Accompanying letter to Final Statement

[fiorelli]

it is what the LEA sent with the Final Statement. Bits of it don't seem right to me...

 

 

I refer to my recent letter enclosing a copy of the proposed statement of special educational needs. Thank you for your letter highlighting issues that were raised for you when receiving the proposed statement. You will see that the difficulties that Louis has in relation to speech and language have been incorporated in part 2 and provision has been made for this in part 3 as you suggested.

 

The document that clarifies the programme, activities and support that Louis will receive in school, listed in part 3, is the Individual Education Plan (IEP).The Statement of Special Educational Needs outlines the provision that the LEA are asking the school to provide. The school take the objectives in part 3 and form an IEP which is a teaching plan. This is done in consultation with you and the key people that will be involved with Louis. I enclose a copy of the Individual Education Plan leaflet to further explain this.

 

We note your views and request for an alternative school. However W******** School feel that they can meet Louis? Special Educational Needs and we believe it to be an appropriate placement. We would encourage you to visit and discuss your concerns with Mr F***, Headteacher.

 

I now enclose a signed copy of the final statement giving full details of your child?s special educational needs and of the educational provision to be made.

 

Arrangements will be made for Louis?s statement of special educational needs to be reviewed annually. This is to ensure that the provision continues to meet his needs and the school placement remains appropriate. You will be involved in the review and invited to make your own contribution.

 

I confirm that I am your ?named officer? in the Local Education Authority.

 

 

Your child?s headteacher will, of course, continue to provide specific information about Louis?s work and progress at school.

 

There is also a bit on the bottom about appeal and Disagreement resolution.

[Flora]

fiorelli..... you must feel as if you've been ran over by a steam roller. They have just bull dozed over your concerns about the school placement and left you with no place to go other than tribunal. <'>

 

Lauren <'>

[fiorelli]

and to add to it, I can't get hold of IPSEA - it keeps going to their answerphone, asking to leave name and number (which I have).

 

I've started writing a letter to the LEA though, which hopefully, I'll be able to get IPSEA's opinion on.

[helenl53]

NO NO NO NO NO - needs and provision should not be detailed on an IEP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

ALL the child's special educational needs should be shown at part 2 and provision to meet them at part three.

 

There should be FULL SPECIFICITY AND QUANTIFICATION AT PARTS TWO AND THREE. This should NOT be delegated.

 

Contact NAS, ACE or IPSEA on this matter as it sounds like you are going to get shafted with an illegal statement. It may be that if the statement was written comprehensively an legally, that the school they have chosen could not meet your child's needs.

 

Please please take advice on this from one of the organisations.

 

Best wishes

 

HelenL

[fiorelli]

Can I ask a REALLY BIG favour??

 

Can someone who knows how Statements be set out/written look over Louis's Statement and let me know what you think? I have scanned it into computer (along with the letter that I have quoted above), and it is on a Word Document.

 

My gut instinct is telling me that it is totally wrong, not written correctly etc, but as I've never seen a Statement before I don't know for sure, and don't know what I should be looking for. and at this moment in time, I can't get hold of IPSEA to help.

[LKS]

Hi fiorelli. Don't like the sound of this. I think you should draw your named officer's attention to the letter sent out by the Dfes in November here is a part of it

 

 

Specifying provision in statements

Authorities will know and understand the legislative background and the Court of Appeal judgment in the case of The Queen (on the application of IPSEA Ltd) and the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (enclosed for ease of reference). But it appears that some authorities are operating blanket policies of never quantifying educational provision for particular groups of children, types of need or particular types of placement.

In some cases, authorities set out the child's special educational needs in detail in Part 2 of their statement but leave provision open to the school to determine completely or in terms of options, for example a particular number of hours support from a support assistant or a pro rata amount of time from a support teacher or some equipment, without specifying the provision to meet children's individual needs. Other authorities refer solely to a particular band of funding from their local system of calculating funding or a sum of money and do not always specify clearly the provision it is meant to fund.

In our view, any local authority policy which prohibits, deters or even discourages its officers from specifying educational provision clearly and in detail and/or from quantifying educational provision for particular groups of children is likely to result in breaches of:

? section 324(2) and (3) of the Education Act 1996, which provide that the statement must contain such information as may be prescribed and must specify the educational provision to be made for the purpose of meeting the needs identified in the statement;

? regulation 16( of the Education (Special Educational Needs) (England) (Consolidation) Regulations 2001, which provides that the statement must contain the information specified in Schedule 2 to those Regulations, which requires educational provision to be specified in terms of "any appropriate facilities, equipment, staffing arrangements and curriculum..."); and

? section 313(2) of the Act, which imposes a duty on LEAs to have regard to the provisions of the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice (2001), paragraphs 8.36 and 8.37 of which make clear that statements should specify the special educational provision necessary to meet the needs of the child, detail appropriate provision to meet each identified need and normally quantify the provision.

In view of the recent cases we have had, I should be grateful if you would consider again the terms of the judgement referred to above, in particular paragraphs 14, 15 and 17 in which Lady Justice Hale notes that:

"...the statement clearly has to spell out the provision appropriate to meet the particular needs of, and objectives identified for, the individual child" (paragraph 14); and

".., any flexibility built into the statement must be there to meet the needs of the child and not the needs of the system." (paragraph 15)

"It remains the case that vague statements, which do not specify provision appropriate to the identified special needs of the child, will not comply with the law." (paragraph

Hope some of this helps

[fiorelli]

Ah! - Thank you - I was looking for that! (to go in the letter I'm writing) I've found the CoP bits about specifying, quantifying and qualifying, and have referred them to that - but that letter is very useful to put in as well.

 

Cheers LKS!

[fiorelli]

My letter is now 6 pages long and counting....

 

I've a feeling they are gonna recieve it, open it, and bin it...

[fiorelli]

I'm stuck

 

In the letter I'm writing, I have put...

 

You also go on to say that ?the document that clarifies the programme, activities and support that Louis will receive in school, listed in part 3, is the Individual Education Plan (IEP). The Statement of Special Educational Needs outlines the provision that the LEA are asking the school to provide. The school take the objectives in Part 3 and form an IEP which is a teaching plan.? At this point, please can I refer you to the following part of the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice:

 

8:35 The Education (Special Educational Needs) (England) (Consolidation) Regulations 2001 say that a statement must specify:

 

(a) any appropriate facilities and equipment, staffing arrangements and curriculum

( any appropriate modifications to the application................

 

Please can I also refer you to the letter written by Ian Coates, Head of Special Educational Needs and Disability Division, to all Chief Education Officers/Directors of Children's Services on 15 November 2005. In this letter, he says that:

 

?Specifying provision in statements

Authorities will know and understand the legislative background and the Court of Appeal judgment in the case of The Queen (on the application of IPSEA Ltd) an.....................

 

With the above in mind, we believe that the final Statement that you have sent is in.......

 

This is where I am stuck - can't think of the word I want to write here - any suggestions?

 

sorry for being a pain

[lorryw]

Hi,

How about contravention,

Good luck,

Loraine

[jen]

If the statement has been finalised than the only action you can take is to go to tribunal. By going to tribunal the LEA will have to review your childs needs and he/she will have to be reviewed by the Educational Psy. Some LEA will settle before going to tribunal but at least you will get a fair trial.

 

All the LEA will do with your letter will be read it and file it.

Jen

[Kazzen161]

Make sure you send it by recorded delivery. One of my letters got "lost in the post".

 

Karen