does the gov support parents with SEN children?

[Emma21]

Hi guys,

I am currently in the middle of writing up the completed questionnaires that you all filled in and I have just had a bit of a brainwave. Would you be able to comment on the following quote???

The gov believes that ....."Parents must be empowered to work with the school and local services to ensure that their child's needs are properly identified and met from the word go."

 

"The prospects of this are greatly improved where there is good practice such as:

responding promptly to parents' questions, in face-to-face meetings wherever possible;

actively seeking, and responding to, feedback from parents; and

ensuring that, where necessary, parents are encouraged to make direct contact with the LEA officers dealing with their child's case. "

 

 

DO YOU AGREE THAT THE GOVERNMENT IS SUPPORTING PARENTS WITH SEN CHILDREN????

If you would like to make any comments then I would really appreciate it!

 

Thanks,

Emma

[jen]

Emma you need to turn the question around.

 

 

What happens to the schools that make it difficult for special needs children and therefore does not include them.

 

Why are LEA's allowed to adapt goverment policy to the benefit of themselves.

 

 

What happens to LEA and schools who discriminate against special needs children.

 

Why are LEA's allowed to provide a second class service to the children they are supposed to serve

 

 

NOTHING HAPPENS

 

Jen

[annie]

Hi Emma,

 

In answer to your question - definately not.

 

If the Government are supporting us, then I would like to know -

 

 

Why are parents left on their own to police their SEN children's education?

 

Why aren't schools/LEA's made accountable for their wrong-doings?

 

Why are so many parents of SEN children on anti-depressants?

[jb1964]

Is the government supporting us as parents of a 12yr daughter only recently diagnosed with AS who attends mainstream school.

 

I can only go by my own experience (although from what I've read on these forums most people have little support at all).

 

School - some support (but definitely not enough) and only because of continued efforts by us - and up until recently continually badgered about her absentee record - with usual threats of fines etc.

 

NHS - no support or service for parents at all (or children once diagnosed).

 

Jb

[Kathryn]

No!

 

- There appears to be very little joined up thinking between education and health services to ensure a swift and accurate dx, so that children can get the help they need - preferably BEFORE they start being excluded, self harming or forced to take antidepressants to prop them up. In my daughter's case, when she had a breakdown and had to leave school, there was a three way blame game going on between the LEA, social services and health, each waiting for the other to do something constructive, for nearly two years - with predictable results.

 

- The educational powers pay lip service to parental inclusion in the SEN process. Parental contributions to the statutory assessment process carry little weight because " it's the educational needs that are being assessed and parents can only report on what is happening at home" this is what an LEA official told me.

 

- In my experience, assessment and statementing panels are held in private, consist of people drawn from within the LEA and are accountable to no one. Parents are not allowed to know who is sitting on the panel or their profession, and there are no independent observers, let alone anyone representing the parents' or child's interests. Decisions are made according to criteria which are not made explicit to parents before they embark on the process. "The panels are fair because we tell you they are" - (same LEA official). The SEN Code of Practice says that the whole decision making process should be transparent - it clearly isn't.

 

- Parent partnership services are supposed to provide a bridge between parents and the LEA but they are mostly ineffectual. If they are employed by the LEA they are hardly impartial: I didn't feel I could trust mine to give useful advice.

 

- In my 18 months of dealing with the LEA, during statutory assessment and statementing, not once did they initiate a phone call to us to explain anything or keep us informed. The tone was set from the very beginning, when I phoned up to ask about statementing, an LEA official tried to dismiss me in a very loud and intimidating manner. The LEA officer dealing with our case, far from seeing us as equal partners in the process, acted as though parents were a rather bad smell under her nose. She was frequently unavailable and not very forthcoming when we did get hold of her.

 

I could go on... but I'll get off my soap box now!

 

Kathryn

[col]

NO

My daughter's old unit is under fear of closure due to the fact that LEA'S have made it harder for children to be assessed and have stopped referring children with severe language disorders out of borough to her unit.

 

The plight of the unit was even in the daily Telegraph newspaper health section.

 

The hospital that assessed both my girls with verbal dyspraxia is unable to see my son as my local PCT is unable to refer him due to potential costs!!

[redberry]

No absolutely NOT.

I feel abandoned and with out support.

 

redberry

[Emma21]

Thanks to all of you who have given me some feedback. I have known for a long time that there is limited (if any) support available from the government. I felt it was necessary to back up the research I have collected so far with REAL accounts.

 

Thanks again,

Emma

[Mother in Need]

No, NO and again: NO

 

The support we've had is only lipservice, and cost me more time, energy and stress to obtain than what we got out of it. School has been obstructive in many ways. The only reason his re-integration seems to be working is because of the individual LSA who is extremely good. BUT she has been taken away from another child with AS to cover my son, and now that child is left to flounder with less support and untrained LSAs. I have lost my business due to all the non-action and non-help, my other children are now having to see a psychiatrist due to the stresses on them, social services has still not done anything at all despite a whole year of requests etc, respite does not exist, there is no suitable childcare at all (even the NAS couldn't find me anyone when I tried to do a one-day course with them), etc etc etc.

 

If all those professionals only did what they were supposed to do, and without us having to fight for every little thing, our lives would be so much improved. Ditto for school following the Code of Practice and even for following normal courtesy (like keeping parents informed and answering letters).

 

Empowered? Strongly discouraged is my experience. Listened to? No way.

 

Parents are seen as troublemakers who don't know their own children, and my views have certainly not been welcome (not that that has stopped me ). "Let us as professionals do our job" is what has been thrown at me too many times.

[CarerQuie]

No.They see themselves as the professionals and us as,at best,an amateur nuisance.xx

[PinkSapphireAngel]

For a start just because the government gives our LEAs guidelines on "good practice" it does not mean they are actually paying any attention at all to them.

 

If you do contact your LEA they either do not have a clue or pass the buck telling you to deal directly with the school and infact they often go behind parents backs as if we do not matter and talk to the school rather than to us as parents!

 

When you do question something said or done (more likely NOT done) by an LEA officer they cannot take it and are rude and unhelpful in many cases and how are parents supposed to trust people like that to ever put their childrens needs above everything!

 

There should be consequences when LEAs do this!

 

So NO the LEA/governments are NOT caring for parents, how can they when they do not even really care for the children??

[Canopus]

Of course the government doesn't give a damn and never has done. A selection of public services are offered by the government and if the service you want isn't offered then the attitude of the government is bog off.

[jomica]

No!

 

There is no joined up thinking between government, LEAs and NHS. You fight hard for everything you get and it is eventually given with bad grace.

 

You are made to feel stupid, overprotective and certainly are seen to have little or no knowledge of ASDs (and sometimes not even of our children!!). They provide us with ASD support services who like to put children into categories - "oh, he's high functioning - here, have this very prescriptive one size fits all approach to how his education should be organised". "It doesn't work? Well, he can't be autistic then, can he?"

 

You're patronised - one ASD specialist teacher said to me "he's like a puppy dog - he just needs to be trained". I'll never forget those words, nor forgive her.

 

No, no, no, no, no! Parents of SEN children get no support from anyone but themselves.

 

Thank goodness for you all for being here and being so understanding. <'>

Edited March 24, 2006 by jomica

[annie]

You've just reminded me Jomica. At one LEA/school review meeting we had, the SENCO came out with a classic -

 

'All he needs is a kick up the bum'

 

Strangely, the comment was left out of the minutes of the meeting .

[nellie]

As a parental supporter I have to say

 

NO

 

Nellie xx

 

(Apologies for shouting).

[helenl53]

I'm with Nellie and everyone else

 

As a parent and a parent supporter

 

 

 

A BIG FAT NO!

[oracle]

When Autism-in-Mind were meeting with the DFES and Lord Filkin a Government Minister we were told that it is up to parents to Police their LEA's - now does that sound like the Government are supporting parents who have children with SEN to you?

 

Also Dr Stephen Ladyman - who was at the time Minister for Community Care actually made a statement to the press stating this - parents must Police their LEA's to ensure that they are sticking to the law.

 

Should it really be the job of people who are stressed and stretched to the limits to ensure that their LEA is sticking to the law? In my personal opinion the Government is supporting Local Authorities and aiding and abetting the breaking of the law.

 

Support for us is NIL

 

Carole

[Canopus]

In my personal opinion the Government is supporting Local Authorities and aiding and abetting the breaking of the law.

 

Local government is an outpost of central government and acts as robots to the interests of the Cabinet.

[Mother in Need]

the SENCO came out with a classic -

 

'All he needs is a kick up the bum'

When I mentioned to the SENCO that he also has ODD she just laughed and said 'well, that describes 40% of the children in this school'.

Edited March 24, 2006 by Mother in Need

[annie]

Comments like that just about sum up why we are worried about lack of support and understanding for our children

[helenl53]

I was at a school this week with a mum whose boy is in bits - the senco bloke claimed that the child was not crapping himself - someone would have smelt it - he was kept in at lunch and breaks to do his work because - he knows very well what he has to do - he is just lazy and that in his opinion, mum was complaining purely because he felt she had issues with the class teacher!!!

 

I stepped in and was very polite and asked him what the teacher was doing to help with his inclusion such as differentiating, bearing in mind he had a disability - what disability would that be, asked the SENCO - ASD SHOUTED me - oh that, he said and turned away from me. Does he have an IEP asked me - I don't know said the SENCO, I would have to ask the teacher!

 

I still feel like I dreamed this!!

 

And if we are talking about Stephen Ladyman, as Carole said, he told us we had to police the LEA's and bash down their doors to tell them that we wanted the standards set in the ASD's 'Good Practice Guidance' - well I tried this over a year ago with our lea - to date - zilch response and absolute contempt for the Guidance and parents.

 

 

HelenL

[annie]

Helen, is there a place where they create these people? No Brain Island or something .

 

I know we DO try and police our LEA's, mainly because we have no choice. The powers that be must under the illusion that we've got nothing better to do with our lives. Perhaps if we were issued with bugging devices and hidden microphones, James Bond style and LEA's were made accountable we just might have a bit more faith eh?

 

Chip, chip

[PinkSapphireAngel]

Spot on Annie, I am absolutely livid these people are allowed to continue in their jobs, having contact and the right to make decisions about such vulnerable children.

I feel I have to do something, although I know at the moment its best if I wait for the tribunals decision first then I intend going all out to get you know who at the LEA in anyway I can, through her boss, the MP, press, government anyone I can get to listen!

[Emma21]

Hi everyone,

Another question I would like to ask is do you believe you have any choice in the school that you send your child to? The government seems to think that parents of SEN children do but I don't believe a lot of parents have any choice at all. What do you all think???

[PinkSapphireAngel]

Well we are currenty having this argument with our lovely LEA

my ASD son is due to transfer to secondary school this year (he is NOT statemented as they refused an assessment and we went to SENDIST last week over it)

the ONLY school we were offered was the one we did NOT list as preference and also its a school his current primary and the LEAs own ASD specialist outreach woman say is totally inappropriate for him (its all boys for one thing and on special measures for over 4 years)

 

At SENDIST they picked up on the LEA not helping us with this, I wrote to the LEA refusing the place and they just told me to get him a place at another school myself or home school (I had said in my letter I would home school L till a place came up on our first choice school) or they would pass on our details to the EWO!!

[oracle]

Our LEA say that parents can state a preference - that is not the same as physically having choice though is it?

 

Carole

[helenl53]

Do we have a choice of school - YES!

 

 

Mainstream or no school at all!!

 

Because provision is pretty poor, when you do choose, it is normally the best you could hope for and totally inadequate and inappropriate.

[Canopus]

I'm interested to know your stance regarding higher education. Most parents have kids at school but do they plan to go on to HE? There have been a few gripes about problems and SEN provision in HE, with an emphasis on few because most parents haven't reached the stage where they are dealing with HE institutions.

 

If you think you are having problems now then I can tell you they will get worse in HE institutions. This is because they are not as well geared to dealing with SEN as mainstream schools and get naff all support from the government.

[annie]

Hi Emma,

 

I would say no.

 

The Government are so far removed from the reality of of all things SEN, To be honest, the way they keep dishing out ridiculous statements is an insult to many of us that have found that the truth is the total opposite.

 

Annie

[phasmid]

Helen, if that is the senco I assume it is I'm surprised they didn't ask you what an IEP is never mind saying he'd have to ask the teacher!