getting a non maintained school for statemented child

[jackofall]

could do with some advice...
i have just managed to get my 8 yr old ds to statement stage as he has global developmental delay...
i have found a great school which can offer him all he needs locally but downside apparently we will really struggle to get that for ds as it is going to cost the LEA bucks...
we have out first meeting with caseworker on friday following proposed statement (very vague!) and wanted to know if anyone had any hints or ideas as to how we get ds what he desperatly needs..
current mainstream school have been great and very lovely and helpful but have also been very honest and said that they are going to struggle to meet all his needs....
ideas on a postcard please

I am going to be keeping an eye on your thread, as I am in same situation.....well I have statement finalised now(2nd Oct), I first asked for a special needs school, which was refused as they said ds was too academically correct for peer group. They have now named local primary and next year local secondary. I have been HE since jan 08 as he cannot cope mainstream. (autistic/tourettes/sensory/dyspraxia) I also have found an ideal school, and am visiting this friday. I am already going down the tribunal route (as I will not put my son through mainstream again) and am hoping LEA will agree tpo fund. Good luck to you, and hope to see some useful tips from others!!! clarissa x

clarisa
oh how good to hear from someone else...
my ds is scoring at reception level academically but is in yr 3....
i have our first meeting with lea following proposed statement on friday - should i tell them now what i am thinking re schools or do what school have suggested and play cards very close to my chest and see what they suggest??

do you know of anyone else in your LEA who's gone down the same route as getting them to fund is much easier if someone else has already set a precedent

however, getting the LEA to agree can be a very protracted - and expensive - process - one of my neighbours got her son into a private special school a couple of years ago, but it took about a year and cost them £25,000 in legal fees

i have just managed to get my DS who is 8 into a local priory education school, big battle that took over a year but we did it, if i can be of help just ask.

jackofall, we are in your situation. My daughter age 10 has GDD and we would like her to go to a non-maintained school. We have legal help and will go to a tribunal, probably next year.

Any LEA will try to fight this type of placement. You will ultimately have to show that no local LEA school can meet your child's needs. From my experience I would not tell the LEA your wishes at this stage, find out their choice of placement and then see if it is suitable. You may have to obtain independent reports which can cost around £500 each. It could also be useful to get the proposed statement checked by IPSEA, LEAs like to word these vaguely to be misleading.

Good luck, we have been struggling with this for 18 months now and still have a long way to go. It is a long and soul destroying process.

It is very important to visit any school the LEA suggests and write down your thoughts on why it is not suitable. It will help you that his current school feel they cannot meet his needs.

BONKERZ, how long did it take you and did you go to tribunal?

my son failed in his first MS in June 2006, second mainstream in Dec 2007 and was placed in a PRU in Dec 2007. We started trying to get a statement in feb 2006 and finally got 32.5 hours in oct 2007.
In jan 2008 after numerous meetings with lea i appealed the LEAs decision that DS be taught in a MS school. My appeal date was set for sept 08.
I let the LEA look for a suitable MS and eventually i decided to be pro active. I emailed 115 ms schools asking if they could meet my sons needs, i had 52 replies all saying NO and most stating that MS would not be suitable for DS at all! This certainly helped.
I changed my appeal in july 08 asking that my local priory school be named on the statement and 3 weeks before the appeal date i sent in late evidence of all the emails and replies i had sent, i forwarded a copy of this to the caseworker at the LEA and within 4 days they had agreed to my requests and had dropped the tribunal!!!!!!

My DS1 goes to a special private school for dyslexic/dyspraxic children and some of the pupils have statements and the fees are funded by their LEA.
I believe it is quite difficult to get the LEA to agree and all of the parents had to go to tribunal, most of them also using legal help which cost them quite a lot of money, but in the long run it is worth it as the fees are so high.
The school also has the advantage of being one of a very few dyslexic specialist schools in London, so they really do offer something that a mainstream school would not be able to.
Mind you in my experience getting a statement for dyslexia is really difficult anyway, so these parents were obviously willing to go all the way to get what they wanted for their DC's.

jackofall

One thing to remember, you are not on your own.... there are many parents out there having to fight for the correct education for there dear children. When I received my proposed statement I thought great as I believed my son would be automatically placed in the special needs school of which I had fought to get a five hour a week placement. Wrong, I named this school, and it was refused......the reason they gave was he was too bright for the peer group he would be placed with. (this was based on an hour in a math class of which he was bored...he is fairly good with numbers). He actually only attended 2 2 hour sessions within the classroom whilst attending this school, for the rest of the short time there he was based in a room without any other children, 1 teacher at the school and his 1-1 from his previous mainstream(of which I pulled him out in january). The placement was offered so they could assess him for his statement. So, after a lot of pleading, letters, emails, etc etc, my sons statement was finalised on 2nd Oct, naming his catchment primary and catchment secondary. I wrote to mainstream schools around the area asking if a placement could be offered, of which all replied no, other than his catchment school, who never responded. (and this is the one named!!!!) Obviously they have been pushed into offering a placement, of which is ridculous. I am adamant he is not going to mainstream,(if you read past threads of mine you will see why). I have a meeting next Friday to discuss re-intergration into this named school, of which yes I will attend (as it looks better for you). I have found an autistic school of which we are both going to visit on Friday, looks fantastic going by the website...and have heard they are very supportive with helping fight LEA for funding, so fingers crossed. I know it is going to be yet another battle, but I will fight all the way for my child. They only have one childhood, where they learn to understand the world around them, without this understanding what chance have they in this cruel world.
I am wishing you every success in your quest, my heart goes out to you. Take care, and keep strong x

thanks so much - will let you know how friday goes...
i'm sure you all agree - why should we have to fight for something which isn't a luxury - it's a necessity! worked hard all our lives and paid our tax - now i want something back!!

Just to say that I am off to Tribunal on 27th November to get my ds the specialist placement that he needs, mainstream is just not for him.

I second what Vjg13 says - DO NOT TELL YOUR LEA WHAT YOUR PLANS ARE. The least you tell them the better as they will then be forearmed and use the information to their advantage or against you.

It would be better for you to say, okay then, go ahead and finalise the Statement and then take them to Tribunal.

You will need independent reports - EP, SaLT, OT etc and yes these will cost you a minimum of £500 each but they will be worth their weight in gold.

One very important thing is book up your independent specialists NOW! They will be heavily book up already and with the new SENDIST rules coming in, you just cannot afford to wait until you get to the Appeal stage itself as you will run out of time. You can always cancel the appointments if they are not needed but do please get your name down now.

i have to name a school on the form - should i put down the one i have chosen?
thanks candlewax and clarisa xx

We had a meeting today and the LEA said they would consider the non-maintained school but we would have to provide the transport as it is our choice and they could meet her needs in a local school. Has anyone had an experience like this and what happened? We could not provide the transport due to work or fund it ourselves.

you do not have to put down a name of the school right now. When i appealed the choice of MS i just put on the form that i wanted a special school for ds and put that i would let them know as soon as i had gathered evidence, then a month before the appeal i rang SENDIST and said i had a name of school and i had to fill in a form and get permission to consider this school.
are you in touch with parent partnership?
I didnt tell LEA what i wanted just that i was looking into specialist schools. I visited every school the LEA suggested for my son, i also visited some special schools out of county and wrote why i thought these school were inappropriate (lack of locks on doors etc meaning DS could just run out, perimeter fencing being waist height meaning DS could easily get out of school, no space away from classroom for DS to have his meltdowns etc etc) and like i said earlier i also emailed 115 ms schools with a blunt description of my son and asked of they would be able to meet his needs, in this email i was careful not to mention i didnt want mainstream so as not to influence the replies.