Took on Tribunal and won!

[Survivor18]

1st time poster so please be nice.
Just wanted to share my experiences and add my voice to the growing number of parents who have become disheartened and appalled by the treatment of our kids in mainstream.
Yes, there will be lots of parents who want to sing the praises of their child's school and the support they give. Fantastic, I'm pleased for you all, but unfortunately this is not the experience of increasing numbers of parents who are at their wits end, fighting a system which is geared up to support the LA.
As background, my DD is 17 and in December we took our LA to the SEND Tribunal against B, F and I. My DD has moderate physical and learning difficulties and autism. Due to her needs being consistently overlooked despite an EHCP her mental health nosedived and she started self harming and refusing to attend. We decided that enough was enough and sought a move to a residential independent placement.
Thankfully the Tribunal agreed with us and she now has her place!!
What I want to get from this post is to offer advice to all the parents who read this and are just starting on their journey.
My DD struggled all the way through school. I'm ashamed to admit that I didn't know to fight harder for her during the early years. I knew she needed fuller assessments when she about 7, but I allowed the school and professionals she saw to sway me into thinking everything would be ok. It never was and she lost out on years of a proper education, despite having a 25 hr Statement in place before even starting Infants.
I never knew what questions to ask and when to demand to be taken seriously. I didn't know what my rights were and that there were options. I trusted those who I thought knew the system and would guide me through it. Now I'm cynical about everything and everyone. The system is designed to keep you at arm's reach and only the most determined will survive.
What would I tell myself to do if I could rewind 10 years?
Listen to nobody. Trust my own judgement. As a parent you know your child best, but that won't count for diddly squat when things get bad. You need evidence! Get anal about record keeping!
If you have a meeting, even a brief chat with the class teacher, email your understanding of the conversation to the teacher afterwards to minute that it even took place. Keep a copy of every letter/email you send. Every request for assessment. Every conversation at parents evening. Don't discuss your child at all with anyone without ensuring it is documented in some way, and what actions were agreed and timescales to see progress.
You may not want or need to go anywhere near as far as we have, but I never knew this would be our future when DD was 5,9,11 etc
Hope for the best, but plan for the worst. SEN budgets will only continue to be more and more squeezed. If you don't fight for your child no-one else will! If your child is struggling now, the situation is likely to worsen as they get older and the pressures are ramped up. Take action now. If you never need the evidence you collect then great, but it is hard to look back with the benefit of hindsight and reproach yourself for not taking action sooner. The System will tell you as many lies as it thinks it can get away with. Don't let it fob you off like I did.
Took luck with all your journeys.

Good for you. So far I have paid HCB Solicitors £21,000 to represent both of my children and was advised today they can not either of my children’s tribunals in 3 weeks time. HCB told me today any barrister could do Sendist tribunal it they didn’t tell me that when billing me £21000 which I have already paid and now have NO representation for two Sendist hearings. Twenty one thousand pounds for clarity and it’s not even at tribunal yet. Any advice? Very very stressed and feeling very let down.

You don't have no representation, Tarano. It's true that good barristers can do an excellent job at tribunals, in fact there can be a considerable benefit in bringing someone in who is looking at your appeals with fresh eyes and who has a lot of tribunal experience.

However, if your solicitors gave you to understand that they would represent you, you need to sort out the costs issue with them, as there will obviously be extra work involved in someone else getting up to speed on the papers.

Nice post survivor18. My road ahead looks to be a bit like the you've already travelled down. It's so difficult. But, it is reassuring to be reminded I am doing the right thing. School and the LA work together to save each other's budgets and have forgotten along the way that to very purpose of their existence is educating the children. To date, I have spent £6000, my relationship with a school I once absolutely loved (until the new head teacher arrived) is in ruin, and am only only at the stage of appealing and EHC assessment. I expect the SEND Tribunal to rule in my favour and tell the LA to assess my ASD/ADHD/DYspraxic son with clear struggles in SALT and OT.

Then, there is the active campaign (organised by the head teacher herself!) to exclude my son and me from the social community at school in an effort to protect her budget and her reputation. Disgusting behaviour! Why be a headteacher if you don't even like children? And want kind of evil person targets Autistic children for social exclusion?! 🤬🤯😢

Hi
I’m about to appeal our Statement soon saying dd is not making progress and request a school that the LA won’t allow. They know I’m gathering evidence and they probably are doing what they need to do to make sure they don’t look bad. I’m struggling with communication with the class teacher as I don’t know how to be with her in my emails anymore. Does anyone have any advice please? When she tells what my dd has been up to and what work they have done, do I sound positive or ignore it as I’ve said she’s not making progress? Will it go against me if I sound positive? Can anyone offer some advice please?

Hi, thanks for sharing, my daughter is only 7 we just won tribunal for EOTAS early this year and it is going strong. We used an advocate as couldn't afford solicitors. Me being me, was searching high schools and residential and couldn't find any girls residential in my search. My plan is to reintegrate back into school in secondary but am also considering residential as well

Thank you

Like you, I have known about my DCs struggle since they were about 7. We have now transitioned to secondary school and things have fallen apart. I am already documenting everything and I am about to send the last 2 years worth to the Senco who just told me we don’t have enough “history” to support an EHCP.

I hope EOTAS is going well, but in case you revisit schools in the future there are several coed school that have boarding for girls e.g. several of Cavendish, Acorn, Aurora, Witherslack, Aspris schools as well as Alderwasley Hall and Brentwood school. And Limpsfield Grange is girls only.

Thanks so much, never knew, thanks so much