be changed. 'some 1:1 support' - 5 minutes is 'some'. It doesn't say that the 10 hours is 1:1 or small group, 'in accordance with current local authority regulations' could mean anything, current regulations could be that the school can use this money however they see fit to support your son and are under no obligation to provide the 10 hours for 1:1 support if they deem it unnecessary. It's too open for misinterpretation for my liking.

 

I'd also get the 'would benefit from' changed to 'will need'. We had to get this changed in my daughter's statement. As I said to our LEA, I'd 'benefit' from a couple of weeks in the Bahamas but I'm not going to get it!

 

I'd phone IPSEA and get them to look over it for you.

 

Sorry to put such a downer on things but it's better to be safe than sorry. Well done for getting the statement.

 

Good Luck.

 

Lisa