Education can anyone help!!!!!!.

[sel]

Hi all.

 

I have just received a draft educational statment for my son. While at the review it was more or less decided to ask for full time Learning support assistance for him, by the Head, ourselves and the so called statement officer ( as she calls herself), this is mainly due to his recent dx of AS.( on top off the orginal ADHD dx we were given when he was 4ish)

Anyway we received this draft today, Basically its idential to before and he still only gets fifteen hours a week LSA. This will only be of the mornings as before!!!. He has had certain test done by ed psych and he has given him an age approprate score of 6 years 3 months and 6 years 9 months, which is quite bad seeming he is nearly 10!!.

 

I was told by the Statementing officer that basically as he is in mainstream school, they can only offer 15 hours, unless he has tolieting difficulties etc or is in a special school!!!

 

Does anyone know if this is a fob off or it is right?!!. I don't think it is, but can anyone shed any light please??.

 

Thanks.

[mossgrove]

Sel

 

I will respond properly later, but I just wabted to mention that were were told that out LEA had a policy of not giving full time 1:1 support for kids with AS in mainstream schools. We stuck to our guns. We got full time 1:1.

 

I would say you are boing fobbed off. If your child needs full time 1:1 they should get full time 1:1. End of story.

 

Simon

[sel]

Hiya simon.

 

Thanx,

Thats what i thought.

I have written to the Statementing officer, she did say when i phoned that if i write in and she receives it by the end of the week, she will put it to the board, on the next meeting on tue, after half term.!! ( whatever that means!!, i,ve no idea!!) Hopefully we might get somewhere. They better be ready for a fight...cos they are gonna get one!!.

 

sel.

[lorryw]

Hi Sel

I agree with Simon, your son is entitled to 1.1 support and it should be according to his needs not the LEAs ability to deliver.

I have worked on a 1.1 basis with a variety of children over the years. Dig your heels in, be prepared for a fight and kick and scream if needs be. In my experience its the parents who make the most noise and make the most impact and get what their child needs.

Good luck

Loraine x

[nellie]

Hi Sel,

 

You are being fobbed off, I would advise you to get in touch with IPSEA. http://www.ipsea.org.uk/

 

Nellie xx

[sel]

Thanx Nellie,

 

I have got some info from their site and will Def call them tomorrow!.

 

cheers

[Helen]

I have just received a draft educational statment for my son. While at the review it was more or less decided to ask for full time Learning support assistance for him, by the Head, ourselves and the so called statement officer ( as she calls herself), this is mainly due to his recent dx of AS.

Minutes of the meeting ought to have been taken - your specific request for extra hours should have been noted in the minutes. The minutes should also include the headteacher?s and the statementing officer's 'agreement' with your request for extra hours.

Anyway we received this draft today, Basically its idential to before and he still only gets fifteen hours a week LSA. This will only be of the mornings as before!!!.

Have you received a copy of the minutes for you to either agree of disagree with the content? Did you make your own notes at the time? Remind the LEA of what was discussed in the meeting.

I was told by the Statementing officer that basically as he is in mainstream school, they can only offer 15 hours, unless he has tolieting difficulties etc or is in a special school!!!

So why did the statementing officer leave the meeting in agreement with your request for extra LSA hours if she already knew that in order for a child to access more hours that particular child would have to meet a certain criteria? She is the ?statementing officer?, the criteria is not something that she?s likely to forget is it?

 

Delay tactics come to mind...

Edited May 26, 2005 by Helen

[sel]

Hi helen,

 

Yeah i have got copies of the report, to be honest i didnt take too much notice of it at the time!! doh!!.

But i have studied it since, it was really pretty vague under section 3 . It states that the current provision is Language support- 5 sessions (daily) precision teaching.

 

The next question is-- is the current provision meeting the child's needs?.

This has been answered NO.

 

The next question is--Does the child require a change in provision and why? (please specify and give reasons).

The answer to this was:

School is providing as much as possible and have 'set' him lower for language but feels a need to HAVE MORE SSA to help him make progress in the foundation subjects. He is very dependant on adlut support in order to complete work. He has problems with writing, spelling and forming sentences.

 

Thing is in the meeting full time one to one was recomended, though has not been written. Although they have asked for MORE SSA!.

Does this count?. It there, but vague?. How much is more anyway?

 

Sel.

[mossgrove]

Sel

 

Dealing with the LEA over statements is an endless round of turning the vague into the specific.

 

In replying to the draft statement you are quite within your rights to thank them for the draft statement , but you would like to remind them that the conclusion of the meeting was that your child needs 1:1 support, and that you would be happy to accept the statement once this (and any other) necessary amendments have been made. While you are at it ask for any "will try to"s, or "where appropriates the school will " to be turned into "will"s

 

 

Simon

[Zemanski]

many mainstream children have full time 1:1

 

if a child needs full time they need full time

 

Com has full time plus lunch and breaks and he doesn't need potty training

 

What we did was:

 

first statement said half time (we knew he wouldn't get more than this)

 

by next review it was obvious he needed more so lunch and break were added

 

next review was his transition review (for high school) and we insisted it went up to full time 'for the transition which is known to be particularly difficult for children on the autistic spectrum'

- they really couldn't disagree with this

 

now he's in high school there's no way we are going to agree to reduce it and school don't want that either - now everyone is happy(ish) except the LEA finance dept.

 

you can call interim reviews if things aren't working too so you can do it quicker than we did (within a year or so which isn't that much more than going to tribunal to get the lot at once given how long an LEA can take to act on the tribunal decision and actually implement the funding)

 

 

Keep very good records to make sure you can prove your points when you ask though

 

do try and get them to budge anyway - you do not have to accept the first draft, Mossgrove knows his stuff and parent partnership and ipsea are there to support you; they give good advice and PP will go with you to meetings etc to help you get a fair hearing if you want them to.

 

zemanski

Edited May 26, 2005 by Zemanski

[sel]

Hi all,

 

thanks very much for all your advise

 

I think, may be just may be we might be winning!. Although i ain't counting my chickens yet!!.

 

I have recieved a phone call today from the head. She has received my letter asking for K's education record, and obviously has to deliever!!.

She asked why i wanted to see copies of his record(s). was this just out of interest or was this because i am not happy?.

 

I told her that i was not happy,and explained thet the fifiteen hours that have been awarded were a joke. He is ten and can not read level one infant words, or even know his letters!!.

 

She eventually agreed that we did indeed ask for increased hours for k, at the meeting. She told me that she would speek to the so called 'statementing officer' about it, if we got no joy we would have to see what else could be done?.

 

K has now got a lap-top to use after half term!!. after i spoke to ed psych and others about it, To help with his lax-liagaments and hyper-mobility.

They have also set up a home school book as i have requested.

 

The Statementing officer, woman, phoned to say that she had received my letter and will be putting k's case to panel the first tues after half term,

my fifteen days to appeal have stopped ticking as it were,

then apparently i will receive a 'new amended, proposed statement' in which i have another fifteen day to apeal if i'm not happy with it.

 

So i'm hoping now that the head is onside and so far i have managed to get his lap-top and diary, hopefully someone is listerning!!!.

 

Fingers crossed.

Watch this space......

 

Take care all,

Sel.

[Hectorshouse]

Well done Sel

 

You are well on the way now, good on you for being honest with the HT and not feeling intimidated, and YEP she does have to deliver.

 

If she agreed that an increase in the hours was needed at the AR, then ask her to put it in writing to the Statementing Officer, as this should've been included in the HT's report from the AR, it is down to her that this was omitted, she signs off the report.

 

Great news about the laptop, my T gets his today, he was sooooo excited before school today, he actually wanted to go

 

The home/school diary is great too, try and make sure they don't just put namby pamby comments in, make sure it includes everything good and bad, it will give you a great record, the only problem I have found with these is getting the TA's to keep it up, it always starts well but drifts after a few weeks.

 

Your doing fab honey, you've not won the war but are definitely winning a few battles.

 

HHxx

[sel]

hi everyone,

 

I just thought i should update!!.

I have just spoken to the LEA, as my son's case apparently went to pannel yesterday and they have turned down our request for more SSA!!. I'm gutted.

 

I have tried to contact the parent partnership ( snap ) as it is here!. The lady i spoke to before is away!!, grand that!

 

I have tried to phone ACE and all advisors are busy!, and IPSEA are not open at the mo.

 

I dunno where to go now!.

 

I have been promised a laptop for K after half term in monday, still waiting!, We now have the home school book running and well....Its reduced me to tears almost everyday since it started

 

I am so angry and hurt, i just don't know where to go next, i really don't.

 

Thanks

Sel.

[Hectorshouse]

Hi Sel, (((HUGS))) I am soooo sorry that you are having such a sh1t time still, and that your home/school diary is distressing you so much. Try to remember that you can use this as evidence of your son's distress and the problems he is having at school.

 

As they have refused to increase the provision you now have right to appeal against the draft statement being issued, but I am a little confused, if I am right the LEA are issuing you an amended statement following the review, how much of this new statement is different from the last one? or are they not amending and just continuing with the orginal statement?

 

If it is a new amended statement then you have right to appeal, if they are not amending and just maintaining the current statement then unfortunately you do not have right to appeal, the only remedy is for you to request a statutory reassessment under S328 of the Ed Act 1996, if they refuse to reassess then you can appeal against this.

 

We had already been refused an increase in provision from our LEA in Oct, and refused an early or interim review, and when the school then put in place p/t schooling in Jan I decided not to wait until the review in March to see if we could get increased provision and pushed for reassessment, as I was pretty sure they would've made me wait until March with no increase following review and I would've had to reassess anyway. This is a stalling tactic, and you are being fobbed off, keep trying to get through to ACE or IPSEA and NAS advocacy.

 

The LEA have to inform you in writing explaining the decision not to amend the statement, within 8 weeks of the amendment notice.

 

Do you have written confirmation that they are going to supply a laptop? if so hassle the person that wrote it.

 

I am thinking of you Sel, hang in there, you are in good company here.

HHxx

[sel]

Hi HH,

 

Thanks for support!.

It is a amended statement!. They have changed things a little since the first statement ( needs to really as his first ....not alot but a bit!. I will have to sit and compair but i know they have amended some things. Like more keyboard skills!! HA HA.

 

So i have found out i can appeal if things in part 3 have been changed.

 

Oh i'm so ....................

 

Thanks

Sel.

[Suze]

Hi SEL, sorry to hear of your predicament.Were in the exact same position as you my son,s annual review went to the panel meeting yesterday as we had requested more hours and social skills.He currently gets 10 hrs,we were looking to significantly increase this.I,m too scared to phone the LEA and ask how things went , I think I need to be in limbo a while longer .So hope things are sorted for you soon.

[sel]

Hiya suze,

 

I know its a complete nightmare ain't it?. Hope you have better luck than us!

All the best, fingers crossed for you.

 

Sel.

[Hectorshouse]

Sel <'>

 

Hang in there, you know where I am if you need to go over anything.

 

HHxx