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Original poster

Question for teachers. If a child has a statement, would you ignore it if you belived it wasn't justified?

269 replies

2boysnamedR · 04/09/2015 19:47

That, in nutshell.

Son has a statement via winning a appeal. Head of village school said I won it as parents have money and the LA doesn't ( not true or fair I feel. In my case I won with no solicitor against the la rep with law degree ( ex legal firm worker).

My sons in a different school so I doubt my head would say this to my face. But. I'm pretty sure they don't agree with the dessision. They do some things really well, other things not so good but overall I get the impression there's bad will that I didn't listen to the school and did this.

If a child had a statement for ASD would / do some teachers think "he's just naughty, he needs a firm hand"

I am not going to judge or bash any ideas. Surely some people must think like this? I don't want to keep banging my head against a brick wall.

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PurpleHairAndPearls · 05/09/2015 20:39

Which boroughs Charis?

capsium · 05/09/2015 20:40

spaniel the Statement is SEN is a mythical creature that you have to visit the SENCO office, located in the schools Room of Requirement, to find....there are many perils to encounter along the way, they say the ghosts of several lost students with additional needs haunt the corridors...Oh no, now they are real!

spanieleyes · 05/09/2015 20:40

I am explaining the bigger picture here, as I was asked to do by the OP

No you aren't. You are providing very misleading information about something you clearly know nothing about.

mrz · 05/09/2015 20:41

You work for three London boroughs that are all breaking the law Charis? Is your real name Walter Mitty?

OurBlanche · 05/09/2015 20:42

Only around 2% will need one!

Oh I do hope that is borne out with the new EHCs.

DSis has 32 in her class this year (despite being promised smaller class sizes for the last 5 years) and she already has 6 of them on the SEN list.

capsium Smile bubbles it is!

Toffeelatteplease · 05/09/2015 20:48

Charis

An annual statement review follows a set format, with a report going back to the LEA that reflects the input of all involved with the child.

If you are not doing that you are doing it wrong and doing a massive disservice to your statemented children. That is just a fact.

It is very easy to change a statement if everyone is in agreement with the changes. It happens either after an annual review or and extra annual review Yes many schools don't bother, but it is very easy and good schools update their statements on an annual basis

If things really are as you say they are that that is shockingly shit practice and I am horrified that anyone who supposedly has an interest or involvement in SEN could rationalise it.

As a parent there is no way I would stand for it

colley · 05/09/2015 20:53

I used to work with children in London. A lot of our children did move regularly, especially as we had a lot of children attending who were looked after. We spent time trying to ensure contact details were up to date, but some still were not.

McFarts · 05/09/2015 20:53

Charis

Mine haven't for years, they may have had a hand in administrating other people's statements, but like I said, they don't carry much weight.

Really are you sure???

This says different document 2 says VERY differently Statements of SEN and EHC plans: England 2015

The vast majority of children in all London LAs with a legally binding SEN document were support via a statement not an EHCP.

And what exactly do you mean by a child having statement says more about a parent than a child!!? Angry.

EmmaGellerGreen · 05/09/2015 20:59

With a glass of wine, Charis's Walter Mitter-esque tales are providing much amusement.

Devilishpyjamas · 05/09/2015 21:05

You advise on SEN?

Good God.

Charis1 · 05/09/2015 21:05

Why don't you just look up the news stories for your self. It was only last June/July all this fuss about LA records not matching the children in schools happened, thousands of children were classed as missing, specifically from London and Birmingham, with no one having any idea where they had moved on to. Many of them would have been statemented. any of them would have rolled up at other schools with no records, or would have left the country and gone who knows where, and equally, many children presenting themselves for a new school will not have any paper trail of educational records at all. You don't turn a child away from school because they don't have proof of identity, or proof of address.

InimitableJeeves · 05/09/2015 21:06

you ask them for a copy - brilliant! why didn't I THINK OF THAT! And if there are no contact details, or they don't speak English, or they say no, or they have lost it, or forget, or lie?????

Why have you artistically left out the rest of my post, where I said that if they don't have it you go to the LA?

And if you are going to tell me that thousands of parents and children routinely lie or refuse to divulge their address, I'm afraid I won't believe you. then you are very very nieve!

Do you have any evidence for that extraordinary statement? Why would thousands of parents tell you that their child has a statement, presumably because they feel their child needs help, and then be deliberately obstructive about helping you to give that help?

A teacher who can't spell "naive"???

PurpleHairAndPearls · 05/09/2015 21:09

Which boroughs, Charis?

What a surprise that you have failed to answer Hmm

Toffeelatteplease · 05/09/2015 21:13

I have no doubt bad practise exists.

I and just deeply surprised that anyone who professes to care about SEN can rationalise or justify it

Or not recognise it for just that bad Practise

McFarts · 05/09/2015 21:14

Charis You make it sound like the a big percentage of children have a statement, its a really lower percentage nation wide! I'd google and find the figures but you'd ignore them like you have many questions asked.

InimitableJeeves · 05/09/2015 21:14

If a teacher feels that it is impossible to deliver the support set out in a statement or EHCP, then s/he has a professional duty to say so at the annual review or earlier. The annual review report should set out the fact that the school is unable to meet the child's needs and either apply for whatever extra funding or support will remedy that, or recommend that the child moves to a more specialist school that will be able to provide it.

What is not an option professionally is to decide not to bother. Any teacher that does that is failing their pupils.

OurBlanche · 05/09/2015 21:15

www.theguardian.com/politics/2003/nov/23/schools.publicservices

2003: 100,000 lost to the system

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2284511/Massive-rise-parents-caught-lying-children-school-Hundreds-use-false-addresses.html

2013: Increase in number of parents lying...

Maybe not as far fetched as it sounded!

spanieleyes · 05/09/2015 21:21

But these 100000 aren't turning up claiming to have non-existant Statements!
In Charis's world, seemingly hundreds, perhaps thousands of parents turn up claiming to have Statemented children and she can't be bothered/doesn't know how to check!

mrz · 05/09/2015 21:22

OurBlanche perhaps you would care to explain what that has to do with statements?

OurBlanche · 05/09/2015 21:23

What is not an option professionally is to decide not to bother. Any teacher that does that is failing their pupils.

I'd hope no one would disagree, Jeeves.

Sadly some HTs see disagreeing with the statement as some sort of admittance of failure rather than further/different needs having been identified.

It can take some nerve to say out loud that you are not sticking to the details in a statement. I have been fortunate in having worked with very good Support depts. We have worked together to make the student experience better, more cogent. Friends and family have not been so lucky and have found that identifying any difference or shortfall in provision can be a deadly proposition.

OurBlanche · 05/09/2015 21:26

Huh?

Charis said that schools lose track of students, don't know their real addresses. I assume as an example of how data is inaccurate. She said 'use google' so I did!

It isn't that hard to follow, is it?

mrz · 05/09/2015 21:29

As people have explained the statementing process involves multi agencies ... Parents, GPs, paediatricians, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, SaLT, CAMHs, Teachers, Educational Psychologists , LEA etc etc etc ...
The LEA issues the statement and copies are sent to everyone involved in the process ...if you can't find your copy you go to the LEA ...they don't lie about where they "live"

OurBlanche · 05/09/2015 21:32

Who don't?

Or do i assume you mean that the 2 links I gave include outright lies.

Sorry, mrz, I know that there are 2 topics in there and I am just being amused at the weird concatenation and single track mindedness.

mrz · 05/09/2015 21:34

Yes you googled but did you consider what it actually has to do with statements or are you blindly following Charis's web

mrz · 05/09/2015 21:36

Head teachers who disagree with the statement have the opportunity to challenge the information during the process (as do parents)