AIBU to now want to go above my DC's school and take things further

[ballerina1971]

I am very angry with my DC's school. My youngest DC, age 13 has an EHCP with 24 hrs support. last summer when it was exam time it came to my attention my DC did not have a TA for support in lessons when I raised it with the the school they stated all TA'S were helping with exams for 2 wks
• I advised that my DC TA was funded for them through the EHCP, a legal document, not to be used elsewhere DC wasn’t to be without TA again. The school stated they had always done this, I advised this didn't make it right. I had the conversation with the SEN Department, Assumed the matter had been dealt with. My DC then came home in September stating there was no TA again As they were being used for the year sevens, I rang the SEN & insisted that my DC had the
• TA in lessons & having had this conversation with them I didn’t expect to be having it again. A few weeks later my DC came home asking why I had been complaining about the TA’s I was quite shocked by this and I said why are you asking, my DC told me the TA had said to her during a lesson that she better not do ,anything wrong (the TA ) as your mom has already been on the phone complaining to the school about the TA’S! Then earlier this year after my child had stated the teachers seemed to be being nice to her, the same TA said to my DC it’s because they’re scared of your mom she’s notorious around here and laughed. WTAF! This is wrong in so many ways such as, unprofessional, breach of confidentiality. now I’m fuming this is just another incident in a long list of incidents that have occurred since my DC have started there. I’m not talking minor, insignificant things, as I would let those things go I’m Not someone who feels the need to complain at every little minor thing. Very significant things such as overdosing my child on paracetamol and not advising me as per their procedures that they had given paracetamol just to give one example. There are only so many apologies I can receive from the school before I have to take it further. I’ve now had enough, I want this to stop. AIBU to now take this further and not go through the Complaints procedure again. I have followed the school’s complaint process on everything and now I’m sick of it I wish to go to the Local Authoritytand further. The school needs to be accountable for what they're doing I don’t feel at the moment they are. I get a sorry but then they go on to do something else

So many kids have EHCP’sI feel sorry for the schools trying to juggle them all.

Has the school explained why your DC doesn’t have a dedicated TA for the times and activities specified in the EHCP? Does the school actually get enough to fully fund a TA for you?

YANBU, but I would have an in person meeting with the headteacher before filing a complaint above the school with the LA. At the meeting, I would hand them a summary document of all the incidents/complaints and their lack of resolution and say you are prepared to take it further if they are unwilling or unable to resolve the TA issue.

If it is a question of funding, the HT may welcome you with open arms and add their own blistering warning to the LA that their TA budget is woefully inadequate….

Most of the time, in order to raise things higher you have to follow the school’s complaint procedure in full, the LA has limited role in school complaints.

Contact your local SENDIAS service, it may be called something different in your area; or IPSEA for help.

Double check that terms of the EHCP state that a 1:1 TA must be provided at all times. This isn’t always the case, so make sure you have everything in front of you when you make the call.

She is funded for 24 hours a week TA support; the OP made that clear. This gives the school the option of employing a TA based on that funding or deploying one of their existing TAs as a dedicated 1:1. What they don't have the right to do, is withdraw that 1:1 support for deployment elsewhere.

24h/ week means that there is at least 1h/week (plus tutor time, which counts extra) your child will not have a TA if you are in a standard UK school on a 25h plus tutor time timetable.

Schools have to contribute the first £6000 out of their own budgets, so even a "funded" TA for an EHCP isn't actually fully funded. For a TA who earns around £18,000, that means a full third of what they earn (not to mention top-ups needed for e.g. NI and pension contributions) is not funded by the government. Neither are extra staff in case a TA is ill - our TAs get allocated by greatest need on a daily basis.

Given how many kids in schools need scribes/ readers/ extra rooms that require supervision etc. it is not unreasonable for the school to use their TAs during exam time to provide the access arrangements they are required to have due to the Equality Act. Schools cannot hire extra staff, because lack of funding by the government means that some can barely afford paper.

Perhaps not your problem (well, given your reaction it is) but the school is in a catch-22 here.

By all means, complain to your MP about the lack of funding. Complaining to the school, once again, or even taking this further, will only make your reputation worse. The school will be doing all they can, but they cannot conjure the staff they need out of thin air.

Fully funded is not fully funded, comes nowhere near in reality. Schools end up having to pay towards each EHCP child from school budget and budgets are at breaking point.

Your child not getting a TA for a couple of weeks will be the school trying to juggle many priorities and meet children’s need for support in exams alongside SEN needs. Unless there is a risk to your child when they don’t have a 1:1 I would consider working with the school / leaving that one.

The TAs sharing with your child their / the staffs view of you is wholly inappropriate & unprofessional. I would definitely raise that with the head . This is very different to a complaint about hour allocation and, I would hope, be taken seriously. See what response you get before deciding what to do next.

Sounds like your relationship with the school is broken- have you considered moving schools? A complaint is rarely the way to improve that relationship- the school isn’t setting out to make your child fail. In the year 7 & exams situation they are trying to give those children the best chance of success for that short window of time. The medicine and ta talking unprofessionally is different and I would expect a written apology would be appropriate

The school receives additional funding for a ta to be allocated to your child. Yes they have to use £6k out of their own Sen budget but that is also but that is also allocated for Sen kids not an exam budget.

The school should not be deciding to use the TA elsewhere they have a legal document that states where the extra money they are being funded is to be used. They can not decide to spend it on something else.

I would complain to the head about the incidents of being gossiped about . It's extremely unprofessional . And actually all you did was asked the school to do what they agreed to do when they accepted that funding. They have a responsibility to ensure your child gets the best education possible and it's being decided that in order to do that your chijd needs a ta. How dare they reduce your child's outcomes and apparently all other Sen kids. When your child leaves that school their funding disappears what will the school do then!

I work as a SEN TA and sadly this is very common. Unfortunately there are such high levels of children with extra needs in schools (due to no spaces in local specialised places) that we are just constantly pulled to cover the biggest needs. We have lots of children in class that need help with reading and writing for example but if we then have a child become aggressive or dangerous then that becomes the bigger concern and we will be moved to work with them. I only spend about 40% of my job working with the people I'm actually employed to work with and the rest is dealing with others in different classes. I'm not saying it's right I'm just explaining what is happening in most schools day to day. Most of us feel like we don't actually help learning much anymore but actually spend the day just putting out fires and trying to get certain children through the day without incidents.

EHCPs are often a bit unrealistic in terms of their promises and their funding. If you are having to complain this much, then it probably isn’t the right school for you and your child.

Does your child want you to complain to the school so much? They are the ones who have to spend time with the teachers and TAs, not you. The TA was unprofessional and should not have made the comments to your child, but it sound like you are both guilty of putting your child in a difficult position.

Rage at the government for cutting services and support for SEND children to the bare bones while increasing the numbers of children with needs in mainstream.

Your anger is misguided. And in my experience EHCPs rarely ‘fund’ a full time TA they give part of the money and the rest comes from the already stretched budgets of the school.

If you’re so unhappy and this isn’t your first complaint (which it sounds like it isn’t) then move your child.

"Complaining to the school, once again, or even taking this further, will only make your reputation worse."

Parents of children with SEND should never be afraid of being the difficult parent.

This is 100% correct. We have to fight all the time for our dc.

This. Have you considered how you'd feel when your child is taking their exam and they were entitled to a scriber/ reader during their exam and they didn't get one. I find the exams a pain in the arse (I'm a TA in secondary) but they are important! It's not the schools fault about the budgets. One thing we do is on an exam heavy day, bring all the EHCP kids out of normal class into a group and do activities together.
The TA shouldn't have made a comment about you, though.

Thing is, how do school apply exam considerations for students who are entitled to them, especially if they can't recruit the short term staff?

We can't recruit and train exam readers and scribes, so have to use existing staff. The least worst option is to prioritise exam students. I appreciate it's not fair for your child but what else do you reccomend? We can't magic up people willing to work I think school for little pay.

Its the overdose on paracetamol that frightens me. What did the hospital say regarding this, especially as you're suggested may have been deliberate?

The trouble is “taking it further” may not actually result in anything being done and just getting you more frustrated. In my experience the la Sen department don’t give a toss whether a school is following a plan or not as long as they can persuade a mainstream school to take a child. Are there incidents that are happening when your ds doesn’t have his ta? That is what used to annoy me the most, my son was supposed to have a 32.5hour ta so full time but often they’d be used to supervise other children or the full class, then when something goes wrong the school out blame on child and unless your child is articulate you never know. I had a friends child as a spy in the class and used to get info off them. Mines in specialist now so I no longer have to deal with all this shit

What's the paracetamol incident?

At 13 your child should be taking responsibility for their own medication.

the Fact they have an ehcp means they have Sen and may not be comparable to typical 13 year old so don’t child blame

Government guidelines are kids should have 32 hours in school a week. Removing a (probably generous) 1 hour a day for hreak and lunch, that's 27 hours a week of potential TA support. If those 3 extra hours are given each week, are they being deducted in a block over exam time?
The paracetamol I would be furious about. The TA hours, I would question how the support is going to be provided during the GCSE's - which the main block of starts next week, so move fast!

Not someone who feels the need to complain at every little minor thing. Very significant things such as overdosing my child on paracetamol and not advising me as per their procedures that they had given paracetamol just to give one example.
I'massuming op means an actual overdose of course! @MultiplaLight

Full time covering also covering breaks as well is 32.5 hours, that’s what my son had on his ehcp when he was in ms, he still didn’t actually get it

"At 13 your child should be taking responsibility for their own medication."

This is a child with SEND.

Depending on the SEND it doesn't mean they can't start to take it responsibility for medication.

Why is society so keen to have low expectations of SEND students?

This isn't a "six of one and half a dozen of the other" situation. The mum had every right to complain. The TA had no right whatsoever to comment to the child.

I was Head Teacher in a school with a substantial (around 26%) SEND population and yes, some parents of SEND children are stroppy and demanding. Quite rightly. Where would their kids be if they weren't.

And incidentally, no member of school staff should be giving children paracetamol without phoning the parent first.