proposed statement has arrived!!

[bonbons]

Hi......Feel like we're at the end of one journey and at the beginning of another at long last!! We finally have the proposed statement for our daughter! We have read through it several times and it all looks good to be honest, and covers everything we raised. The named school isn't the one we asked for though, however, we had concentrated on non maintained special schools and the LEA are recommending an ASD specific unit at a maintained high school, something we hadn't considered as she had so many problems at mainstream and also, we were told originally that all places in my hometown at this unit and one other similar unit, were full. It seems that a child who currently has a place there but does not have a statement, will have to vacate it so that my daughter can take it, which all seems rather unfair and I can't help feeling concern about this amidst happiness and relief for my own child! My daughter is thrilled to have a new school at last though, and is happier in fact, that it is part of mainstream as she says she will feel 'less different'.We will visit the school this coming week hopefully, and intend to have 'parent partnerships' look over the proposed statement to make sure we haven't overlooked anything before we agree to anything....but fingers crossed!

[Kathryn]

 

Good news, and hope that you and your daughter like the school when you visit. Yes it's wise to have someone check that the wording of the statement is as specific as it can be.

 

It seems that a child who currently has a place there but does not have a statement, will have to vacate it so that my daughter can take it, which all seems rather unfair and I can't help feeling concern about this amidst happiness and relief for my own child!

 

That's understandable, but nobody should be making you feel guilty over it - I wonder who burdened you with this information? If there are not enough places in the LEA for those pupils who need them, it isn't your fault. Neither is it your fault that the other child hasn't got a statement. If you hadn't displaced her, it might have been someone else. It goes to show the importance of not believing the old lie that statements aren't necessary!

 

All the best for the next stage of the journey

 

K x

[claire xx]

so pleased for you i know how much of a battle statementing is my sons case is going to the educational board on tues, how much one to one time was ur daughter given?? well donexxx

[Sally44]

I'm glad there seems to be a solution you are happy with.

Just be sure that EVERY need has been detailed in section 2, and then try to cross reference to section 3 how each of those needs will be met in school.

In another post on this forum (one I made about the LEA quoting overturned case law), there is a good article worth looking through posted by someone else called "cemented to the floor by law". It basically says that provision in a statement is legally binding when it uses words like "XXX must receive ....." or "the OT will ....." Any other wording is not legally binding and if the school/LEA do not provide it you may find it hard to challenge. Statements can often seem good, but actually add up to very little. Some examples of words that are not legally binding are: "such as, should, may, opportunities for, access to, as necessary, when required." If any of these words are in the Statement, you need to get it worded differently.

It should also detail any staffing provision your child needs ie. TA help and how many hours that will be per week and when during the week that help will be provided ie. you want it written into her daily timetable.

It should also state which professionals will be involved, again how many hours input per term and what they will be doing.

Edited January 23, 2011 by Sally44

[bonbons]

oooh Sally! thanks for reply....now you have got me thinking!! I commented to my husband last night whilst re-reading it that i was sure i'd seen mention on here in the past about the specific wording used in SEN's, and have just double checked again and you are right...a few 'will need to's' will do's', but an awful lot of 'should's'!!!! There is also no mention of which teaching staff will be involved or how many hours 1-1 she will receive but assumed that this will be ok as the unit suggested only caters for 12 pupils and is ASD specific....naturally assume that levels of support will be high with a good ratio of teachers to pupils? Should I ask that they specify even so? will it cause huge delays by asking for these changes? What should I be asking of the unit when we visit?

Sorry for all the questions but my initial jubilation has started to turn to suspicion and I feel I need to not get too carried away with the relief of it all, and make sure this statement is solid to avoid problems in the future! Will contact parent partnerships tomorrow....they have been so helpful so far, and thanks for all of your very useful information.....and good wishes!!

 

Also, does anyone know if transport would be provided? The school is about 10 miles away from where we live and getting her there ourselves would be very difficult . She certainly wouldn't be able to manage the 2 buses she would need in order to get there herself....

Edited January 24, 2011 by bonbons

[bonbons]

after our initial enthusiasm for suggested provision in letter accompanying proposed statement, have realised that this provision is not suitable for my DD's needs. security was a big issue, both from our point of view and the schools, as she is a runner and it is not a secure building, and ironically, the day we went to view this provision, she absconded from the PRU and was found wandering alongside the dual carriageway by her taxi driver on his way to pick her up!! much of our focus too when highlighting what her needs are, was upon social skills. self esteem, and behaviour modification as opposed to academic success. We have decided to go with our initial request and push for a non maintained special school, out of area.

I know that I need to send the yellow form back advising the LEA that we don't agree with their suggested provision and some other changes we would like making to the proposed statement.....do we have to list all of these on this form? Really not sure what to fill in at this point? Do we request a meeting, or is it sufficient to contact them by telephone?

[Sally44]

Don't worry about everything fitting on the form. Mine never have!

Ideally you need someone to look over the proposed Statement for the wording.

As you are going for a special school it is not SO essential as long as the LEA agree to a special school. Have they named the school or the type of school in the Proposed Statement?

 

Have a look on the IPSEA website about the need for the Statement to be specific when the placement is a special school. I think it says something like there is not such a need, but naming a special school does not mean that nothing should be specified (as even within special schools different children get different levels of professional input). Phone IPSEA to see if they have someone who can go over the Statement. Also contact the NAS and Network 81 as well and see who can do it sooner.

 

Does the Statement currently contain details of the need for a secure environment because she absconds. Type up what happened recently when she was found at the side of a dual carriageway. Send a copy of it to the school and ask for it to be put on her school records. And include it as part of your argument for changes to the Proposed Statement.

 

I would not ONLY concentrate on certain aspects for the Statement. Education is about giving a child the skills they need to become an independent adult (or as far as that is achieveable) and that means academic, speech and language and social communication, emotional literacy, sensory issues, physical difficulties and disabilities, life skills etc. It involves everything. And none of us have an absolute clear idea of what our children will achieve. That is unknown to a certain degree. Remember that the Statement must detail EVERY need in section 2 with corresponding provision in section 3.

[Sally44]

This is a cut/paste job from Ipsea, under the "Duty to Specify" link.

 

"L v Chair Of Special Educational Needs Tribunal & Anor [1997] EWHC Admin 792

 

Sometimes, LEAs determine not to quantify or specify provision for children whose statements provide for them to attend special schools. There is nothing in law which limits the obligation to quantify and specify provision to those children not attending special schools. However, in E v London Borough of Newham and the Special Educational Needs Tribunal [2003] ELR 286, the Court of Appeal accepted that, where a child was attending a special school, a lower level of specificity may be appropriate.

 

E v Newham London Borough Council and the Special Educational Needs Tribunal [2003] EWCA Civ 09

 

EAs often seek to rely on that decision to argue generally that provision for a child at a special school should not be specified or quantified. However, the obligation still remains to specify and quantify provision, except where there are good reasons not to do so. Merely attending a special school is not a sufficient reason not to specify provision and "flexibility" must be something that the child needs. As the Court of Appeal said in a case brought by IPSEA, (R (on the application of IPSEA Ltd) v Secretary of State for Education and Skills) [2003] ELR 393): "any flexibility built into the statement must be there to meet the needs of the child, and not the needs of the system."

 

any flexibility built into the statement must be there to meet the needs of the child, and not the needs of the system

IPSEA Ltd, R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for Education and Skills [2003] EWCA Civ 7 (20 January 2003)

Another closely related issue which arose in E was whether it could be lawful for the LEA to include provision in a statement which was subject to an assessment to be undertaken at a later date. The Court indicated that generally this would not be lawful, a view also given by the High Court in C v SENT and London Borough of Greenwich [1999] ELR 5.

However, there will also be exceptions to this rule, and in some cases, particularly where the level of provision needed will not be known until a child begins at a particular school and is given an assessment, it may simply not be possible to specify provision.

C v Special Educational Needs Tribunal & Anor [1998] EWHC Admin 1029 (3 November 1998)

In those circumstances, one way of providing some protection is to set out a minimum, or an approximate, level of provision. This possibility has been raised by the High Court in a number of cases (including H v Gloucestershire County Council and Bowden [2000] ELR 357 and H v Leicestershire County Council [2000] ELR 471) and if the LEA fails to even do this then the statement may be unlawful.

H v Gloucestershire County Council and Bowden [2000] ELR 357

H v Leicestershire County Council [2000] ELR 471

 

If no minimum is specified (and it may be that in some cases it is not possible to do this), there is a risk that if the statement is left with an entirely open-ended amount of provision, then the LEA may be able to reduce the amount of provision at any time, without giving the parents a right of appeal to the Tribunal against that change. Accordingly, even where provision is for a time (and for a good reason) not specified and quantified, once it becomes possible for the LEA to specify and quantify provision, they should do so.

 

The logical approach to drafting a statement is first to define the needs (Part 2), then the provision to meet those needs (Part 3), and finally to name a school that can meet those needs (Part 4). Unless all of the provision in Part 3 is adequately specified, the right school may not be named. Accordingly, even if the school placement is the most important aspect for a child, special educational provision should still be specified in Part 3."

[Sally44]

This is a link to an article that was sent to me and which I found useful.

 

http://www.ncb.org.uk/cdc/Cemented_to_the_floor_by_law.pdf

[bonbons]

just wanted to thank you sally for all your help and advice. There is a lot of information for me to digest! I do have a guy recommended to me by parent partnerships on Tuesday who can look over the statement and accompany us to tribunal if it has to go that far. I have filled in the yellow sheet and requested a meeting with the LEA.....keep you posted.

 

Beverley

[Sally44]

That should be some help to you.

 

Remember that if in doubt you can always appeal. You have nothing to lose. If you appeal I would recommend that you do go to appeal simply because the Panel will word the Statement correctly and their decision is legally binding. So if the LEA do not fulfill the Statement you can go to Judicial Review.

 

With my previous appeal the LEA capitulated minutes into proceedings and the Panel told me that the provision my son needed would be put in place sooner if we went into a separate room and agreed the wording between the two parties instead of waiting around 10 weeks for the Panel to make a decision and for all the paperwork to be distributed. So I agreed and the LEA and I agreed the wording between us. However the wording was not specific enough in some instances and alot of provison never materialised because of that. I now wished I had insisted the Panel made their ruling because then that situation would not have arisen.

[bonbons]

just thought I would update you all. Having returned the required form stating our objections to the provision recommended by the LEA and other details contained within the proposed statement, we had a phone call today from them to let us know that following a meeting at which Daisy's case was discussed, they had decided that they agree with our objections and agree to providing a place at the special school we had asked for! No quibbles, no hassle, no tribunal! We are so pleased and so is she! She knew something was afoot when I produced a celebration cake lit with with candles!!

It's great to see the LEA put the child's needs above the public purse and I know that this has not been the experience of many of you so we consider ourselves very fortunate! Taking her to visit tomorrow. Just wanted to share our good news! :clap:http://www.wkrs.co.uk/info/dvd.htm

Edited February 15, 2011 by bonbons

[RainbowsButterflies]

:clap: :clap:

 

That's fanastic news!

Edited February 15, 2011 by RainbowsButterflies

[Sally44]

That is brilliant.