help! LA want a meeting with us - refusal to assess appeal

[bjkmummy]

response by the LA due to tribunal next Thursday. LA have yet to take my daughters views. daughter has been made to re do some work for some mystery person and her work copied for us to find out its for the SEN officer.

Today we received a phone call from the SEN officer inviting us to a meeting at the school with her and the head teacher on weds.

Now I know this meeting will be to 'sound' us out - been here before so I am prepared for that and am not going to give anything away. I am purely attending so it shows that I have co operated fully and have been reasonable. I have emailed and asked what the meeting is about - they are sending me a letter apparently.

I know that the meeting will be an ambush to try and persuade us that she is making lots of good progress.

omg - I have just had the head of SEN at my front door and handed me a bundle of paperwork I had asked for including the sen panel meeting minutes!

anyway now after quickly going through the paperwork I have also seen what the school have wrote! they have put her 3 and half years behind, agree she is causing them concern etc.

anuway back to the meeting - how do I play it ? ive lost my train of thought now as the SEN boss at my door totally freaked me out!

[StarlightMcKingsThree]

I'm so sorry and will try and help in a bit but ROFL at Head of SEN as personal Courier.......

[StarlightMcKingsThree]

Normally I woukd say refuse stupid meeting as too short notice and no time to receive agenda and consider but it does look to me like they will concede tbh.

[StarlightMcKingsThree]

But keep QUIET except for broken record except for:

Dd is not making adequate progress, her needs are complex, she requires a full SA. No, not a vague EHCP bolloxy thing thanks, a SA under the current law. Ta muchly.

[KOKOagainandagain]

Don't want to be overly pessimistic but I don't think they will concede. It seems like there are at least 3 different refusal letters. One with invitation to apply for top up funding. One with a meeting with lea staff. One straight refusal.

You have moved up to level 2 but you already know that evidence that all is well has been collected. Use the meeting to agree wave 3 intervention for dyslexia with progress data (standardised testing) at the beginning and end - intervention is for one term so this is possible whilst waiting for tribunal hearing. Don't talk about progress to date but measuring progress from now until the hearing.

[claw2]

Ask head of SEN to deliver an agenda for the meeting

I attended a meeting pre tribunal, it was basically to see what evidence I had and whether I would make a good witness.

I took PP with me and let them do all the talking, armed with a copy of my SA request, so no new info. PP had already told me I was asking for 'Rolls Royce' provision and was obviously really biased, so I figured what the heck, let them have a meeting, where PP and LA can talk all they want and pat themselves on the back and I can sit in silence!

[bjkmummy]

well it gets more interesting. my friend came round to look at the paperwork with me cos shes plain nosey and another SEN mum.

she believes the file notes from the school which were sent to the tribunal indicate that the school have added stuff on a later date as they have got the year wrong on a couple of occasions.

she also feels that the sen officer has called the meeting to blast the school but I don't necessarily think that - I think it will be more to get them to persuade me she is making progress and promises to put stuff in place. the school have admitted the suggested I get her seen privately for dyslexia but there is also stuff missing from the school file which the school haven't recorded - missing is the note from the first parents evening a year ago where school raised concerns and agreed they would call EP in 6 months later. I think the school are on a sticky wicket and that concerns me as the LA could argue that the school should be doing more.

its unclear if the school paperwork even went to panel - my report didn't. the LA said I had until the 16th jan. I emailed the sen officer it on the 10th and she didn't print it off until the 13th they then put it before the funding panel as 4 members of the panel were there but theres no minutes of this at all or what was discussed - obviously they decided not to assess.

so even if the LA officer is about to go into school to give them a rocket or offer me the world, the school is not in my home LA so they can just ignore her anyway and the school turns academy in April as well.

all I want is just for her to be assessed that's all - is it really right that a child so far behind is just being thrown to the wolves?

[StarlightMcKingsThree]

I hindsight I bet that was quite a funny meeting Claw!?

[StarlightMcKingsThree]

Who gave you the school file? The school or the LA?

[bjkmummy]

I expect my meeting will be similar to claws where me and dh just sit and watch them argue it out - 90 mins they are saying this meeting will be! they now say head and senco will be there.

oh and the letter from the sen officer states that the school can help take my daughters views so looks like they aren't conceding anytime soon!

[StarlightMcKingsThree]

At the meeting you can thank them for all the bollox interventions they are promising but that you cannot agree it is in your child's best interests to implement strategies without a full assessment first given the child's complexity if needs. Therefore you appreciate their efforts and will support them in them but will still be pursuing the appeal to assess as any other course of action woukd mean you failing you child.

You can remind them it is YOU who will be dealing with the fall out of their mistakes years after they have forgotten her name. You and your dd.

[StarlightMcKingsThree]

Tell them that your dd's views are that she wants to submit something in her own time (if she does).

Either her views are significant or they are not. If they are not then it won't matter if she does that, if they are, they should respect her prefered method.

[claw2]

It was Star, I already knew PP was biased, she didn't have to go far for the meeting, next office along literally and had already told me I shouldn't apply for a statement! Just a bit of time wasting on my part, rather than saying no to the meeting. We agreed she would do the talking and I would take minutes So the LA, talking to the LA, ironic.

BJK there wasn't any arguing, quite the opposite. PP saying report says ds needs x,y,z. LA saying school is already providing an alternative and ds is doing so well. PP signing their praises. Bit like a CAF meeting!

[claw2]

singing even!

[StarlightMcKingsThree]

Ahh, please let it be PP 'signing' their praises!!!!!

I guess it was too much of a stressful time to have enjoyed that meeting but you can sip cocktails now and reminisce.

[StarlightMcKingsThree]

What did your minutes say?

10:45am, PP arselicking head of SEN
10:50am, EP offer PP the last chocolate biscuit.

[claw2]

Even at the time, it was quite comical. I knew PP wouldn't be doing me any favours. I didnt give her any info the LA didnt already have, just delayed the meeting trying to find a date she could attend and saved me having to speak!

[MyCatIsFat]

the school have admitted the suggested I get her seen privately for dyslexia

If ypu have that in writing it's an admission that they have neglected to identify, asses and support her SENs. They have failed in their statutory duty. I'd try to slot that in somewhere to make them very uncomfortable about going to Tribunal when they have openly admitted this.

[claw2]

LOL EP didn't even attend, just me, PP and 2 LA officers. Goes to show just how serious they took the meeting.

I did actually write blah, blah, blah at one point

[bjkmummy]

this is what the school wrote ' mother asked for a meeting. we discussed how hard XXX works but she is still struggling particulary in English. spelling age of 6 and half and shes 10. I have advised they get a dyslexic assessment as they have been considering it for a while'

6 months before dyslexia was raised and school said they would put in extra stuff and would call in the EP if no progress made 6 months later. fast forward 6 months and school tehn state above but fail to say that they said they couldn't now call the EP in as she isn't more than 6 years behind so the EP wouldn't see her so we had no choice but to go privately

[MyCatIsFat]

Ah, so they didn't actually advise private

Even so, for school to have recorded I have advised they get a dyslexic assessment should be enough to hang them. That's a failure to confirm and assess the impact of a suspected specific learning difficulty.

[bjkmummy]

no but the only reason we went private was cos they 'advised' the LA EP wouldn't see her - madness really isn't it the hoops we have to jump through. I like what star says further up post and will go with that approach. my friend also says to go if I need to from the angle that her general ability is average but she is substantially failing to meet her potential and an assessment of her needs is the only way to see what is causing her such a barrier to her learning. the LA have also approached the previous school as well which was interesting - their report doesn't say a lot apart from some sat levels which I had already submitted anyway

[bjkmummy]

it was the LA that have sent me the copy of the school file so it could be that it has been filtered. I have requested a copy of her school file so I will get to see everything.

my other question now my brain has calmed down after last night = how do I handle it if they say they will send the EP in? so far the school have refused point blank on the basis that the EP wont see as shes not 6 years behind. my EP report is less than 6 months old so not sure what test the EP could do anyway - plus he has a habit of only testing a childs strengths

I think this could also be a test to see if we will go to tribunal - the school is not in my home LA - its a tiny school and the last place the staff will want to go is tribunal and the only person the LA could call I guess is the senco.

also at the tribunal itself - and back to my question re LA EP - can they LA call the EP to tribunal even though he wont have seen my daughter so would only be there to question my EP report - im not calling the EP so that could leave us vulnerable

[claw2]

Do you mean LA officer delivered copy of school file along with their file?

I very much doubt they will get EP to assess, as this is why you are going to Tribunal, as they have refused to assess. Getting EP to assess is a bit like saying your ds does need SA.

I also doubt they will call their EP if she/he has never assessed your ds.

[bjkmummy]

It was part of the school file, not the whole file - it was the part the school had submitted to the LA, I say file it was just really some file notes that were submitted.

I just have a feeling and i could be wrong that the LA may suggest the school get the EP in, I've been trying for that for a year but the school refuse due to this not being 6 years behind business.

I'm over thinking this I know but I don't like to be ambushed and the letter from the LA is vague about the purposes of the meeting saying its to discuss her sen needs

[StarlightMcKingsThree]

Meetings are not outcomes.

Discussions are not outcomes.