I'm a teacher and happy to answer any questions

[DellaF83]

Hi, I'm an experienced primary school teacher and happy to answer any questions anyone may have.

When I mentioned, quantifying provision, during one Annual Review I got a 'What is this kind of witchcraft?' response.

A rigorous provision map is a bloody hard thing to pin down. Especially if you include wave one intervention.

When I worked in a school with 35 kids (ss) it was do-able. Current school with 1000 kids, 200 on the register and 60 statements I always feel it is a reflection of last term's provision.

I've only ever seen one Provision Map.

It looked nothing like a map, more like a list, - of resources that one might come across at some time or other. Mostly irrelevant to us or ds.

It was very odd.

It came alone, but a DPA request shows the headteacher and LA back and forth for a week tweaking it.

It had things like 'Surestart centre monthly Saturday Dad's groups with free bacon roll' listed on it.

Need to by law now though, if you want to apply for 'Higher Needs' funding.

And it should be done, I know of no other business that cannot quantify resource.

Since when were state schools businesses?

I can tell you figures that would satisfy Dragons Den, but they would make you weep. I will be recieving £303,975 top up funding this year. My current provision map costs £372,400p/a excluding wave one provision. I am under serious pressure to cut the £70grand that has to come out of school resources. Sometimes it is easier to NOT quantify the provision and just try to slip it through.

My little GD has just started in reception class, she loves her teacher, her teacher seems to like her, she has settled in well and has 7 merits already. The class are going on their first school trip to a farm soon.

It is a village school mostly very pleasant mums and children, one of the children is the daughter of a traveller family, recently homed by the council, in the village. Most of their neighbours are being kept up late due to bad language, lots of shouting and arguments and bad language. The school have a card system in place for bad behaviour, this little girl regularly receives red cards for spitting at children, swearing at the teacher (F words) and other bad behaviour. My DD is a bit shocked as my DGD has never experienced this sort of behaviour , should she mention it to the teacher and ask what the schools strategy is or do you think it is all in hand?

Any, yes, you have to justify the impact of a bloody bacon roll in terms of children's learning.

The provision mapping is because schools have 'played the system'. Parents should see them, it is the account of how their child's additional funding has been spent. Schools should be accountable, like every other Government Body is.

I don't think parents should be concerned with funding Daftdame. Dd's statement specifies number of hours and level of TA support required. I don't give a toss how much it costs or where the school funds it from (although at present statements in our LA are fully funded) That's for the number crunchers to figure out IMO. If things change and school have to fund from their resources then I'm happy enough to ensure that dd's statement is met to the letter whether that is at the expense of other children, the free breakfast club or LA employees pensions.If that makes me mercenary so be it .

I am concerned with funding, especially if it does not provide Value for money or if funds are misappropriated. Everything has cost, cost is the only element of SEN that can indicate severity of need, since it is the only quantifier. It is imperative that cost, is included in AR as well as more qualitative reporting.

This parents shouldn't be concerned with cost is used by professionals to support the old completely opaque system. I am a big girl, I can cope with costings in all other walks of life, I do not like being patronised, intentionally or not.

I suspect your questions are being used for something rather than the OP actually planning on answering random questions.

MissStrawberry threads do go off on tangents on MN. It is related to teaching though.

I don't think everything has a price and I don't think needs should be determined with an eye on the cost of services. Dd has 20 hours of support with a level 3 TA specified in her statement. Would I like to save the coffers money and agree to a level 1 TA or half her hours? No I wouldn't and if LA want to do that then they will have to go through Tribunal to try and force my hand. Whether funding is wasted on other things I don't care tbh they can stick up a statue of the HT in the foyer and paint the playground blue so long as dd's statement is maintained in full as it is.

insanity we have had this conversation before. I understand what you have works for your DD but as a system I think it is unworkable.

If your DD's TA is supporting other children because she needs them to be around but 'hands off' what happens to the support for those children when your daughter is placed in another class / school? At the moment there is no incentive for the school to obtain proper support for these other children, but they don't have them for the whole of their education. Support should be accurately documented, this includes quantification, which will include costing to some degree.

Sometimes it is easier to NOT quantify the provision and just try to slip it through.

That is a joke isn't it?

You wouldn't actually do that would you?

Well, as soon as the legislation is passed I'm going to ask for Direct Payments for all the bacon rolls.

I would if it means we end up providing something that wouldn't be agreed to if I sucked my teeth and said 'well, it is good, but the resources are going to cost £300 quid and I have to send somebody out on a 2 day course, so that's £240 including their wages and travel...'

I'd happily provide the sodding bacon rolls myself! We don't want anymore of that factory farmed rubbish....

If you don't have the money to fulfil your statutory requirements and legal duty to the young and vulnerable children in your care, please do two things, in this order:

1. Be clear to the parents that the child is not receiving the provision they are legally entitled to.
2. Inform the LA in writing copying in the Chief Exec.
3. Take a salary cut or sell your interactive white boards. These are not protected by law and should not be kept at the expense of even one vulnerable child's life chances.

But those children dd's TA picks up wouldn't get a statement anyway because whilst they have needs their needs wouldn't get a statement. Dd's school is hugely proactive in obtaining support but the LA aren't generous and can't secure statements for all children who could do with support. If dd's TA didn't pick them up they'd be picked up by one of the forty plus TA's in the school I'd imagine.
I understand fighting for support for your child and if your child has a statement then I'd be fighting to get it so that it met needs through Tribunal if needed. What I don't understand is fighting the system to determine whether all children are getting a bite of the cherry and whether what is given is good value though?
You are far more magnanimous than I could ever be and that's admirable. I suppose I don't really care all that much about the needs of others' children at the end of day and prefer to save my energy to fight for my own instead

A Saturday group for dads with free bacon roll did not as far as I can tell, meet any of the needs specified in part 2 of ds' statement or any need identified anywhere else.

Used to 'prove' that we were getting resources, rather than targeted resources to meet need was a bit

So, again, DPs for bacon rolls please so I can spend them on ingredients for a cookery club for ds to have a focus, reduced need for eye contact a structure and common topic of interest for social interaction practise.

The stuff on a provision map isn't all statutory, it includes wave 2 and 3 intervention. Many (all) children with statements also recieve wave 1- 3 intervention that isn't detailed on their statement. You also have to feed in PPF and consider where there is crossover between SEN top up and PPF.

It is a bit of a dark art making the books balance, but I seriously resent your tone that suggests that I do not have the best interests of every child at heart and am sat with my feet up in my office eating bacon rolls laughing to myself about what lovely condiments you can buy with SEN funding.

Do you run a school or work at a managerial level in SEN services starlight? If not I find that last post pretty bloody patronising.