Advice re Private Ed Phyc

[Fifis25StottieCakes]

Hi

My daughter is in yr3 and has seen the SN teacher since the end of reception. I have always known she is dyslexic. The school have refused to put her on the list for the LEA Phyc as her needs are being met in school. She is on SA at the moment.

I applied for a statement and luckily Banados are helping me with the school. I have had a meeting this morning and the school are still refusing to put her on the list. The SN teacher says she has Dyslexia and has problems with processing (which i already know). The Senco is trained in dyslexia and teaching Dyslexics.

The teacher last year at parents evening said my DD was lazy so i have been pushing for a phyc. They definately will not put her on the list as i am labelling her which i dont think is a bad thing. She said my dd is getting more help than anyone in the school, 2x30 minutes sessions in a small group and are going to give her 15 mins 1-1 on reading.

What is the best way to find a private phyc as i have googled and there are loads. The banados woman has told me to go private and reapply for a statement with the ed phyc report even though she is not on SA+.

Any advice with the above would help, thanks

Right, i have found 5 on the bps site, how do i pick between these 5. I think i may go with a woman as dd is normally better with them than men. There are 2 woman so will they just be about the same. Is there anything i should look out for??

Bump

Can you get a personal reccomendation from someone? Thats usually the best way. Do you have contact details for the Ed Psych attached to the school - could you use them privately? Or ask them or their secretary for a recommendation (people wont usually want to come out and obviously recommend someone in that type of sitiation, but they will often be able to get the message across if there is someone to definitely go for, or to avoid).

Ive rang the LEA and they have said they can only direct me to the bps site, im trawlling through them now. I think i will try and do what you suggest if the school bother to tell me who the phyc is. I cant find anything on line. Ive found 5 in Newcastle so im going to message a few i think for info and prices. I want to make sure if all that money is getting paid i get what i need iyswim

ive just found this one

www.dyslexianorth.co.uk/

reading it i think he my work for the schools as well

Do you have contact with anyone else who might know? A clinical psychologist working in CAMHS would probably know, if you are in touch with any of them.

No, im not in touch with chams only banados and she said they just normally get people refered to the LEA phyc. I have left a message with the above, i have sppoken to the receptionist and he does full educational reports plus specialises in dyslexia. Im just busy trying to research him now on the net and he seems ok. I dont know anyone whos gone private and the school are trying to discourage me as they think they can meet her needs in school and i am labelling her. I would rather she was labelled and assessed rather than the senco doing it. She will be in seniors soon and i want a proper diagnoses of what she has. Do you think 2x30 minutes sounds right, apparently she is on double what the other kids get. She has only started doing 2 since i got banados involved, for the past 3 years she had 1x30 minutes.

Call SOS SEN, they are a SEN charity and have a list of private EPs. I wouldn't look to NHS or LEA for recommendations as you want someone fully independent.

Ive spoken to the one on the above link this morning, £597 for a full report. Does that sound right.

Im looking at sos sen now thanks

Forgot to ask

should i do my appeal against the statement sedcision through sands or should i just wait, get a private report and appeal again in 6 months

Its probably in the ball park. How many hours did they say it would take? Where I live the psychologists charge ~£90 per hour for reports (thats the whole time taken, not just face to face with the client), but thats Scotland so probably cheaper that elsewhere.

I didnt ask but he did say it was £597 due to the nature of the report and time spent on it. He said i will get a full report and learning package. He also specialises in Dyslexia. He said the report would include what the school need to provide to aid her learning a the havent even got dyslexic readers. He said this report would also follow through to senior school.

He was surprised the school would not put her on the list for LEA one given that they know she has dyslexia and auditory processing problems

Yes, that's in the right ball park for dyslexia. It can be more expensive for more complex needs, especially if it requires observation in school as well as tests, but that is for issues such as ASD/ADHD.

If you are applying for a statement, I would check whether the EP is experienced in writing statements for tribunal and is willing/able to appear at a hearing. Not all EPs do - that is why SOS SEN can be particularly helpful, because they can recommend EPs which are particularly good at this and/or specialist in particular conditions.

You may not be expecting to go to tribunal right now but sadly it's very hard to get a statement for dyslexia/APD. Most parents have to put in an appeal to get taken seriously by the LA (and even after getting a statement, you may have to appeal again to ensure it's written correctly). So it is better to get your first EP report from a tribunal specialist so that the reports are consistent (you may have to get a report updated later as tribunals like them to be less than a year old).

You don't have to wait 6 months to reapply for a statement - it is only after a statutory assessment has been made that you have to wait for 6 months. You can reapply at any time, though of course if you don't have additional evidence the request is likely to be refused again.

Have you made a formal request for statutory assessment, which was refused by the LA? You can appeal against this, any time within two months. You don't have to submit the EP evidence at the time of appealing. It takes about six months from registering an appeal to get a hearing date and you can submit the evidence up until about 4/5 months, so it may save time to just appeal now and submit the evidence later. But do get advice about appealing; submitting the right evidence and using the relevant case law is key. Contact Ipsea/SOS SEN for more advice.

Yes i have which was refused as dd is only on SA. I have the appeal forms here. I think what i will do is wait and apply again with the EP report. I thought i had to wait 6 months to reapply so i think i will do that.

He specialises in Dyslexia so i think i will just go with him if the price sounds ok. He says he will also update when she starts seniors.

I have bandos helping with paperwork and she came to the school with me yesterday as relations have broken down. That was one of the benefits of applying for a statement even though i knew it would be refused.

The link for him is upthread.

Thanks, i know what i need to make sure he does now