Jump to content
Sign in to follow this  
Cariad

The "LEA"

Recommended Posts

I've dealt with them for years and everything is a battle with them, the way they try to "con" you and "trick" you.. For example the other day I was told we'd have to drop the judicial inquiry as they can't do the statement/*look* for a school or go to appeal at the same time as the inquiry and it would take longer :whistle:

 

What are your stories of how you have been treated by them?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

 

Disadvantages:

 

Frustrating delays. The case officer was never there when you rang. Poor at responding to calls. Listens to worries and concerns yet puts no support or changes in to overcome these.

 

Poor at communication and waste alot of time.

 

 

Following tribunnel x 1 which we won and theatrened to take them to tribunal a second time the results have been amazing

 

Advantages.

 

Good at communcation, weekly phone calls to update us e.g when transfering from junior school to secondary.

 

No worries about budgets

 

Rapid response to any concerns. Nothing is too much trouble

 

 

Communication via email or telephone with rapid response.

 

 

So I must say our LEA have changed completely

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Listens to worries and shorts them out.

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I seem to be a rarity, up until now at least, I cant say that I have had any issues with my LA education department.

 

Lets Just hope this continues.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Me and DH met with ours today for the first time to go over a few bits I wanted adding to the proposed statement and she was really nice. Nothing was too much trouble. Hopefully it will continue.

 

I was really nervous before the meeting to the point where I almost passed out on the way up there because of some of the things Ive heard but she chatted to us for so long it was like having a coffee morning! Ive come to the conclusion that it is the schools and their secrecy over the funding they are given and how they spend it on the child who it is for that is the problem. Still shouldn't be a problem now that I have told the LEA that DS's statemented freinds TA was used as the whole class TA up until the beginning of this year - oops!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Bizarre situation for us...10 years of no support, 2 failed attampts at Stat Ass at ages 5 and 8.

 

Then they played a blinder...a Statement and funding for a residential special school for AS in 6 months from start to finish (DS coming out of school to his first day in his new placement) when he was rising 15. Straight through every panel, no Tribunal...practically unheard of I realised afterwards.

 

Yet it's the same LA as Kathryn, although a different quadrant team.

 

Bid :unsure:

Edited by bid

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

OK, first the positives about my LA... :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nope. Can't think of any. :unsure:

 

When trying to get my daughter statemented I was blatantly lied to, shouted at and intimidated in my very first encounter with them. The relationship continued in the same vein - except they made me think they were on my side while still sticking the knife in. They forgot the promises they made in meetings, but harvested our quotes which they then distorted and used against us.They stalled when they knew we were awaiting urgent decisions, were always unavailable when we needed to speak to them. They totally crushed me and had me on the ropes for a long while. One official in particular was particularly horrible.

 

I had the pleasure of a rematch some time later over a separate but related issue. I started judicial review proceedings against them on my daughter's behalf. They backed down. A moment to cherish.

 

I'm glad to hear there are some positive experiences and it would be fantastic if this was the norm.. But sadly, LA's around the country are still treating parents in the way that they treated me and doing their best to avoid fulfilling their duties towards children with SEN.

 

K x

 

 

 

 

Edited by Kathryn

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Where do I start?? My experience was not good. My son was not progressing in a mainstream only school and although the LEA agreed to an assessment and statement, the proposed statement did not contain anything at all interms of hours of support or input from professionals. They also said he should remain in his current placement even though their own EP and AAT disagreed and said he needed a specialist unit.

They lied, threatened and bullied me. Even when the Parent Partnership was at meetings taking notes they still continued to lie eventhough they must have known that the PP would set me straight.

They refused any additional support in his current school, and as I managed to get my son a mainstream place in a mixed mainstream/SEN school that had experience of ASDs, they told me I had to provide transport. They told me there were no SEN places in that school when the PP told me that there were. They told me they would put my son in a mainstream only class and would not support him. The SENCo at this new school informed me that was illegal as they would have to fulfill the requirements of the statement whether he had a SEN place or a mainstream place. The LEA wrote to me and said that if I moved my son, and was unable in the future to provide transport, that they would move him to another mainstream school and they said it would not be the one he was currently at. I believe they did this again to try to paralyse me into keeping my son where he was out of fear.

Every recommendation that the LEAs own professionals had made was met with "well that isn't going to happen" from the LEA. I know for a fact that many people within the SEN system were disgusted with how my son was being treated and I know that there were a couple of very heated meetings where people walked out of the meeting. This gave me the strength to go on because I did get a feeling that although LEA employees hands appeared to be tied, they were willing me to keep on going towards a tribunal and said that I would get what I was aiming for in the end.

One of the reasons they denied him extra support at his previous mainstream school was because "although we believe that your son does need these extra hours the school could not demonstrate how they would use them effectively". I found that unbelieveable. So the school they were trying to force me to keep him in they were admitting was unable to meet his needs as they had no idea of what his needs were and therefore would not give them any extra funding until they could demonstrate how they would use that extra funding effectively. In the meantime I presume they were happy for my son to continue deteriorating.

Anyway we went to tribunal and paid for private reports, expert witness and a solicitor only to have the LEA capitulate 5 minutes into the proceedings. I wish I could claim back my legal expenses as I feel they waited to see if I turned up at tribunal and used this as a way of trying to delay any support for my son and they hoped I would not go through with it thereby saving them money.

I had LEA staff willing to write letters condeming the decision of their own LEA. I had one employee so afraid of losing her job that she used to phone me on her mobile for inside a cupboard!

They made me feel very bitter and very revengeful.

Anyway things are good at the moment (he is 8) and I feel I have two good years infront of me before we begin the search for a secondary school and i'm sure they will attempt to do the same thing again. Afterall there are only 27 places in the whole of the area covered by the LEA for a SEN place, and even that school I feel is not appropriate for him.

I even had a meeting with the head of commissioning who informed me the 'I was wrong' as most parents do want their child kept in a mainstream setting.

I felt like my LEA's whole approach was not to have any information available at all. In that way parents do not know what is available to them or what school have any experience in ASDs. Then when parents don't request to have their children in an ASD experienced school, the LEA quote that as evidence that they don't want that.

I don't know how they sleep at night.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Kathryn according to our solicitors Cardiff have the worst LEA in the country and he travels all over the UK. We have been blackmailed (last week), and told (2 years ago) that if he doesn't go to the school they picked "he can just stay home", this was after the tribunal and we won but they were fit to burst so he didn't get into the ASD school!

 

Then placing my son in "borstal" not under his ASD but saying he had EBD!!!!!!!! Still waiting for a refusal which the LEA had 2 weeks ago as they are stalling as the 6 weeks are almost here.. My caseworker is a total unfeeling robot and gives me one word replies..

 

I don't know how they sleep at night quite honestly!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Must be Wales cos im in the valleys n our lea is a pile of nevermind they are useless....when my son was being bullied n suicidal I went to the lea n they did diddly squit.....moved my son in the end.

 

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Must be Wales cos im in the valleys n our lea is a pile of nevermind they are useless....when my son was being bullied n suicidal I went to the lea n they did diddly squit.....moved my son in the end.

 

bikemad we are trying to get our son into a school in the RCT borough but RCT are refusing, we took T out and have been left with no school and an hour a day tuition sometimes less as the Tutor has doctors appointments some weeks!

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
bikemad we are trying to get our son into a school in the RCT borough but RCT are refusing, we took T out and have been left with no school and an hour a day tuition sometimes less as the Tutor has doctors appointments some weeks!

 

They are as usefull as a chocolate teapot tbh......pm me the name of the school n il see if I know anyone who can pull some strings....know a few people 'in the know' :whistle:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
Sign in to follow this  

×
×
  • Create New...