statementing

[mrs fussy]

Hi everyone, our sons school said they were going to request statutory assessment, but seem to be reluctant at the moment to do so, (we think this is because our relationship with them recently hasnt been the best) we were wondering if parents request assessment is it less likely the LEA will assess, from your experiences which is mostly likely to be successful our request or a schools request. Thanks for any replys in advance Mrs Fussy x

[Lolly]

quote name='mrs fussy' date='Jun 16 2007, 10:47 PM' post='156595']

Hi everyone, our sons school said they were going to request statutory assessment, but seem to be reluctant at the moment to do so, (we think this is because our relationship with them recently hasnt been the best) we were wondering if parents request assessment is it less likely the LEA will assess, from your experiences which is mostly likely to be successful our request or a schools request. Thanks for any replys in advance Mrs Fussy x

 

Hi Mrs Fussy,I dont know if this is of any help, my son has had probs at school for 4 years now&has remained on school action plus throughout, its as if the school cant be bothered to help him any further.I had him to the doctors about his behaviour&lack of concentration twice in 2 years as the first docotr told me I was imagining things cos I was tired,the cheek!!I saw another doctor 2 weeks ago and he has refered my son who is getting assessed tomorrow.maybe u can request the assessment cos I know what schools are like,ours seems to sweep things under the table.

 

sorry thats not much help as its all I know(nothing!)

Lolly:)

[dooday24]

reece is still only on action plus. want him to hav a statement his school reluctant also to help.

love donnaxxxxxxx

[Suze]

Hi, it should,nt really make a difference, but hey it could depend on your LEA.I would try and work things out with the school, if you have their support it will be easier.Check with your senco that all IEP,s are up to date and that school action + has covered all available possibilities.A statement will probably only be given if all help available at school action plus has,nt worked.We applied for a statement ourselves with the schools support and managed after 9mnths to get one.Best of luck , suzex.

[oxgirl]

Hi everyone, our sons school said they were going to request statutory assessment, but seem to be reluctant at the moment to do so, (we think this is because our relationship with them recently hasnt been the best) we were wondering if parents request assessment is it less likely the LEA will assess, from your experiences which is mostly likely to be successful our request or a schools request. Thanks for any replys in advance Mrs Fussy x

 

 

Hi Mrs. Fussy,

When Jay was going through the statementing process, because it was taking so long and school were desperate for help, we wrote direct to the LEA requesting statement and it hurried the process along rapidly.

Good luck with it.

 

~ Mel ~

Edited June 17, 2007 by oxgirl

[mrs fussy]

Hi Mrs. Fussy,

When Jay was going through the statementing process, because it was taking so long and school were desperate for help, we wrote direct to the LEA requesting statement and it hurried the process along rapidly.

Good luck with it.

 

~ Mel ~

Hi and Thanks for your replys, can i ask Mel why was it taking so long should it not all be done in 6 months? and if you dont mind could you tell me why they were desperate for help? my son was put on SA at christmas then SA+ in March the day after he was put on SA+ he was excluded for a long period they i think are tryng to say hes at risk of permanent exclusion they have put some TA support in for him since going back to school but he has been going back only mornings since easter they have finally decided to let him now go in a couple of full days too, this they say is a Pastoral Support Programme, whatever that means.We were reluctant at first to get him statemented as he is now in year 3 at school and has never really had major problems before this,(he doesnt have a diagnosis)he is also like any other child when at home no real problems although we do know he does have a bit of a temper.We just thought perhaps when he changes teacher things may be better but on trying him at another school for the day he said he would rather go back to his original school, and the new school said to us that his day wasnt very successful and they didnt think he was up to the change. So now having upset his old school by wanting to move him, they are not really being very helpful.We now feel statutory assessment is needed as perhaps his problems at school are worse than we thought having tried another one, it is difficult for us because he really is no problem at home. Sorry its so long BTW any further advice would be appreciated Thanks Mrs Fussy x

[Bard]

it is difficult for us because he really is no problem at home.

 

That was exactly the problem that I had with B.

Home was no problem, school was hard in the infants, but he came across as just naughty and immature, though bright. When he hit Year 3, he began to diverge more and more from the norm, until there were too many pieces of evidence that fitted an AS diagnosis.

He was spending large amounts of time sitting outside the office for being aggressive towards other children.

I was relieved when he got his dx, as things began to make sense that had previously been a complete mystery.

He was no trouble at home because none of the triggers were there. He's still no trouble at home, 3 years after his dx. School is improving, he's getting targeted support in the areas that he needs, and funding has been secured for the next academic year.

[mrs fussy]

it is difficult for us because he really is no problem at home.

 

That was exactly the problem that I had with B.

Home was no problem, school was hard in the infants, but he came across as just naughty and immature, though bright. When he hit Year 3, he began to diverge more and more from the norm, until there were too many pieces of evidence that fitted an AS diagnosis.

He was spending large amounts of time sitting outside the office for being aggressive towards other children.

I was relieved when he got his dx, as things began to make sense that had previously been a complete mystery.

He was no trouble at home because none of the triggers were there. He's still no trouble at home, 3 years after his dx. School is improving, he's getting targeted support in the areas that he needs, and funding has been secured for the next academic year.

Hi Bard, it really is difficult isnt it as sometimes it feels like they are talking about a differant child, could i ask what you mean by funding has been secured for next year, do you mean that school are funding support? as my sons school are currently funding 15 hours support and i am worried that they are going to withdraw this at some point, ?as this is the problem we have hes 3 yrs ahead in some subjects, Mrs Fussy x

Edited June 18, 2007 by mrs fussy

[Bard]

Yes, the Senco talked to the Head about what support B needed this term and next year, and the Head agreed to it. Getting a Statement is very hard, and requires a body of evidence to be collected over a period of time.

B won't get one as he is academically fairly able, say in the top 20% of his year, with strengths in Maths and Art. All I really want is for him to stay in mainstream education, not on a part-time timetable.

Because the strategies the school are using seem to be working, everyone is feeling more positive and so that's why they are going to continue next academic year. B's Senco, and the school, have been fantastic about supporting and encouraging him, we've been extremely lucky.

 

And don't be sorry about getting things off your chest, it's a very good thing to do and here's a great place to do it!

Edited June 17, 2007 by Bard

[mrs fussy]

Yes, the Senco talked to the Head about what support B needed this term and next year, and the Head agreed to it. Getting a Statement is very hard, and requires a body of evidence to be collected over a period of time.

B won't get one as he is academically fairly able, say in the top 20% of his year, with strengths in Maths and Art. All I really want is for him to stay in mainstream education, not on a part-time timetable.

Because the strategies the school are using seem to be working, everyone is feeling more positive and so that's why they are going to continue next academic year. B's Senco, and the school, have been fantastic about supporting and encouraging him, we've been extremely lucky.

 

And don't be sorry about getting things off your chest, it's a very good thing to do and here's a great place to do it!

Hi Bard, yes that is all we want mainstream schooling but full time, i think maybe we have been a little hard on the school, as after his exclusion they did put in 15 hrs is this more than your son gets? my son is what they say gifted in maths and also has an understanding well above his chronological age in science believe me he does, hes well into the periodic table at the moment, they have recently given him a year 6 sats paper to do and said if he was in year 6 now he would be in the top 5! and hes only 7, i find it quite scary, sounds like your school is very good but it probably helps that you understand the system too, as i am suspicious of everything they do as i had convinced myself they just wanted rid of him which they probably do now because of me.They are saying though that the support does seem to be working, but say that he is often quite rude and has to be asked lots of times before he will follow instructions and then is quite rude when having to do what he is told , they say he often back chats which i do believe, the head said this has to stop as other children will think that it is okay to do this, i have suggested they wait a few minutes and pull him to one side and tell him off they said they havent been telling him off for fear of him losing his temper, the head said this is not good enough as the other children wont know he has been told off, dont know what thy expect me to do i have said to them i will speak to him. Mrs Fussy x

[Bard]

When B was in KS2, they used a carding system to help with discipline. They agreed on 3 rules that he had to keep, one of them was to keep his hands and feet to himself and not touch other children.

First, they explained carefully exactly what the sequence would be, and they put up his three targets on the wall.

When he was breaking one of the rules, he got a verbal warning. Then he was literally shown a yellow card, which was a step further. If he continued, he got a red card and had to do Time Out to calm down, anything from 5 to 15 mins. Sometimes it went further, but the idea was to put in some steps before it got to sitting outside the Head's office.

The individual support my son gets now is that he is escorted between classes to avoid conflict in the corridors. They have 5 lessons a day, plus lunch and break. So he is accompanied by an adult to his destination 7 times a day. He also gets support within a small group where they play games, work on strategies and talk things through with members of Learning Support. That's once a week. They're also putting some support in for collaborative lessons, like Games and DT, where the children have to form teams or share equipment.

[mrs fussy]

When B was in KS2, they used a carding system to help with discipline. They agreed on 3 rules that he had to keep, one of them was to keep his hands and feet to himself and not touch other children.

First, they explained carefully exactly what the sequence would be, and they put up his three targets on the wall.

When he was breaking one of the rules, he got a verbal warning. Then he was literally shown a yellow card, which was a step further. If he continued, he got a red card and had to do Time Out to calm down, anything from 5 to 15 mins. Sometimes it went further, but the idea was to put in some steps before it got to sitting outside the Head's office.

The individual support my son gets now is that he is escorted between classes to avoid conflict in the corridors. They have 5 lessons a day, plus lunch and break. So he is accompanied by an adult to his destination 7 times a day. He also gets support within a small group where they play games, work on strategies and talk things through with members of Learning Support. That's once a week. They're also putting some support in for collaborative lessons, like Games and DT, where the children have to form teams or share equipment.

Hi have been to pead today and feel a little happier, as she showed me referral letter to CAMHS which we previously thought had not been done, so somewhere there has been either a loss or a misunderstanding (trust it to be us just our luck) and it seems that ed psych has a meeting with them too so hopefully someone will start and do something which will hopefully help! and will help to make school happy too, i think! as we are at the moment frightened to even approach them as head is i feel gunning for us (perhaps understandably)This has somehow turned us from qiuet reserved unasuming people into confused, upset and now it seems demanding parents, perhaps we can now things are hopefully moving return to the people we were before this all started. We live in hope Mrs Fussy x BTW Bard school asked us to write a supporting letter to go with there evidence do you think we should and what kind of things should we include or anyone else who has suggestions please.

Edited June 18, 2007 by mrs fussy

[pumpkinpie]

Persoanally I would write myself to the lea requesting a statement. If the school does it the lea is not held to act quickly if you you do it under the law they have strict timescales to ader to and it will be much quicker.

I dont see thast school will have an issue with this, you will be saving the senco some work and so long as you tell her you would like to do this and why(so the lea has to act quicker) she should be ok.

 

I am I right to understand is in school half days and getting 15 hours support to make this possible? Would full time support mean the school will be allowing him to attend fulltime?

 

I wondered why he is just going half days, is this the equivalent to an illegal exclusion?. The school and lea should be working with you to get him into schoolfulltime and I would want to know this will be happening from sept!

 

You are never going to be the top of the popularity awards with school because your son needs show the inadequacies in the system which cant cope with anyone differnt. So dont hide. Be polite but dont try and be everyones best friends, schools have their own agenda I am afraid.

[mrs fussy]

HI thanks for your relpy, i hadnt thought of it as illegal exclusion before, but i suppose you are right , yes i think they are saying the support is needed for him to be at school, but kind of feel like they are trying to give me the bullets to fire as far as the LEA go, if you can understand that. I dont have a problem with statutory assessment but it is them really that feel he needs it so why dont they get a move on, we really have no problems with our son at home. Can i say too that he doesnt really enjoy having someone with him al the time, and that he is acheiving at school, and beyond his peers too, he is a kid who wants to learn. Thank Mrs F x

Edited June 18, 2007 by mrs fussy

[clintess]

Hi i have just done a referal for my ds2,his peaditritaion suggested it after the school seemed to be dragging thier feet.I went straight from the peads appointment to a meeting with the head/senco for her opinion and she agreed staright away saying all the evidence is there and she is 100 per cent behind us and it would be far quicker for us to do it than the school.Referal went of same day,got letter from lea within a week asking would i also like to add further information which i done and sent it yesterday as they wanted to get started asap for a decision whether to assess.Now im waiting for the next step.

I would say regards if you want your child satying within main or sen school if they need a statement then go for it as you are doing the best for your child.Dont fear you will be upsetting the school or anyone else they wontbe seeing your child as an adult and how they manage life its you that will be.

Edited July 3, 2007 by clintess

[Karen A]

HI thanks for your relpy, i hadnt thought of it as illegal exclusion before, but i suppose you are right , yes i think they are saying the support is needed for him to be at school, but kind of feel like they are trying to give me the bullets to fire as far as the LEA go, if you can understand that. I dont have a problem with statutory assessment but it is them really that feel he needs it so why dont they get a move on, we really have no problems with our son at home. Can i say too that he doesnt really enjoy having someone with him al the time, and that he is acheiving at school, and beyond his peers too, he is a kid who wants to learn. Thank Mrs F x

 

 

Hi Mrs Fussy.The school need to be able to demonstrate that your child has significant SEN and that support has been provided at school action and school action plus -without significant impact.If the LEA do not consider that the criteria have been fulfilled then they may not agree to conduct an assessment.I wonder whether the school have realised that they may not be able to demonstrate a strong enough case for Statutary Assessment and hence they hope that you will be more sucessful.

I think that exclusion is not recognised as evidence of need for a Statutary Assessment-whether it is legal or not.Hence if your son is acheiving in accademic subjects the school may be struggleing to find evidence to justify assessment.

If the LEA agree to a Statutary Assessment then they will ask you for information re how your child is outside of school.They will also ask you how you feel your child is doing at school.If the LEA feel that the school have not provided support from the resources they have then they will not issue a Statement.

Sorry that was a bit long winded.Basicaly which ever way the school go about it -if they hope to obtain funding from the LEA but cannot prove a strong case the LEA will spot it. Karen.