Lsa's and sa+

[rach04]

We are in the middle of assessment for statementing. J is on sa+ has been since 2003 now his regular lsa was took ill over xmas and hasnt been back so he had another for 2 weeks but she left to go teaching college. Now he hasnt got an lsa at all hasnt had for 2 and a half weeks!! I rang senco tonight and he said it was right and couldn't apologize enough saying they are doing there best to find one. Hes had 2 and half weeks to find one!!!!!!!!!!

 

Do they have to provide an lsa for a child on SA+? I know they do if hes statemented but not sure about SA+. TIA

 

Rach xxx

Edited February 4, 2008 by rach04

[Kathryn]

Hi Rach,

 

There's no legal obligation to provide anything at SA +. What a child gets depends on the school's resources and how they wish to make use of them.

 

The only way to guarantee LSA support for your child is to get it written into a statement - I'm sure you know that already though!

 

K x

[rach04]

Thanks i thought that was right but wasnt sure. Hes so fed up at the moment cause hes having no support in lessons. Oh well hurry up on that statement lol

[Kathryn]

Not much fun for your son , but if he isn't coping well with no support, it will be useful evidence for the statementing process.

 

K x

[sueeltringham]

We were in a similar situation last year. The school SHOULD provide the first ten hours of support for pupils on SA+. If your child is statemented then the school has to provide the first 10 hours and the LEA funds the extra above the 10 hours. I argued this with the head last year and eventually managed to get my son's support extended (a little). The trouble is, unless a child has a statement, then the 'support' does not have to be specific and there are lots of ways that a head can demonstrate that all pupils at SA and SA+ are being supported. A statement is the only way to protect the interests of the individual child. In the end, my son did receive some extra support and the school were able to show just how much better he performed with this help. This really helped support his statement. Good luck and hope you get something sorted soon,

 

Sue

[Karen A]

We were in a similar situation last year. The school SHOULD provide the first ten hours of support for pupils on SA+. If your child is statemented then the school has to provide the first 10 hours and the LEA funds the extra above the 10 hours. I argued this with the head last year and eventually managed to get my son's support extended (a little). The trouble is, unless a child has a statement, then the 'support' does not have to be specific and there are lots of ways that a head can demonstrate that all pupils at SA and SA+ are being supported. A statement is the only way to protect the interests of the individual child. In the end, my son did receive some extra support and the school were able to show just how much better he performed with this help. This really helped support his statement. Good luck and hope you get something sorted soon,

 

Sue

 

Hi.I thought it worth mentioning that for children with Statements the number of hours of support funded by the LEA and the number of hours that the LEA expect the school to provide does vary from one LEA to another.The 10 hours provided by school plus 10 hours funded by LEA may well be a local LEA stipulation.The most important thing is to obtain a Statement if at all possible.The LEA then have a legal obligation to ensure that the provision documented is provided..regardless of funding agreements.

When I checked with the LEA last year re provision for children at SAplus I was informed that there is no obligation for the HT to use delegated funding to provide TAs.The HT can use the money as he/she considers most appropriate to support the learning of children with SEN.

Indeed as long as the ratio of children:adults does not exceed a certain number there is no obligation to have TAs in class at all.Karen.

[rach04]

thanks everyone. No js not a happy bunny at all at home but i suspect he hasnt said anything at school. He has 2 hrs a week "play buddies" with an lsa and hes not getting it. you can really tell on the playground cause this is a program for socialization where they take a small group of nt kids and j and teach j to take turns etc and teach the nt to accept him the way he is, but as hes not getting that at the moment the kids have changed around him and hes on his own on the playground once again

Edited February 5, 2008 by rach04

[Karen A]

racho.It is really worth pushing to get the support in the playground .When Ben was not supported at playtime it had a very big impact on him.He lost confidence and did not cope in lessons even though he was bright.It is worth writing to the Head Teacher and stating that you are aware that support is not being provided at breaktime and that you are unhappy with the current situation.Even if you do not obtain a satisfactory response then you will have written evidence that you complained.Karen.