Meeting with SEN Officer and Head

[Tensing]

Meeting with SEN Officer and Head ? Advice Please.

 

I applied for Statutory Assessment for Henry back in June, and was refused, no great surprise, Had a meeting in July to find out why ended up with me in tears (evil nasty SEN officer). Anyway I have had advice from NAS and IPSEA and lodged my appeal. Also contacted regional mediation service, who said they would get in touch with school and LEA to see if they were open to mediation. Got a phone call Monday while I was at the hospital asking me to attend a meeting Tuesday at 11am, so phoned her and said no way to short notice, managed to put her off till tomorrow.

 

So Thursday I have a meeting with the SEN officer from local LEA and Sons Head teacher, so they can discuss school action and school action plus with me, and how they can help Henry without it going to Regional mediation.

 

Any advice would be great, really don?t know what to expect, or ask.

[Zemanski]

contact parent partnership, Ipsea and the NAS - get someone to go with you

 

if you can't get someone from them take someone who has some knowledge of SEN (another parent, local support group person ...)

 

failing that take a friend, the vicar, your next door neighbour - anyone for moral support and to take minutes if possible

 

write a statement about your concerns and your child's needs - you can refer to this or give out copies, you could use the one you wrote when you asked for assessment but it might be worth just adding a bit of an update

 

also make a list of points you want to make and questions to ask

 

the point of the meeting is probably to persuade you that SA+ is sufficient.

 

Insist they outline exactly what provision they will put in place at SA+

 

negotiate more if you can

 

then ask for them to put it in writing to you so that you can consider it before giving an answer (unless of course it is so paltry that you have to say no there and then)

 

then go through it with Ipsea, NAS and PP - take all the advice you can get before agreeing to anything

 

hope that helps

 

Zemanski

[Tensing]

I have spoken with a lady from NAS who has helped me with my appeal, I'm going to phone the IPSEA Chap tonight. Parent Partnership unfornatly were not so helpful, and told me not to bother with appealing as they thought the school could cope just fine.

[Zemanski]

when an LEA says that they can meet a child's needs on SA+ they sometimes produce a note in lieu instead

 

if you were given a note in lieu then it should outline provision for your child in the same way as a statement.

If this was the case then PP will probably tell you that a tribunal will probably not uphold an appeal until you have given them a chance to see if the note in lieu works.

 

when I said to make them send you details of the provision proposed at this meeting in writing I was thinking this might give effectively give you a note in lieu.

 

If the letter is adequate to meet your child's needs - it may actually be as good as a statement, one note I saw was very detailed and more specific than a lot of statements I've seen - then if it is actually put in place (there is no actual legal requirement as there is with a statement but any tribunal will look very critically at an LEA that doesn't stick to it) it may meet your child's needs without you needing to go further

 

(note: this is what should happen at SA+ but is actually pretty rare, SA+ should be able to meet almost all needs but usually isn't either resourced or used effectively enough to do so at the moment)

 

I am not encouraging you to accept something that isn't good enough but if the letter/note is good enough then if you don't try it out then PP are probably right - a tribunal will ask why not? (- if your reasons are good enough that shouldn't matter though)

You need to know what the LEA are offering instead of the statement and then take advice - if they are offering cr*p than go right ahead and appeal now but if they are offering something which could be enough then it might be worth a try.

 

If it doesn't work then you will have the evidence that SA+ doesn't work for your child or that the LEA/school are not actually doing what they promised. This will set you back a few months but it doesn't alter your right to request an assessment 6 months after this refusal (I think it's 6 months) and you will have an even better case next time around.

 

In some ways you are in a pretty strong position to ask for provision - they know you want an assessment which will probably show that at the very least your child needs a note in lieu so they may actually offer you quite a bit of provision to stop you going down the expensive tribunal route and you may have more of a say on what exactly that provision consists of - when the statement/note goes to the moderating committee here to be drawn up you are not there to say what you think and the results are often very vague, in this meeting you can say exactly what you think of each offer and get them to adjust it (within reason) there and then - ie when they say 50% LSA cover you can insist on specific 1-1, or more hours, or lunch and break cover too, or specify which lessons he needs the cover in .......

 

once you have that letter you actually have a list of things the LEA have agreed your child needs - this could be all you need or it could be just the evidence you need to convince a tribunal when the LEA fail to put it all in place or it could be so poor that it is obvious to a tribunal that your child needs that assessment

 

I'm afraid these are all mays and might bes - I have just been looking at a note in lieu with someone and it is a really difficult position to advise on. LEAs didn't used to do this, even though it has been an option for quite some time, but they now have quotas to reduce statements so they seem to be taking up this sort of option more often and it does seem difficult to get round.

 

PS. probably not a good idea to talk about a note in lieu or they may refuse to cooperate - you have to have the assessment to get one of those and they obviously don't want to do that, if you go through assessment formally you don't want to put the idea of a note in their heads when you could get a proper statement

 

good luck

 

Zemanski

[Zemanski]

Edited September 14, 2005 by Zemanski

[Suze]

Good luck for tomorrow <'> Caroline

[phasmid]

A few thoughts;

 

Have paper and pen with oyu and ask if they are happy for you to record the meeting (they should be doing this anyway) and when they agree whip out a dictaphone if you can get one and swicth it on - better still have it turned on just as you go in and have them recorded giving their ok to recording the meeting. If they object tell them that is your prefered means of accessing the record of the meeting. If they really do object big time then write it out as you go. Do not let them rush you writing it out.

 

Make them explain any terms they use - if they slip into 'Eduspeak' (SENs and TA's, NQTs and IEPs etc) .

 

Agree to nothing, ask for it in writing.

 

Have a list written out for your reference to make sure you cover all YOUR points - again, don't let them rush you. 2 tatctics are favourites "I have another meeting in 'X' minutes" at the start of your meeting - tough! They'll have to wait then. OR...someone comes in with an 'important message' and they have to leave. My responses? To the first 'Oh well. We had better rearrange this for a more convienent time (allows YOU to get someone to be there with you) then'. To the second...'That's ok I'll wait!'

 

Do not let them dictate things, if you have something to say ask them to listen. If they refuse - record it - let them see what you're writting.

 

Take any evidence you have with you. NOT the originals, give them photocopies.

 

Ask for copies of anything they bring.

 

 

All a bit random (put down as they popped into my head) but hope they help a bit. Good luck. Just stick up for yourself.

[Zemanski]

another PS.

 

you can go ahead with the appeal anyway, only stop when the LEA have shown that they are going to meet your child's needs by actually doing it.

 

if they know you are still appealing they might feel some pressure to do the right thing.

 

also bear in mind that LEAs can use delaying tactics to make you run out of time - don't let them not getting it together to get that letter to you make you miss your deadline for appealing.

 

you can withdraw your appeal at any time with no consequences right up to the day of the tribunal but if you withdraw and things don't work out you have to start that process again too.

 

 

<'>

 

Zemanski

[Tensing]

Okay had my meeting, Ended up with the lEA witch sat next to me, so atleast I didn't have to look at her. His Class teacher was there so she went through all the things she has in place, with the head backing her up. I agreed that it was great to see that they were finally doing something. Then the LEA Witch said, "now I know you contacted regional mediation during the holidays, do we still need to go down that road?" She was smilling at this point, until I answered "Well thats up to you really, I have lodged my appeal and will not be withdrawing it as I still believe Henry needs an assessment, so that school and the lEA can really get to know what he needs" Her face was a picture. "You've lodged an appeal, actually lodged it." She said, and then sat scribbling some notes while I carried on speaking about what I wanted, then she said "Can I ask when did you lodge it, you did say you HAD lodged it." "Oh yes I responded, last Friday, have the anknoledgement slip here if you want to see it." She shut up then.

[annie]

Hi Tensing,

 

You should feel proud of yourself for a job well done

 

It's such a great feeling isn't it to let them THINK that they have the upper hand, then moments later bring them down a peg or two

 

I would loved to have been there.

 

Annie

<'>

[Zemanski]

I wonder what she was writing - 'Oh, Sh*t, we got one that knows her rights and our procedures!!!!!'

 

a little pressure can work wonders (especially if applied to the back of the head with a frying pan says Nemo )

 

well done

 

Zemanski

[CarerQuie]

Good on you.Bet you wiped the smile off HER face!!!xx

[Suze]

..................you can have a good behaviour sticker, well done you!