sen funding any advice?

[Mummyk231]

Hi mums, my LG will is almost 5 and has recognised issues that we currently see a paediatrician for. She has fine and gross motorskills problems some of which caused by hypermobility syndrome which causes her leg pain also, memory issues, behaviour problems, poor listening and understanding, concentration and emotional problems. I've recently been having trouble getting her to school because she gets so upset she throws herself about refuses let us get her dressed and then takes her clothes off again she tells me she don't like school, that people have pushed her and are horrible to her, it's really distressing as a parent to see her like this. I had meeting with her school this week I arranged this to try to find out what was causing these issues who told me as far as they can tell she's not being picked on, she is struggling as her works getting harder and they have had to move her to the bottom group for reading and writing because of this and I belive she's starting to really find leading difficult because of the issues she has and also she's starting to notice she's not doing as well as her peers. The school try to give her a small amount of 1 to 1 but they can't give her no more though they have said all along that's what she needs because she's not 'funded' they can't diagnose what's wrong with her until she's 7 but the paediatrician knows there is something. How do I get the funding for her so she can have the extra support she needs? I'm worried about the mental and physical impact this is having on her both now and in the future and I just want to help her but I've no idea where to turn. Can anyone offer advice please?

Should also say she sees a speech and language therapist to help with her understanding x

Hi there.

You'll get much more traffic if you put this on the SN boards.

It sounds like your child needs a Statement (of Special Educational Needs), issued by the local authority and providing the school with funding for things like 1:1 support, therapeutic interventions etc.

The system has changed quite a bit recently, so not sure what the process is now (I have a DS with autism, who got his Statement 4 yrs ago), but someone on the SN boards will definitely know.

Good luck.

The system won't change until September and the basics for support in school will remain. They have funding from which they are supposed to provide the first 15 hours (in our area) of support per week. That's a lot of TA time.

The school has a duty to either provide your DD with all the support she needs from that budget or apply for a statutory assessment of SEN by the local authority, detailing her needs and why they can't meet them in the application. If they won't apply for it, you can.

It is simply not acceptable to say that they can't afford to give her the support she needs.

To be honest, her difficulties sound like more that hypermobility syndrome and I would be asking the paediatrician to refer her for a full neurodevelopmental assessment which includes looking at the possibility of Autism. They absolutely do not have to wait until she is 7 to do this.

Contact your local parent partnership service for advice and support with communicating with the school.

Ask for a meeting with the SENCo. Take a list of the support you feel she needs and ask how they propose to meet those needs with immediate effect. Do not take 'we can't' as an answer.