LEAs are trying to phase out Statements

[JsMum]

They are trying to do this by not issuing statements under 20 hours as it will come out the SEN budget of the school, the only problem is then there is no real certainty that the child get this support, the money can be used for anything, resouces, teacher salary and even other non sen equiptment.

 

The LEAs are trying there best to not give a statement of SEN as they are aware the chance of other LA services are then requested, there all in it together, LEA, SS, Health Authority, what worries me is these are the very people in Multi Agency Meetings, parents have a much bigger battle on there hands than first realised, its scarey.

 

So my advice is request an assessment of SEN and go to tribunal if they refuse, many statements are also lighter versions of the real needs of the childs SEN too so ensure that the statement identifies all the childs SNs.

 

JsMum

[Flora]

Yes, this chestnuts been around for a couple of years at least. I know IPSEA highlight one LEA get it's knuckles wacked for trying to make it 'official' by sending out a leaflet to parents! What's happening is alot of LEAs (mine being one of them) are devolving a huge portion of their SEN budget straight to schools. People should still push for statements though.

 

My Bill was a sort of victim of this last year. We were turned down for a statement, the reason above being one of the excuses. He went part time to secondary with 95% ta support and no statement. However, while the SEN staff at the school put every effort in, there was an underlying resentment that such a high level of support had to come out of their own budget. Also, it means nothing is dedicated to the child in question. Bill had a different TA for nearly every lesson and it was hit and miss who he would get when. etc.

 

I could waffle on but won't, but I think there is specific information about this on the IPSEA website.

 

Flora

[Kathryn]

This is happening in my LEA as well: they brought in the delegation policy a year ago, and IPSEA have put in a complaint. You can see the text of the letter, which highlights all the pitfalls of the policy, on the IPSEA site.

 

In an ideal world, delegation would be fine, there is a lot to be said for schools having direct control over their own budgets. BUT there needs to be proper accountability: the SEN money needs to be ring- fenced so it can't be spent on other things at the whim of the Headteacher, and the child's needs should still be independently assessed, or you have the same old conflict of interest arising where thiose who hold the purse strings decide what the child needs.

 

K x

[sueeltringham]

Thanks for alerting me to this and the IPSEA website. I've just read with interest that IPSEA are challenging Northumberland County Councils SEN funding policies. We're in Northumberland and were told we would not get a statement for my son as he was likely to need 10 hours or less of support. However after much fighting we did get a statement (thank goodness). School has to fund the first 10 hours of support and the LEA the other 6 (and I know the school receives very little funding from the 'index of multiple deprivation' as it's in a fairly high achieving and affluent area!. It's all starting to make sense now, why the LEA were SO reluctant to go ahead with a statement. We are lucky, our headteacher is pretty understanding and supportive, but there's no accountability, and if your child is likely to need under or around 10 hours, the authority is refusing to statement (or making life very difficult). Parents are totally at the mercy of their schools and headteachers and support for children 'prestatement' can be virtually non-existant. I will watch this with interest!

 

sue

[josie h]

I live in hertfordshire and since Septmeber, only those with exceptional needs can apply for a statement. Schools have to approximate how many children in the school will need additional support in each school year. as you can imagine, this has caused big problems, as they can only count on what they are told about new children coming in to school, and those who are picked up along the way, may not have been acounted for int he budget. there is also nobody monitoring the schools to make sure they are actually using the budget for the children that really need the support. To get a statement, the schools have to 'bid' for the children to see who has the child with the greatest needs! I also found out that they have to pay �200 a visit, for an advisory teacher to come in! This is absolutly ridiculous. with this sort of system, many children are going to suffer from not getting the help they need. Children who already have statements are not affected by these changes though. They also calculate the budgets by the amount of free school meals that they schools claim. Does that mean that you can only have a child with additional needs if you claim free school meals! Schools are stuggling already and the system as not even been in place for a year yet!

[pumpkinpie]

Have you see tnis josie?

http://www.ipsea.org.uk/delegation-complaint-herts.htm

[flipper]

I live in hertfordshire and since Septmeber, only those with exceptional needs can apply for a statement. Schools have to approximate how many children in the school will need additional support in each school year. as you can imagine, this has caused big problems, as they can only count on what they are told about new children coming in to school, and those who are picked up along the way, may not have been acounted for int he budget. there is also nobody monitoring the schools to make sure they are actually using the budget for the children that really need the support. To get a statement, the schools have to 'bid' for the children to see who has the child with the greatest needs! I also found out that they have to pay �200 a visit, for an advisory teacher to come in! This is absolutly ridiculous. with this sort of system, many children are going to suffer from not getting the help they need. Children who already have statements are not affected by these changes though. They also calculate the budgets by the amount of free school meals that they schools claim. Does that mean that you can only have a child with additional needs if you claim free school meals! Schools are stuggling already and the system as not even been in place for a year yet!

 

We're in Herts too and had heard all the same stories...

 

However, we requested an assessment in November 2007 and received the proposed statement just over a week ago, so it's not as hopeless as it may appear. We also attended a morning session where the statement process was explained and the Head of the assessment team assured us that this had been badly misunderstood (indicating that "exceptional" related to, for example, a child whose needs suddenly change, perhaps as a result of an accident which leaves them needing oxygen or similar).

 

I've no idea if we just got lucky with the timing (putting in our request after IPSEA had contacted Herts) or whether the process really is working better than it's perceived.

 

Of course, whether the proposed statement is right is another matter... we're still trying to decipher it...

 

Phil

[Kathryn]

I've no idea if we just got lucky with the timing (putting in our request after IPSEA had contacted Herts) or whether the process really is working better than it's perceived.

 

Well it's good to hear that statements are still being issued. It would be nice to believe that the system is working.

 

Of course, whether the proposed statement is right is another matter... we're still trying to decipher it...

 

I've heard of recent statements under the new system being issued with 0 hours of support - which guarantees nothing, so what's the point?! I'm hoping yours is a bit better than that! At least you can appeal if you're not happy with it.

 

K x

[flipper]

Well it's good to hear that statements are still being issued. It would be nice to believe that the system is working.

 

 

 

I've heard of recent statements under the new system being issued with 0 hours of support - which guarantees nothing, so what's the point?! I'm hoping yours is a bit better than that! At least you can appeal if you're not happy with it.

 

K x

 

Yes, it does appear to be lacking in actual hours stated - only speech therapy seems to have been quantified. Of course, we're not experts on what the statement should contain so it's not always obvious what you're getting.

 

We've requested a meeting which will give us more time to study it a bit closer.

 

Phil