Time limits?

[Sallya]

I have been given 6 weeks from the LEA to send in my parental evidence, and for all the assessments to be carried out, they will write with a decision whether or not to issue proposed statement by the 1 Sept; I thought it was 10 weeks?

S

xxx

[Hectorshouse]

Stage one (which you are at now) is 6 weeks to decide whether to assess.

Stage two if they decide to assess will take 10 weeks to decide if they are going to draw up a statement, 2 weeks to make statement.

Stage three proposed statement 8 weeks.

The whole process takes 26 weeks!

 

They can decide at the end of the 1st part of stage two not to make a statement, but the must contact parents with the reasons for their decision in writing.

 

Hope this helps, HHXX

[Sallya]

HH,

thanks, am at stage 2

they are doing the stat assessment, think they are trying to rush it before the summer holidays start, so they have knocked a month off.

[Kathryn]

Hi Sallyanne,

 

I was also given a six week deadline for the actual assessment period and sending in of reports. Towards the end of this period I had to keep phoning my named LEA officer to check what they had received and which reports were outstanding. I think it's a good idea to breathe down their necks. I found out just before the deadline that social services hadn't sent in a report. When I phoned to ask where it was it turned out they had no record of receiving a request - good thing I checked.

 

Good luck with all the assessments

 

K

[Sallya]

Thanks, Kathryn.

x

[helenl53]

I am nearly a year down the road and it is going to Tribunal.

 

But - hey - I will be an expert by the time I am finished!

 

Best wishes

 

HelenL

[Lesley]

We asked for our son to be assessed last Dec (04)

Tribunal date on 3rd attempt heading into Nov (05)

I am told there is no deadline for setting the tribunal date?

We registered with tribunal on 12 May - surely they're taking the p**s?

[Hectorshouse]

Just picked up a point that Kathryn made, about social services ... we have a SW although she can be pretty damn ellusive at times, and I don't think that she has been included in the reports phase of T's statement (draft coming saturday a.m!) ... is the involvement of SServices in the statementing process necessary and important ?

 

HHxx

[Zemanski]

the social worker is not necessary

 

but

 

if you have a good one they can be very useful

 

a bad one is next to useless and can end up holding you back though

 

Zemanski

[Kathryn]

As far as I know, LEA's routinely write to SS to request information during the statutory assessment process. SS don't have to respond if they have had no involvement with the child.

 

In our case we requested an assessment by SS as we were desperate to try and get some support for my daughter at home. This turned out to be a useful move as the report subsequently formed part of the statutory assessment.

 

Whether they are necessary depends what you want, I suppose. We are looking for a placement which provides 24 hour care so my daughter's non eductional needs are important and the placement may eventually be partly funded by SS.

 

I'm sure social workers themselves vary greatly - we have had a bit of luck with ours - he is a self confessed "Star Wars nerd" and has therefore won my daughter's trust and respect - no mean feat as she can be really horrible to professionals she doesn't like!