positive experiances

[KarenM]

I have only ever read negative things about people asking for statements and about people having to fight for their children . As a mam just at the begining of this . Is the LEA never happy to help children who need it . Why is money such a problem surely every one gets paid the same how ever many children they acess . I suppose it costs a lot more for 1 to 1 etc but still these people are paid to help not fight parents aren't they . Karen

[Tez]

Hi Karen,

 

It's still too early for me to give you a definitive answer on this one, since although I've got a proposed statement for A, as it stands it is currently unacceptable. What I can say is, to have got to the stage that I have is an achievement and that I only got to this position because my LEA did listen to what I had to say.

 

A falls into that category of children who are normally refused assessment. When the application was made, A was 13, almost 14, was achieving well above the standard required of his age and was on the school's gifted register, had no written history of not coping at school, apart from the last year (which the LEA initially argued was down to school phobia caused by depression and therefore a blip), was a quiet, extremely well behaved child who in may ways would have been seen as the ideal pupil.

 

When the LEA received the request for Statutory Assessment from the school and my parental advice, they phoned me and asked if I would meet with them to discuss the application, which I agreed to do. At the meeting I was told that they felt that they would probably not proceed to assess because of the reasons already stated, but that they accepted that A had difficulties which they needed to resolve. It was pointed out to me that the picture painted by the school and the picture painted by me were different, but I stood my ground and insisted that this was because the school did not know my son. They tried to talk me into a PRU, which I had already refused as unsuitable, but they also listened when I said that A had always had problems at school and that my parental advice clearly showed this. I think the matter was really judged on whether they believed me and clearly they did because they did agree to assess.

 

I am now in possession of a proposed statement and I am negotiating on placement and some changes in objectives. This is currently in limbo and I suppose the ultimate answer to your question will depend on whether the statement is amended and whether the LEA agree to pay for A's home education. I have no reason to believe that they are working against me on this, but neither have I any reason to believe that it will all turn out right. What I do know is that they did ask to speak to me instead of just dismissing A's application out of hand, and they did revise their stance when they heard what I had to say. I know that this is not the experience that many other people have had with their LEAs. I will let you know in January, when hopefully the matter will be resolved, just how helpful my LEA really are.

Edited December 9, 2005 by Tez

[Kazzen161]

The LEA have a duty to spend public money efficiently. They have to always seek out the cheapest appropriate help/placement. They are not their to give your child the BEST, they are they to give your child help appropriate to his needs. They also have a budget for their Department, so money has to be used wisely.

 

 

Obviously, their interpretation of appropriate is not always the same as ours!

 

Karen

[call me jaded]

I've never had much problem with statements, even the first one where I was woefully inexperienced and trustingly naive. I suppose my son's needs are such that not even the most cynical and hardened SEN officer could put a positive spin on them. I wonder if there's anybody else on here who didn't have problems?

[mossgrove]

We had terrible run-ins with the boys mainstream school, but the LEA have mostly been excellent with us, with appropriate special school provision for both of our boys, including shortening the time taken to process the statement so that H could start at Special school in September. We had to have two goes at getting agreement to asess for J, but I undeestand their line of reasoning for this.

 

One thing that was encouraging, and I suspect not common amongst LEAs, concerns a couple of the other parents whose children have been placed at the boys special school. This is going to sound awful, and it isn't meant to, but they are a long way from the sterotype of the articulate assertive parent that gets what they want for their child. I don't honestly belive that they had sufficient knowledge of the system to know what their children needed, or that they had the wherewithall to conduct a long fight with the LEA to get that provision. The fact that they did get expensive and appropriate special school places for their child means that the LEA must have taken a lead role in ensuring their children got the help they need, and they should be applauded for this.

 

 

Simon

Edited December 9, 2005 by mossgrove

[KarenM]

Thanks for all your interesting replies.

Karen

[Suze]

Hi Karen, we had a referral to camhs, and 6mnths later my son had a statement, this did,nt come without a fight though, and refusing the first statement offered.Our LEA on the whole have been helpful, this might change though when high school placement and funding happens next year.

[Hectorshouse]

I think the more you know about the legislation and system the better, if the LEA know they are dealing with a parent who does actually know their stuff they are much more co-operative. In both LEA's I have now lived and been dealing with SEN I have had nothing but resistance, but most of this was I knew what I was doing and before I found Krism (of course ) since then I might have the odd splat but I don't take anymore of their waffle and rarely back down.

 

Insistence, perseverance and knowledge, all help.

 

HHxx

[littlenemo]

We have had to go to tribunal twice and to the ombudsman.

The LEA have lied and broken the law several times.

After the last tribunal they went back afterwards and tried to get the tribunal to alter its decision because it stated clearly that they were not complying with the law even though it was admitted by them that the policy concerned was deliberately designed to undermine the law in the tribunal.

I have had no response to letters to the responible officer for 2 years; she has never turned up to any meeting, even those she had agreed to attend; she has never met me or my son and didn't even come for the home visit that is part of the statutory assesment; she has never been available to speak to me on the phone; she did not turn up to either tribunal and last time she did not let even the tribunal know until the day (she was on holiday); and she has never intervened on my son's behalf even when the school were blatantly breaking the law.

I am just about to put in a complaint again because she is now well over the statutory time limit for response to amedments from Com's last review.

 

getting a statement has been a nightmare, getting an appropriate school has been a nightmare, maintaining Com's support has been a nightmare, the schools have been better, on the whole, than the LEA

 

having professional knowledge of the system helps but it doesn't solve these sort of problems; I am an IPS, a teacher, an ASC specialist and I still can't get the LEA to cooperate

 

Zemanski

Edited December 10, 2005 by littlenemo

[Kathryn]

I agree with Hectorshouse, that knowledge can help parents to get what they want, but I also agree with Zemanski that there is no guarantee of this - there are so many variables. Some LEA's are more clued up and supportive than others as Simon has illustrated, and there can even be differences within the same county. as our own experience has shown. I don't think parents should ever feel inadequate if LEA's do not cooperate and listen to them, or guilty because they feel they haven't done enough to secure the best for their child.

[barefoot wend]

Kathryn

 

Thanks for your input - I genuinely needed someone to say that this week.

 

Barefoot

[bid]

Well, it depends how you look at things...

 

After 10 years and 3 attempts we finally got a really good Statement for Auriel.

 

I didn't even have any problems getting all but a couple of my amendments to the draft statement.

 

We then went through the panels for a special placement and funding with no problems at all...

 

The whole process from applying for a Statutory Assessment to starting at his special school took 6 months!

 

So I'm sure we are trotted out by our LEA as an example of 'best practice'...pity it was 10 years late!

 

We are the same LEA as Kathryn, BUT a different area team who made all the decisions

 

Watch this space to see how we do with the LSC and funding for his special college place though

 

Bid

[helenl53]

Hi Little Nemo

 

I would pay a visit to the IPSEA site and look at the letter that has been sent out to all LEA's by the Secretary of State for Education and Skills - it is quite explicit about what parts of the law should not be broken!

 

I phoned the Dfes this week and was given positive confirmation that they would look into law breaking by my LEA and into a Tribunal decision that may not be a secure decision because of the law breaking.

 

I have myself, written to Ruth Kelly asking her to investigate law breaking in my LEA.

 

Best wishes

 

HelenL

[Hectorshouse]

Yep I agree with z as well, having the required knowledge doesn't mean it will necessarily be guaranteed, but it does help. Rarely I have I met a parent and child, that has actually been through the process and come out all smiles and happy about the provision etc ...

 

I didn't mean to be flippant, I suppose I'm just battle hardened, where as two years ago it all made me now its more of a case of with a bring it on approach, with and added shovel of cynicism to boot.

 

HHxx

[KarenM]

My dd is off school while i wait to see if they will give her a statement so she can try a school near by with a as unit. She is depressed much of the time and will barely ever leave the house, she is also very clever and had good grades when she went to school (before she was bullied). So I hope they give her a statement ok.

Karen

[Zemanski]

hi Helen - I've already sent that letter to the RO

 

we complained to the DFES about 3 years ago about the law breaking, their response was to deny all responsibility and say there was no problem with the policy

 

Zemanski