Combative senco

[Angry84]

Hi guys I need some advice.
I've a 12yr old daughter she has a huge school avoidance issue (it some days takes us 4 hrs just to get her in) and she has spent over 60% of last year 8n learning support. She just had her autism extreme anxiety dispraxia hypermobilaty and agro phobia assessment last week and we were told that if she would have been able to be seen that day by a audiologist she would have been diagnosed there and then. We had a meeting with the senco before the summer break to enquire what was the plan for the next year and enquire AGAIN why a early help plan hasn't been started.

We were told that because she has multiple agencies involved she saw no need for early help. Then when we asked about next year she informed us that she believed my daughter was just choosing to not go to her classes and she didn't see any autistic traits and that they are going to basically make my daughter go to every lesson weather she is up to it or not and we would just have to deal with the aftermath at home (here words not mine).

We have given the school many report's from camhs, her councillor and our gp, that all say exactly they believe she is autistic and every thing else but it seems to me like the senco has made her mind up and we are going to have to deal with the consequences.

Im just so worried what the next few months will bring. I know in my heart that if they go all in, she won't last the week and will just point blank be unable to make herself be able to go to school.

I've adhd my self so have no fear of taking on the school in a all out battle but I know that I can't because if I do it can only end up being a negative for my daughter even though it shouldn't human nature says other wise.

We have also applied for dla so can get her the extra help she needs and we are at week 14 from our scan date and I'm terrified that when they ring the school for evidence she will say she is fine and needs no support and that's the end of that!

Any advice and ideas would be very much appreciated,
Thanks for reading

I apologise for any bad spelling and any bad grammar I personally suffer with adhd and dyslexia.

That sounds very difficult for you both. Do you have an EHCP in place? If not I would apply for an EHCNA now.

What extra support does she need at school? What was her attendance last year?

What is an early help plan (we don’t have those in my LEA) -is that a request for external support or the school name for what was an IEP?

I second requesting an EHCNA. IPSEA has a model letter you can use. If you have already requested one, what stage are you at? You can also request social care assessments yourself. Contact have model letters for this.

Shinyandnew1 there will be an early help service in your area. It may be called something else, but there will be one. It is a service that provides support and early intervention to DC/families to improve the situation/outcomes and try to prevent an escalation in needs.

Early Help is the response made when a professional identifies unmet needs with a child/family and works with other agencies to meet those needs. At this level of need an Early Help Assessment - Signs of Well-being and Success (EHA) should be completed with the child and family to identify, what is working well, what the worries are and what wellbeing and success would look like? A clear plan will be developed by the agencies with the family that is SMART and is focused on what success will work best
Her attendance is 95 percent (because we move heaven and earth to get her into school even if that makes her very late) which looks great until you discover 45% of the last six months was spent in learning support because of her uncontrollable anxiety stiming and squeaks. The teachers are supposed to send her work down so she isn't missing out but very rarely do so she spend most of her day on bbc bite size.
They have to walk her to and from the lessons she does attend she also spends all her beaks in there as well. She doesn't eat at school anymore because she can't deal with the noise and smell.
The have also put her through a self confidence course of cbt.

I personally believed they dont know what to do with her and are at a loss so are just going for the sledge hammer technique.

No ehcp yet we have to have early help for 6months first. We have been asking for one for the last 4 months but just got fobbed off. I have to play nice with the school So didn't fight it at the time but I'm feeling like I'm being backed into a corner atm. Don't get me wrong I'm perfectly willing and very able to fight back but can't make a enemy of them for my daughters sake if any of that make any sense?

You don’t have to have early help for 6 months first. That would be unlawful. The only lawful threshold for an EHCNA (the first threshold you need to meet) is a) has or may have SEN, and b) may need SEN provision to be made via an EHCP. Request an EHCNA yourself using IPSEA’s model letter.

Forcing DD in when she is so distressed may be counterproductive. If DD cannot attend school full-time the LA must provide alternative arrangements once it becomes clear DD will miss 15 days (the days don’t have to have already been missed or consecutive).

You can also request social care assessments now.

She just had her autism extreme anxiety dispraxia hypermobilaty and agro phobia assessment last week and we were told that if she would have been able to be seen that day by a audiologist she would have been diagnosed there and then

Diagnosed with all of those things?

When’s the audiology appointment?

Not sure if the title 'combative SENCo' is particularly helpful having read your post as it comes across as SENCo bashing whereas reading your post it looks like there seems that a lot of agencies are involved and a joined up approach may be needed in the form of a multi-disciplinary meeting with clear planned actions.

Going to what others have asked, what is it that your child specifically needs in school in terms of support - both in terms of Quality First Teaching (the reasonable adjustments) and further additional support? That should be the focus of this multi-disciplinary team meeting as well as health concerns being directed to the health professionals there - rather than the SENCo from an education perspective.

For an EHCNA, you can apply for this yourself through the Locql Authority - it doesn't have to be the SENCo that does this. If you look at the SEND Local Offer on the Local Authority website, there will be information on how to do this,

Apply for an ehcna. Early help is utterly pointless by the time a child is too anxious to attend imo.

Agreed - these are the thresholds. Although quite often Local Authorities will say that an EHCNA is not needed if the school is not needing to spend more than £6,000 through their SEND Notional Budget to meet their needs. Technically this isn't a 'threshold' as what this poster wrote is correct in terms of the SEND Code of Practice but this does happen.

Needing to have spent £6k is also unlawful. As is anything like needing to be 2+ years behind, 2 cycles of APDR, be attending school…

Posted too soon. LAs often think the law doesn’t apply to them and that isn’t “how we do things here”, but the law applies to all LAs.

Agreed. The Local Authorities do take care how they word this when they decline an EHCNA though. Then they caveat this by offering a meeting with the school and the parent to discuss how the support to meet their SEND needs can be met without an EHCP.

100% agreed! I have moved to work from one school as a SENDCo to another in a different Local Authority that does this and it is infuriating seeing as I've seen other Local Authorities do this properly!

@Shinyandnew1 yes I was surprised that the paediatrician said she believed she had all that going on in her assessment on thu. No appointment yet with the audiologist. But they the Dr did say that she might have a chance of proceeding with the formal diagnosis with out her having to have the appointment. If not we should have a diagnosis next month.

If you would like some help in putting together an application for an EHCNA, this charity/website is excellent. https://www.ipsea.org.uk/ehc-needs-assessments They have advisers who can talk you through the process, if you book an appointment. Why not do that now, whilst you are waiting for the audiology appt? From what you have said, I would gather all the paperwork, letters and reports together, so that you can submit your application after you get the audiology result and heard back from the paediatrician. The term will have started by then, so you can have a (hopefully friendly) chat with SENCO, explaining you have decided to make the application for an EHCNA. Make sure that all your communication is either by email, or followed up by email - you will need an evidence trail for your applications.

Support in schools is based on needs, not diagnosis. The school must make their best endeavours to meet a pupil’s SEN even if they don’t have a diagnosis. EHCNAs are also based on needs, not diagnosis, so it doesn’t matter that you don’t yet have formal diagnoses.