figcake: 8yo bullied at school; LA website ultre vires

[SDeuchars]

figcake posted on the de-reg topic at Thu 23-Dec-10 22:41:42:

I have a question on behalf of my lovely neighbor who is non-MN. Her DD aged 8 has been bullied at primary school for the last 2 years and it is definitely not getting any better or being addressed by the school. Outside school she is really lovely, friendly, bubbly good com skills - infact, people stop her in the street/supermarket saying how they wished their Dc was "that lovely" "friendly" "chatty"etc.

Because she is increasingly ostracised and bullied at school and neighbor complained on a few specific occasions, they placed her DD on the SEN reg as they insist that she has difficulties socializing and none of their pupils would have said any of the horrible things she quoted as they sound too "grown-up" and effectively accused neighbor of lying even though she is a very honest person.
They have really been pressurizing neighbor into agreeing to external assessments (and made her sign a referral form) even though she was dead set against it as nobody anywhere else thinks there is an issue and is more to do with the school (btw no places in other schools in LA as there is a shortage of places here). They have not relented and have now written to say that they will be looking into other official ways in which to force her to agree to the assessments they require if she does not comply.
She has been talking of home-edding for a while and def feels equipped to do it but she now feels that LA will be 'on her back' even after she deregisters DD and not leave her alone as things are too far gone against her. We looked at the procedures for our LA and they def mention "home visits" with EWO (where DD would have to be present) in order to gain approval to Home Ed, submitting suitable ed philosophy, min 25hr/wk schooling and periodic visits thereafter in which examples of work must be shown; this all seems to go against advice on MN re LA rights. I don't home-ed so I can't help any further really.

Could anyone help us separate fact from fiction?

have you looked on the education otherwise website for guidance?

I know that having to show examples of work is not a requirement of home education, or certainly isnt here, and you do not have to prove you are providing 25 hours a week! The LA dont even provide that if your child is off school sick, they have to provide 5 hours a week!

Hi figcake, it's very kind of you to want to help your neighbour and her little girl.

Sadly, many LAs have a blatant disregard for the law and for the directives of the then-DCSF. The sort of misinformation you mention is all too common. The good news is that it is generally straightforward to get an LA to back down on these claims. If they attempt to insist upon home visits or make other unwarranted demands, usually a properly-worded letter will stop them. The letter should quote the law and ask for the legal justification for their stance. Home ed support lists such as this one are useful; experienced people are happy to advise on exactly where the LA is getting it wrong and help with drafting letters.

The law is very much in favour of home educating families, giving them great freedom in deciding how, when and where to educate their children. Legally, there is not much a prejudiced LA can do against your friend. Some of them do "try it on", thinking to intimidate parents. I think the key is to be well-informed and/or well-connected to other home ed parents so she'll know when they are trying to pull the wool over her eyes and what to do about it.

Which country are you in? If England or Wales, there is no requirement to "gain approval" in order to home educate. The child can be deregistered upon demand.

If your neighbour has internet access then she may enjoy joining a home ed email list so she can get all her questions answered directly. If not, it might be useful for her to find a local HE group nearby so she can chat with people in person.

When I say that it's useful to be well informed, I don't mean they need to delay about leaving school if that seems the right way forward.

It's fine for the family to jump first and find their feet later. It's considered reasonable for parents who are new to HE to take some time to establish their educational methods. They don't have to hit the ground running.

In my opinion, the main thing to know is that they needn't be pressurised into anything at short notice by LA staff who ring up or (heaven forbid) have the nerve to appear on the doorstep. Insist the LA puts everything in writing and then they can take a bit of time to establish what's legally required and sort it out, getting help and advice as needed.

she now feels that LA will be 'on her back' even after she deregisters DD and not leave her alone as things are too far gone against her.

Which LA is it? Unfortunately, she may be right that they will hound her because she has already been so involved with them - they may see the HE as a negative response.

We looked at the procedures for our LA and they def mention "home visits" with EWO (where DD would have to be present) in order to gain approval to Home Ed, submitting suitable ed philosophy, min 25hr/wk schooling and periodic visits thereafter in which examples of work must be shown; this all seems to go against advice on MN re LA rights.

No approval is required - she can send the school (not the LA) a de-reg letter and not send her back in January.

If they enquire in the near future about the ed provision, it would be quite reasonable for her to write back and say that they need time to establish a pattern to the HE, so she'll send a letter in April (i.e. give herself at least three months). At that point she would send an ed phil, a list of resources and a statement of provision.

She can ignore any comments about time. There is no specific time in law - it says "full-time". There is also no statement of what education should look like - it does not have to look like schooling. My DC are now grown up but were HE from birth and we did nothing that looked like schooling until they started OU courses at 13+. We did mostly practical stuff and went out to groups, places and events - no workbooks or anything else that we would have shown.

Visits are not mandatory. The parent can choose to provide information in any format, so a letter as above is perfectly acceptable - the child does not need to be produced for an EWO.

According to law (s437 of Ed Act 1996) the LA should only inquire if there is an appearance of failure to provide an education. Once they have had proof (ed phil, resources and statement) that an education is being provided, there is no basis in law for periodic visits. In fact, the 2009 guidelines state that there is no duty to monitor the provision.

Agree with all above.
Thought you might like to hear from someone who was in an awful position when we de-registered. (also at the end of a holiday where I saw my child blossoming away from the miseries of what was happening, and didn't realise how good that timing would be. :-))
Yes they did try all sorts of things and their tactics where underhand and often illegal.

Can only compare watching your child going through hell at school but being afraid to leave, to the situation of trying to leave DV. Afraid to leave a nasty situation because of what might happen if you do.

She may well whip up a storm, so accept it and brace, but the law?s on her side if somewhat imperfect, and you rebuff and withstand the histrionics, live with your fears, grow stronger, lay down your own boundaries, and eventually the storm rolls elsewhere and you get on with the rest of your lives.

Friend shouldn?t be too worried about child going to camhs etc to be assessed and imo should take the ?I can?t see a problem, but rather safe than sorry? attitude.(nothing to hide here, so no action needs to be taken) Camhs are overworked and underbudgeted with kids with very real problems and will churn her out if they can.

She may turn out to have some difficulties with relating to her exact peer group, (ie she?s ahead, more serious, more literal etc) and prefer older/younger company, and school peer group may have been punishing her for that difference. (You tend to overlook things when defending your child)
One of the nice things about h/ed is you don?t have that separation of ages and a desire to turn out an identikit product going on.

IMO:
Mum needs to absorb the legal rights and say ?sorry, no?, if these are encroached.
(always found offering compromises I was comfortable with, worked well, but you don?t have to)

Have lots of support from organisations, groups, internet etc

Have sorted out 'socialisation' so they can?t sticky beak from that angle.

Then sort out the education side. Taking time out to de-school is normal, so's gearing up slowly.

Writing that ed philosophy really helped me ?find our shape? in so many ways. (you stop fighting against what?s being done, and start doing what?s needed which puts so much onto your side)

When my LEA announced they where visiting us at home on X date to decide if what we where doing, our home, and resources, where acceptable, (!) I told them they had no legal right, but I?d be happy (I wasn?t!) to invite them instead to meet me (not child) at a library with examples of work he was happy to display, and included lots of photo?s of him doing things with other children, and a list of resources we used. I could have said on yer bike, but being pro active and perfectly reasonable meant they had less and less ground to stand on.

Good luck.

Thanks so much for your replies. I only just saw this thread (SDeuchars had kindly mentioned that she would be starting it but I could not locate it at the time). I have offered to help coach her DD in some of the subject areas (as I work PT).

My friend came round today in tears saying that this was the most depressing Christmas she has ever had due to the timing of the threatening letter and the fact that there was nobody there for her to contact for discussion until January 6th.

We are in NW London so st Ed Act from which you quote. We looked at a couple of websites and joined a couple of mailing lists. She is completely technophobic and not really willing to learn (I have tried!) so I am her IT resource I suppose (in return she has been really good at helping me out re problems in family relationships).

The issues that are weighing heavily on her mind are the following (any MN help would be amazing and hopefully solve her insomnia and stress-related headaches):

Her DD has been put on SA+. Even though she has never been actually assessed by any outside agency, a couple of random 'observations' were carried out last year by EP at school. As soon as friend and school started to disagree on stuff a report was sent from EP dept formalising any contact that they had had with friend and her DD. They also wrote that friend had mentioned that her exDH did not really support some aspects of her parenting style. They have never spoken to him, he did not say that and nor did she. It seems as though they are trying to frame her and typecast her as being a bad parent especially with frequent mentions of how they are really concerned about her DD's WELFARE (word has come up a lot, sometimes out of context from Head Teacher - we are thinking EWO or worse - there were a few threads on MN last night that have really got me thinking).

There is an initiative in place in our Borough which involves providing a seamless service across various specialist areas. When the SENCO put my friend under pressure re EP referral, she presented her with a 'common assessment form'. Friend was led to believe that this would cover EP referral only but we had a look at the form online earlier and it is definitely seems to be about the parent agreeing to the school making the referral and parent not being able to withdraw this permission once granted.

The threatening letter she recd from EP Dept last week does make it sound as though the power can been taken out of her hands. Whilst EPs are over-worked etc. they are absolutely working in sync with the school on this one - it has been pretty ridiculous in that school have called Mum in for a wrist slapping, letter from EP Dept arrives in the post a couple of days later reinforcing the latter.

The SENCO is a bully as I may have mentioned and has used the longevity of her career to wrap the LA round her little finger in some kind of sick power game.

Even if she did de-reg next week, it all seems a bit Hotel California to us and there is the possibility that it would open up a can of worms. They are slowly painting a picture of her as being deluded, confrontational, blinded to her DDs serious needs - there is no independence opinion available really that would convince them of their error of judgement. Despite there being a queue of people eager to access their input, friend is constantly being pushed to the front of a queue that she never wante to join in the first place. Would Hedding remedy the situation or simply up the ante? The DDs grandmother thinks that the only solution is to comply and try and move to neighbouring borough?

Sorry if I have rambled on without making much sense though we really need for her to get things straight in her head before school opens.

For every pupil who is home educated the LA looses £5K to £6K a year. Therefore you should expect the LA interest lies in keeping a child at school so as to retain the cash! The LA officers will want to keep their paid job and therefore they will want to create more job for themselves such as visits etc.

I am very sorry your neighbor had awful Christmas. There is no need to despair however.

I do not know if telling you my experience would help you: I HE from start but I was pressurized by my GP to submit to a referral of my son to a centre. He said my son was showing giftedness and that he wanted to find if this was the case indeed. Also my GP told me that it would be sufficient for us to visit an educational psychologist privately to prove all was OK. The EP would write a report on the educational development of my son and suitability of HE. Aside from this, the LA Education Inspector was asking us why we HE. He asked us to send him our ideas, a timetable and courses we were teaching and allow him to visit us, all of which we did. Before, the visit we had an appointment with an Educational psychologist privately. It did cost, not vastly, but the report of the EP saved us much trouble and further enquiries from LAs and I showed it ever after where it was needed. The Inspector when he visited us was pleased with books we had and accepted the EP report. He said he was convinced we were doing a good job and did not want to see us again.

figcake I knew Bromley was a reasonable LA once - I do not know if it continues so now. May be if mom has so much stress, then moving home is perhaps one solution.

Another solution is this: before she makes up her mind it is probably best that she phones the Education Departments of couple of boroughs (SE London?) to see how they treat HE. By phoning one can see some things

Here are a few thoughts from me:

1. It sounds like your friend may need a lot of support and reassurance. You say she isn't very confident with using the internet; is she comfortable on the phone? If so, telephone helplines may be useful. I think all of these are freely available to non-members. Education Otherwise: education-otherwise.org.uk/contact.php . THEN UK: www.thenuk.com/helpline.html . Home Education Advisory Service: www.heas.org.uk/ If she gets to know other people in her area, I am sure some of them would be glad to talk to her on the phone too as needed. Perhaps there is someone local who is knowledgeable enough to sit down with her to help her write letters. Or you can help her as you are already doing, using lists such as this.

1. In law and in practice, "education" and "welfare" are very separate issues. Titles such as "Education Welfare Officer" can confuse. (I sometimes suspect this is deliberate, and that the education department is trying to scare people by implying they are from Social Services and that they have legal powers which they don't actually have.) If in doubt, always ask the person to clarify: "are you from the home education department, or from social services?" As I said, provided she knows her rights, there is very little that the LA can do to your friend with respect to education. The law favours families. An assertive letter or two quoting the law should stop them.

However, from what you say about the frequent mention of "welfare," it appears possible that a referral might be made to Social Services. That would be a different matter. If so, it's probably advisable to allow a home visit and cooperate with SS in their assessment. Stressful and a bit scary, probably, but SS are accustomed to dealing with petty malicious referrals and should give the all-clear without too much hassle.

1. Moving house is a possible solution. The law is a bit odd in my opinion: except when withdrawing a child from school, there is no requirement for HE families to inform anyone that they are home educating or that they have moved house, but if an LA happens to become aware of an HE family in their area then they may take an interest. Moving seems quite a radical solution to me, but if it makes your friend happier then it could be an idea. Only thing is, she might then live in fear of somehow coming to the attention of the new LA, whereas if she confronts all this nonsense now then it will be over and done.

I looked at a very useful HE advice from a S London Borough which is next to mine.
Their HE guide is here

I found useful and informative their FQAs : here

This particular Q &A from that borough may be v useful for the case of your neighour:
"Q:What if my child has Special Educational Needs?
A: A statement of SEN does not affect the right to home education. However, if the child is on the roll of a special school parents do require the consent of the Local Authority if it is their intention to educate at home. The Local Authority cannot unreasonably withhold its consent. Suitable arrangements for meeting the child?s special needs must be made. This can include alternative provision to that specified in a Statement, provided the child?s special needs are adequately catered for. For the duration of the statement, the LA needs to continue to hold an Annual Review and this includes considering whether the wording of the Statement is still appropriate, and whether the Statement needs to remain in place. Rights of appeal to the SEN Tribunal still apply."

A Section about the borough's EP at school here but I believe one might also look for an external one could provide independent opinion and more detailed support.

Best of luck

Living in a borough with reasonable Education officers and positive attitudes makes all the difference. This is perhaps what the neighbour could consider whatever the outcome and if she decides to de-register and HE. There are indeed differences between services in boroughs.
Moving home is costly but if the mom considers this as a solution she might as well consider taking the child to a private school, which will save her from the threat of uncertainty of what the LA will do next. She does not have to leave her daughter there for ever. She can deregister later. The child will be give a break from bullying and the parent more rights.
The parent can cite as reasons for moving or de-registering that leaving her daughter in the same bad environment will not improve her chances of getting a better future and qualifications.

Am just a parent, but involved with working with parents with SEN paperwork who are in conflict with the system, one way or another, so my opinions are formed through a) my own experiences, and b) the discovery that what I thought was me and my situation, is frighteningly common in various forms. It isn?t even personal, it?s just their strategy when they feel attacked, and it develops it?s own momentum if let, and they move on to another when you?re gone.

Your friend?s situation is the beginning and all too common, and she needs to do something (whatever direction that takes) about it now.

There are types of parent statistically more likely to be on the receiving end of it, and single parents are one of them. Appearing isolated will increase it.

Imo/e we empower authorities beyond their real remit through our fear, and take it back when we stand up to them.

Understandably she just wants the stress not to be there, but it?s not really an option until things are sorted one way or the other, regardless of if she goes for H/E or not..

I went through it for years trying but afraid to stand up, allowing my child to be blamed, being put through S/S investigations, and allowing my child to suffer (and I mean suffer) because I was afraid and my child wasn?t identified as SEN when he should have been.

GOSH stepped in, diagnosed and suddenly it was different, but he still got viciously bullied, and not educated, just different reasons after than before.

I finally realised I was waiting for something bad enough to happen for it to be ?acceptable? to remove him. (something I?m not proud of)

What?s being said and done is a very standard reaction by some schools/ boroughs.

I?ve watched a rubbish senco create non existent problems to explain away very visible ones, an excellent one walk out to protect her professional status, and a good one suddenly sell out a child and become a liar when lent on by LEA, also a good Parent Partnership worker allow themselves to be used to arms length deliver bullying messages. It?s endemic in the system, and regardless of if she chooses to H/E or not, if she shows weakness it will increase.

If your friend wants to deal with this stuff, she needs to very urgently learn how to send and receive e-mails, and attach things to them, and use basic google, techno-phobe or not.

Many parents seeking pro help sadly end up not being prioritised by need, because eight other parents who can do those things have sent paperwork in the time it?s taken one to get on a bus/post it etc, also if she wishes to H/E she really wants internet resources.

I hope pulling this apart's of use, if not please ignore. :)

Her DD has been put on SA+. Even though she has never been actually assessed by any outside agency,
This procedure?s correct, school's entitled and supposed to do so if she?s been S/A and not improved, and indeed would be guilty of x/y/z, if she met their criteria policy and they hadn?t.

a couple of random 'observations' were carried out last year by EP at school.
E/P?s services have to be brought out of school budget and feel random to parents, but that?s how they work I?m afraid.

As soon as friend and school started to disagree on stuff a report was sent from EP dept formalising any contact that they had had with friend and her DD.
Timing may be co-incidence, or may be them realising they hadn?t already and could be heading for problems through it, she needs to not see this as negatively as eventually this paperwork should have been attached to those observations.

They also wrote that friend had mentioned that her exDH did not really support some aspects of her parenting style. They have never spoken to him, he did not say that and nor did she.

Many E/P reports contain things that leave parents scratching their heads, some matter others don?t. (Most are actually accidental, though it doesn?t feel like that at the time, especially if your feeling (or being) persecuted, and all is possible, but they often use C+P from letter to letter, and you see wrong names/schools/ages etc frequently, and sometimes things they could/should be sued over, for sending to the wrong person!)

She needs to write back, (Her paperchain is vital for herself if necessary) formally challenging it.
(?there appear to be errors/confusion with an other family in this report? ?Please note X/Y/Z is incorrect.? If they insist it was said my wording would be: ? at best this error is being caused by confusion, at worst it is disingenuous, I am assuming therefore it is the former?.)

It seems as though they are trying to frame her and typecast her as being a bad parent Quite possibly, but it?s equally possible that their arrogance is so great they don?t recognise that the way they write things is awfully insulting to parents, another common thing, but usually a little of both that causes the parent to be backfooted into ?behaving?.

especially with frequent mentions of how they are really concerned about her DD's WELFARE
Her welfare is their only excuse to be involved and doing any of this at all, which is why they lay it on thick. After all if it wasn?t that it would just be plain old bullying without excuse, wouldn?t it? (Perhaps mum needs to decide who's best placed to meet her child's welfare, and accept whatever that brings.)

(word has come up a lot, sometimes out of context from Head Teacher - we are thinking EWO or worse - there were a few threads on MN last night that have really got me thinking).
See Saracen's post above. EWO in our borough (and other London one?s I?m aware of) doesn?t get involved in this sort of thing, they?re the old truancy officers, and only get involved if child is on school role (ie not de-registered) and not attending, or who is expelled. H/E is a different dept.

There is an initiative in place in our Borough which involves providing a seamless service across various specialist areas. When the SENCO put my friend under pressure re EP referral, she presented her with a 'common assessment form'.
This is standard when school want to increase funding for a child?s needs, access other agencies input, label, but also when a school wants to gather more info on family and connect up agencies.

Friend was led to believe that this would cover EP referral only but we had a look at the form online earlier and it is definitely seems to be about the parent agreeing to the school making the referral and parent not being able to withdraw this permission once granted. The threatening letter she recd from EP Dept last week does make it sound as though the power can been taken out of her hands.

They don?t need her permission at all to do a CAF. Any professional from school, h/v, Dr, policeman etc can use CAF. So if they want to enough, they will.
I accepted the CAF as my child needed statementing, and it?s part o the route, but wrote N/A across every part that I felt irrelevant or beyond their remit. (rather a lot btw)

Whilst EPs are over-worked etc. they are absolutely working in sync with the school on this one - it has been pretty ridiculous in that school have called Mum in for a wrist slapping, letter from EP Dept arrives in the post a couple of days later reinforcing the latter. This is as said above, correct procedure, regardless of any other intent.

The SENCO is a bully as I may have mentioned and has used the longevity of her career to wrap the LA round her little finger in some kind of sick power game.
TBH the LA may not be as innocent as you think. There?s a lot of mutual back scratching and trading off goes on. If the inner workings where known to all parents, there?d be a huge increase in H/E and private!

Even if she did de-reg next week, it all seems a bit Hotel California to us Sorry not sure what you mean here.

and there is the possibility that it would open up a can of worms.
Yes there is, but reality is different departments with bigger fish to fry, especially if she's pro-active, and also the possibility that the can will get opened by them anyway, unless she does something about it all.

They are slowly painting a picture of her as being deluded, confrontational, blinded to her DDs serious needs
So if she wants to h/e; ignore the deluded (if she isn?t) walking away - definitely not confrontational (unless she makes it so) and agree that it seems there may indeed be unmet needs (child's happy education!) and she?s off to meet them!

- there is no independence opinion available really that would convince them of their error of judgement.
Yep, even after I took it all the way, took their budget, and three judges found for us, they still muttered on that everyone but them was wrong. I doubt a personal bolt of lightening would actually convince them that they aren?t God! Don't waste time trying to convince them, they are'nt interested.

Despite there being a queue of people eager to access their input, friend is constantly being pushed to the front of a queue that she never wante to join in the first place.
So she hasn?t learnt to ask them for lots of things that she thinks would benefit her child yet? She?s leaving them way too much time!

Would Hedding remedy the situation or simply up the ante?
IMO neither, though it may feel like both. It will change everything, and allow her to run a different race. How she runs it is down to her.

The DDs grandmother thinks that the only solution is to comply and try and move to neighbouring borough? Bottom line is how practical is this, and how much damage is mum and or child likely to suffer in each given scenario? Only she knows this, and whatever other factors haven't been covered.

Thanks for the replies - I was really 'moved' by some of them as it is obvious that there are people who have gone through things that are eerily similar (I have not really had a proper emotional response to the whole thing although I would be in a really bad state were it closer to home). I will read this to her tomorrow. She called today to tell me that her mother had sat her down and told her that her sanity as well as her family unit would be in danger if she deregistered and did not comply. It seems as though for the first time ever, she is agreeing to go back there, be compliant in relation to SENCO and EP - I have mixed feelings about this; mostly, I know she is quite a sensitive person and might only manage to bottle it up for so long before blowing her top and wrecking her chances further.

"it all seems a bit Hotel California to us Sorry not sure what you mean here" Sorry, re being able to check out any time but never being able to leave. (No dark skeletons in the cupboard )

figcake there is a difference between deciding for dereg and HE or staying at a crap school. The LA nuisance will continue either way but look at the differences between situations

1. The pros of dereg and HE are a better education and the Rights of appeal to the SEN Tribunal if parent disagrees with the annual review of LA. The costs are the write of ed philosophy which is a bore and the nuisance of visit. The Bromley borough information says the LA cannot unreasonably withhold consent to HE.

1. The pros of staying at a school that permits a bully and at authority abuse is wrecked lives. It may falsely be seen as peace and quiet. The costs of staying there can be too bad and last.

1. It could be that private education is a solution if the neighbour is driven to despair, though it is very expensive; if need be perhaps granny/remortgage can help - but is a big cost. But if you thing this private solution is expensive imagine the huge cost of emotional damage!

Well put Green - could I just clarify...
Is the annual review something that takes place every year for Home-ed kids or is it to do with her DD being on SA+?

How about switching to private and staying for a couple of terms then switching to Home ed - would that work? Fees would def be paid by Granny but she cant pay for longer than that as it would be out of her pension for one of the cheaper independent schools.

There is NO LEGAL BASIS for an annual review of a home educating family's provision, despite what the LA website probably says.

If it comes to the LA's attention that a child is receiving an education outside school, they are allowed to enquire about that education. How the parent provides evidence is up to the parent: it can be through a portfolio of work, or through a visit, or through a visit just with the parent not the child present, either at their home or in a neutral place (like a library), or it can consist of a letter explaining what the educational approach is (an "educational philosophy") perhaps with a list of resources that they are using on a regular basis.

Your friend needs a copy of the 2007 EHE guidelines: ahed.pbworks.com/f/7373-dcsf-elective-home-education.pdf

At first, she needs to insist that everything is kept in writing, and every time the LA write to demand something, she needs to write back and say "why of course I'll be happy to comply with your demand when you can explain the legal justification for it. My difficulty is that it seems to contradict the 2007 EHE guidelines paragraph X, Y, Z. I am looking forward to your clarification".

Having satisfied the LA about the quality of the education once, then any other time they try to get in touch, she simply writes back saying that it is her understanding of the legal position that the LA has no duty to monitor the educational provision, that they were satisfied with in when she sent the relevant stuff to them in 2011, so please would they let her know on what legal basis they are thinking they need to make further enquiries.

Please tell your friend from me that the biggest changes taking her child out of school is likely to make to her is a) that she will become very much more aware of the legal role of the State in family life, and b) of the very different role that State employees try to take in family life. She has to, er, grow a pair, I think the phrase is. And that will stand her in very good stead in all other dealings with the State, frankly. People in "authority" positions try to do things to us which go beyond their actual powers All The Time. The only way to make it stop is to stand up to them. The more of us who do stand up to LA Education Departments, the less and less such places will be staffed by bullies.

figcake I looked at the Dep of Ed -the gov- website and I think:

1. The Annual Reviews are for statemented kids -SEN kids -who (a) were identified so at school and then are deregistered for HE or (b) are at school. The schools can do it themselves or can ask the LA to do the assessment if they don't have the resources to do it see this. Where a child has a statement of SEN and is home educated, it remains the local authority?s duty to ensure that the child?s needs are met. The new Department of Education guidance says this here . Good to look at the whole page to see how many more useful details there are. This is new stuff.

1. The Education Dept makes clear that children with SEN can be HE here

1. Due to SEN the Annual Review will happen whether HE or not; but it does not have to be for ever and next year the LA may stop it. LAs vary in attitude and quality of staff. The right of parental appeal holds.

1. The private schools: one needs to look at their accessibility strategy and plan.

The Annual Review is because the school has declared special Educational needs for the specific child. It the statement did not exist then there is no basis for Annual review. But the AR does not have to go on, it can be stopped by the LA or Appealed according to the link I gave.

I entirely agree with ommmward because we need to stand up to the abuse of any authority and bring up independent minds. I HE for years and it was OK.

Thanks - I have read the links. Her DD does not have a statement though is obviously on the SN register - so would there be an annual review post-deregistration?

I am now questioning whether they could attempt to rush through a request for one as soon as she requested HE as a means of forcibly keeping themselves in the loop? Could this happen without the mother's consent if both school and EP (and possibly even SALT) join forces together? I am wondering this because apparently, the SENCO approached the mum with a personally-addressed envelope with the Parent-Partnership leaflet inside. It seemed odd as the leaflet is kept with other info available to visitors in the school reception area (I have seen it there myself). Also, because none of the other parents whose children have SEN (apparently one-third of the pupils) were sent this leaflet in such a way - one of my DCs is on it for improving concentration even though he has no input from SENCO that I know of. Could they be sneakily preparing a stat assessment behind her back?

All this hidden agenda-setting makes me more worried than ever as I question whether my DC could be in same position by the time they reach the same age as friend's DD.

Infact could there be a statement in place already without her knowing?

In a word, no.

`good. I know that might sound like a stupid question, but nothing would surprise me given the whole case history.

Not only can there not be a statement in place without the family knowing, they have to agree it. It cannot be "rushed through" AFAIK (most parents complain that it takes ages to get one). Also, a statement does not affect the right to withdraw a child from a mainstream school.

If a statement were in place, it would not be binding on the parent. LAs often tell parents that they have to fulfil a statement to HE. This is not true.