Phone call to say my son was turned down for SA :0(

[brandy77]

I should have guessed they would as ive read on here its a struggle to get the assessment. Teacher even thought he would be assessed and has already said she cant provide support even though he needs it.

Il be getting the letter with reasons why in a few days, then i spose its the tribunal route.

Cahms are useless and think i wont bother even ringing them now! Sick of hearing her judgemental comments, why do they always assume its parenting, even when its a child with medical problems!

annoyed that the process will take even longer now and my son will further behind

[brandy77]

thanks electra, il wait for their report to come, hoping before xmas! then start the tribunal after i see what theyve written. xx

[brandy77]

Well Ive had a phone call of the LA to give the reason for no assessment, apparently my son is making slow but steady progress (mmm this is different to what the teacher says!) and that as his problems are based around medical needs they are not covered for an assessment! mmm after reading the code of practice me thinks that a load of old tosh too! just slightly hacked off

[wendihouse22]

Hmmm..... there's a few threads about this at the moment.

LA don't want to "do" Statements. Very expensive and give the parents rights. Dangerous for them.

I pushed for a Statement and got one 2nd attempt and it has helped enormously.

Can't provide the support even though it's needed? Not good enough!

Appeal. Keep trying.

[Agnesdipesto]

They will likely back down if you put the appeal in. Its a tactic to delay and show their bosses they are trying to save money / cut numbers of statements. Very unlikely they will go to tribunal if they don't have the school on board. However your school should expect some pressure may possibly be applied to get them into line. Get anything you can from the school in writing even if its only you writing up a note that says 'just to confirm our discussion yesterday when you stated my child is not making adequate progress etc etc' so you have some documents on file as people have a habit of retracting oral conversations.

[brandy77]

thankyou.

agnesdipesto, I spoke to the teacher yesterday as i had an awful week with camhs, hospitals, LA decision. My sons class teacher is also the senco and i rang and told her that i felt only she was trying to understand about my sons needs and how they affect him physically and emotionally. Until he starts on the growth hormone injections his energy is low so Senco said on his bad days, to bring him in at 10.40 after break ,if possible, and on good days we both know he will do a full day. She also said she knows he needs assessing and will help me in getting that done so i spose thats good she will support me if i appeal against the decision.xx

[brandy77]

so just comments in the contact book are ok then?

[chocolatespread]

Our DS was refused SA. We duly tried again and this time got a full 30 hour statement. I don't have wonderful words of wisdom other than that initial refusal doesn't appear to be an indicator of the statement you'll end up with. Slim comfort, I know, as you're facing going through it all again - but you can get a good statement after a refusal. It's so awful how LEAs trifle with us, when we know the turmoil it's causing our children.

[OverflowingMum]

brandy Hang in there. It is such a dissappointment to get that decision isn't it. We have also just been turned down for SA too. We are appealing.
I would say try and get the letter from the LEA with their reasons ASAP then that gives you a starting point. You may find that they have quoted random bit if The Special Educational Needs Code of Practice that it thinks supports its reasons - dont stress about this as it is just as easy to find other bits of SENCOP that support your point of view.
I would ask the school to provide you with copies of all the evidence they supplied if you dont get sent that or haven't seen that already. Then go through it and see if there is anything more you think they could have added. My DDs school did a crap job of supplying evidence, which I didnt know till afterwards - but I have now asked for everything I need from HT in wrtiting.
Do you/the shcool have specific ideas about what your DS needs? If so go through what you think he needs and confirm what the school can provide and then you will see exactly what is beyond what they can provide. Ask the school to put this in writing.
To say medical needs are not covered by an assessment is really a meaningless comment. Medical issues THEMSELVES may not be, but ANYTHING which impacts a child's education IS - and therefor if your DS medical problems are impacting on his education then that IS relevant and needs to be considered.
Do you have any other agencies involved? Ed Psych? Supportive Paed? OT? SLT? If so reports from them may be helpful if not already supplied.
Once you have gathered som ecounter arguments a meeting with LEA officer may help. I met with LEA bloke in the week, to clarify a few points, but made sure I put some of my arguments across to him and dropped in a few key quotes from SENCOP to let him know I meant business - I think he went away scared!
Also agree with follow EVERYTHING up in writing. After my meeting with LEA I wrote a letter to summarise the meeting and sent copy to LEA officer, other LEA involved and Head Teacher so that it is documented and everyone knows what was discussed.
If you havent already seen it lots of good info here

Good luck , and dont give up. It is so frustrating watching your child waste more and more time and get more and more behind - but you can do this !

[brandy77]

thankyou overflowingmum,So how do you get an ed psych involved, dont they do the assessment that hes been turned down for? SLT he saw 2 years ago and she said hes egocentric and that was it, What is OT? occupational therapy? I presume this is through the GP's. Sorry loads questions. Ive just started another thread after a truly awful day today

[OverflowingMum]

brandy yes, OT is an occupational therapist. My dd saw one as part of her assessment, was recently re-referred, but turned down as we live in wrong area (long story)but if your ds hasnt already seen one maybe GP may be a good starting point?
SLT have also not been much help with DD either - have discharged her saying she was within normal limits hmmmm

I would ask the school to ask for an Ed Psych assessment. My DD hasn't had one yet. I too thought that would come as part of the SA, but apparently it would be normal pracitice for a child to have ALREADY had an Ed Psych assessment BEFORE referral for an SA ( well according to my LEA anyway) I think in my case the school have been a bit useless in not already asking Ed Psych to see dd, but I have now asked for her to be referred and am hoping she will be seen in Jan...

Sorry to hear you've had an awful day . Will go read your other thread.

[brandy77]

thanks overflowing mum, oh thats good to hear that an ed pysche assessment may be arranged through the school. His teacher is the senco and i phoned her in tears the other day after the last camhs call and told her i felt she was the only person listening to me. I told her he had been turned down for the assessment and she promised me that she would get him assessed. I asked her if she thought my son was different to other children, behaviourwise, she said he is very quiet and speaks very serious and maturely. She said she had always put his mature speach down to being around doctors but perhaps she had got it wrong.

I hope your daughter gets seen in January. Ive heard it is a battle to get support for your children,hope our constant nagging will get us somewhere