Turned down for STAT Assessment

[thebuzzer]

Hi everyone

 

Have not been on here for a while.

 

I have found out today by phoning the LEA that they have decided not to proceed with a Stat Assessment. Despite DS only doing 1 hour a day for 4 months in Year 1 and now only able to do 3 hours with full 1:1 support, being aggreesive, violent, upset.........

 

Does anyone know how I can work out or find out the average cost of going to tribunal to appeal this decision?

 

Some of the mums I know from support groups around the county have spent up to and beyond �25k on barrister fees, solicitors, expert witnesses. We wouldn't have enough money to even pay for a solicitor.

 

I am devastated. After all that has gone with DS and school, behaviour I have been suffering from depression since July (never had it before) and this is just another kick in the teeth. I feel so sorry for him. His TA wondered if we were turned down because he is 'so intelligent' - well not much good to him if he can't cope socially or emotionally with school is it!!!

 

I asked the old grumpy woman at the LEA if she would email me the letter with the reasons for their decision.

 

Any advice please or experiences gladly welcomed

[Kathryn]

It's tough to get this news, the buzzer, and I sympathise, as will many others who've been in this situation. <'>

 

Have a scream, beat up a pillow, and then get ready for the next stage, because it takes perseverance to jump over all the hurdles the LEA will try to put in your way, this one being the first.

 

Put in your appeal straight away and take heart: over 50% of all "refusals to assess" don't make it to a tribunal hearing because the LEA backs down before the day. And of those that do go all the way, many more are decided in the parents' favour.

 

Don't get stressed about solicitors' fees. There is a lot of free expert help out there to help you prepare your case, and sometimes free representation. Give IPSEA or the NAS a ring.

 

Obviously the cost is high if solicitors and independent professionals are involved. My opinion, based on what you say here (but take advice) is that it's probably not worth getting a solicitor involved at this stage - there may be statementing battles with highter stakes in the future, so save your resources. Get some help to identify what further evidence you would need to win your case and whether or not you need to pay for it. If you have strong evidence and witnesses who are prepared to write in support or attend a hearing to give evidence, you have a good chance. You need not necessarily have to pay for expert witnesses if you have professionals on your side already, and a supportive witness from the school can work wonders.

 

As you probably know, you've got two months to put your appeal in from the date on the letter the LEA will send you. It would be good to get your appeal in quickly as the whole tribunal structure is changing on the 3rd November and it would be better not to get caught up in the changeover.

 

Keep fighting - we're all behind you!

[Kazzen161]

It can cost as much or as little as you like. As Kathryn says - put in the appeal form - what have you go to lose. Worst case scenario is that you go to Tribunal with no support and lose - in which case you will be no worse off than now. It is likely that the LEA will reconsider if they know you mean business.

[madme]

Hi I would also suggest SOS SEN. IPsea are great but be patient as they are usually overloaded with work. Leas also sometimes back down about assessments on the day and indeed the day before the Tribunal. If youm woant to find out more about how your LEA have plaued things in he past have a look at the SENDISt site which if it hasnt changed will stilll have stats for all leas going back a few years contained within the yearly report. Good luck.

[Clare63]

Sorry to hear this, once you have their reasons then you will be able to see what to appeal. Intelligence should have nothing to do with it, my son is extremly able academically, his statement relates to social, communication & sensory needs. Hopefully if you appeal this current position and you make it clear exactly what his needs are you won't have to go to tribunal.

 

Wishing you the best of luck, hang in there and keep battling

 

Clare x x x

[JsMum]

I feel so sorry for him. His TA wondered if we were turned down because he is 'so intelligent' -

 

MMM sounds like a really intelligent TA!

 

what a thing to say,

 

My son has average to above above average cognitive ability..... but has significant impairments in all his develop, including learning,

 

Intelligence has nothing to do with needing a statement,

 

my son has had a statement for over 2 years, last year in particular while his TA was at school and all his provisions where in the school J was distraught and distressed at the thought of been in the building!

 

J had few friends and completely struggled socially, so he had a statement,

 

statements are not always apropriate what clearly needs to happen is an assessment of need, and then go from there,

 

1 hour a day is not an education, I would put in an appeal of assessmet of SEN and go from there,

 

I feel for us we fighted for the statement but even this wasnt enough, and my son is intelligent.

 

were now going throw special needs provisions outside a mainstream setting.

 

JsMum

[JsMum]

A service I am going to recommend is Contact A family, in certain areas of the UK they have outreach workers,

 

I have an outreach worker who has agreed to go to our next couple of meetings, she is also going to support me throw the process of J going to special school, they are independant and nothing to do with the goverment, they are there to tell you what rights your child has educationally.

 

The outreach worker is going to look into support as we just dont seem to getting an adequate service from SS.

 

I would recommend these, they have loads of information sheets on Statementing, DLA and other funding like family fund ect....

 

 

Just recommeneding them because they have been there for me, they have a helpline also and a website too.

 

I got support with paying fees for solisitors so there could be legal aid or burseries too.

 

JsMum

[hazma]

Hi we were turned down in may.We lodged our appeal with sendist and just before school started end of august,La telephoned us to inform us that they had reconsidered. :thumbs:I know they will not issue a statement and we will have to appeal again but we are progressing.We have also had the "hes too bright for a statement" rubbish from loads of people,he may be bright but his life is miserable because of the problems he faces at school

[PinkSapphire]

We did not spend anything on going to SENDIST and we won!

I represented my son myself, the only time I asked for advice was just before it, from IPSEA.

 

That was for refusal to assess, then when they were forced to assess and still tried to say no to a statement, we were more than ready to go through it again but in the end the LEA were shown where they were in the wrong (in sooooo many ways) and they gave us the statement.

 

Absolutely, get your appeal in ASAP (as here is a time limit!) and go from there, IPSEA are great and there are always te great people on here.

 

If you need any advice, just ask hun!

[fallgyrl]

I just want to add to everyone elses thoughts and say yes, just go for it as youve nothing to loose and everything to gain. Ive just threatened our LEA with appeal and theyve just backed down so theres always hope theyll see the error of their ways. Found that any suggestion of exclusion seemed to scare our LEA rigid - seems they'd rather shell out on providing statement funding than deal with the fall out from permanently excluded kids, and quite right too. So maybe this is a tactic to use with your LEA as I cant believe that they think your child's need are being met when he has already missed so much school through stress.

 

Fingers crossed <'>

 

Vicky

[thebuzzer]

Found that any suggestion of exclusion seemed to scare our LEA rigid - seems they'd rather shell out on providing statement funding than deal with the fall out from permanently excluded kids, and quite right too. So maybe this is a tactic to use with your LEA as I cant believe that they think your child's need are being met when he has already missed so much school through stress.

 

Fingers crossed <'>

 

Vicky

 

Thanks for all the replies, I am filling out the form this weekend. I am going to post about that seperately.

 

To update, he is now doing 9-1pm with full time 1:1 TA support. The head of Inclusion Support has observed him and is writing a report to state that in her opinion he cannot be in school without constant 1:1. The Head has contacted the Asst Education Officer in the Access and Exclusion Department at the LA and they have given her time limited funding for 70 hours TA support. She has to spend it on TA support for DS in the afternoon and this money is up until Christmas. We will gradually increase him by 1 hour on 2 days and so on. Then hopefully she will get more funding after Christmas for the next term while we fight this. They have given the funding because DS is at high risk of exclusion.

 

Thanks again and if any of you can answer my other post re this I would be most grateful!

 

C.