statement - LA are refusing to asses DS

[Larissaisonline]

DS Aged nearly 5 (asd) has just finished reception in mainstream school. Has settled really well and coped with the school day etc but is struggling socially, with language and not really learning the basics (nuramacy, reading etc). He is summer born so completely expected him to be well behind his peers but didnt realise it was this bad. The school applied for LA to asses but got a phonecall yesterday to say they would like to wait for at least 6 months before they look at it again. Have sent in all the reports from SALT, Autism advisory service, ed psych, OT etc. The ed psych report clearly states how badly he is struggling, he is just copying others but not learning IYSWIM?So do I appeal or wait the 6 months? Do you think they are just fobbing me off?
Any advice greatly appreciated, thanks.

Sorry, should read assess

Yes they are putting you off because that is what all LA's do automatically.

However, it might not be the end of the world to wait. He is still very young, and another 6 motnhs could make a very big difference. Equally, if things have not improved it would strengthen your position to say, look, we waited as you suggested, and still things are bad. BUT you will then have to go through this all again and get all updated reports which is obviously far from ideal.

Finally I would say that you need to act in agreement with the school either way. IME so much of what is achieved is done due to pushing from the school so if they are happy to wait 6 months I would probably do the same. Unless they are also keen to push away now then it will be a bit hard for you.

Thanks, will now have to wait 6 wekks to speak to the school to ask their views. Am sure the LA timed it just as the school holidays started! The reports are all 6 months old already so will def need new ones if we are going to wait 6 months. The school have been very supportive which is a definite plus. I just cant bear the "wait & see". Its so hard to know what is the best thing for him. He is nowhere near accessing anything in the curriculum, but he is still so young, so many of his friends are a whole year older then him!

yes they are fobbing you off and they chose the day deliberately - we were in exactly this situation last year. Appeal now - we've had to appeal at every stage - we got a statement in Feb (after appealing in Sept) and are now appealing the terms of the statement and going to tribunal this Sept - so expect it to take another year.

Look at IPSEA appeal pack for guidance on grounds of appeal. Lack of progress despite the intervention of professionals is grounds for statutory assessment. LA almost never go to tribunal just on whether or not to assess.

With the cuts it is crucial you get a statement. LAs are reducing their services to only things they have a statutory duty to provide - so if you haven't got it on a statement you can't legally enforce it.

We were promised weekly visits from the outreach and have only had one a term. So you can't take anything on trust.

You could write back and say why you disagree and refer to the evidence and ask them to reconsider and say you will be definitely be appealing.

If the Ed Psych says inadequate progress you shouldn't need anything more - our LA also ignored the EP advice however.

I would definitely recommend appealing now rather than waiting - you have two months to appeal, from the date of the letter notifying you of the decision not to assess. If you wait for six weeks, you will be pushing the deadline and you would just have to start the request again from scratch.

You don't need support from the school to make the appeal - it would be helpful, but the fact that they submitted the request initially shows that they're supporting the application anyway.

Everything related to statementing takes a long time even by statutory timescales - if you agree to wait and see, your child will miss out on valuable early intervention.

Download IPSEA's pack as suggested above - it sounds like you have a strong case and it's unlikely that it would reach an appeal hearing. I also appealed a decision not to assess and the LA backed down long before the tribunal.

I've just come back to this and seen your comment about having to wait 6 weeks - the school HT and SENCO should be available during the holidays, so try writing to the school and asking them to call you back or just keep ringing. Most of our action on dd's Statement happened during the summer hols too.

Can also echo others' comments about the LA tending to back down long before it gets to appeal - that is always the last thing that they want to happen.

Thank you, will call the school today, I still haven't received the letter, they phoned on Monday! Will def appeal, I am just not pepared to "wait and see", it takes so long just to get all the reports together and all the relavant people to communicate.
Will keep you informed!

Larissa

Do you know how to appeal?

I ask because, having been turned down for assessment by the LA, it's up to you not school to appeal - they can't do that for you.

You need to write to SENDIST to initiate an appeal. It's between you and the LA now.

Best wishes

Larissa

It sounds like you have made your decision but I just wanted to say appeal and make sure you are a real nuisance to LA. I don't mean in the sense of being rude etc.. but maybe phone Parent Partnership (They are meant to give independant advice to parents but work for LA and speak with them and be persistant. I sent them a couple of e-mails, had a meeting with them plus spoke with them over the phone a couple of times while trying to get extra funding for DD. Show them that you know your stuff. Like I said they are meant to be an independent body but I do believe they may have some influence over decisions. I have no evidence just my gut feeling
Good luck

As Eviebaby says keep being a nuisance. I was and managed to get SA agreed really quickly after their refusal without all the stress of tribunal. I think that if they know you are determined and know the ins and outs of it all they are much more likely to back down rather than keep fobbing you off. Good luck.

Our LA backed down the moment the SENDIST acknowledgment hit their posttray. They just waited to see if we were bluffing or not.

Thanks have just seen your recent posts.

I have absoloutely no idea how to appeal, but received letter from LA this morning. They have suggested I meet with them to discuss the contents. Don't know if this is such a good idea - has anyone else done this?

The letter referred me to the parent partnership leaflet (which is not in the bloody envelope!) shall I contact them first or SENDIST?

Thanks for your advice, I feel like this is the start of a long stressful process...

The LA has to include the information about PP, they should really have included a flyer but you can probably find their number online.

PP services are variable depending on where you are. They are funded by the LA but are supposed to act independently. Personally I've had very little to do with ours, preferring to use completely independent advice and support. Other people have found them useful for going to meetings and acting as note takers or witnesses.

It may be worth attending a meeting with the LA, if only to show willingness to negotiate. If your appeal goes to tribunal, they will want to see that you've tried to resolve the situation at a local level first. In practice, it's doubtful whether a meeting will make much difference to the LA's position. They may try to offer you support at SA+ level, which isn't going to be as secure as getting a statement but will be cheaper for them.

The first stage in appealing is filling out the form from the SENDIST website. Don't rush it though, you need to think carefully how to word your Reasons for Appeal. The form is deceptively short and it's best to type up all of that information separately.

They refused to assess my son and i apealed against their decision, 2 days before tribunal they agreed to statement him. Hope this helps. I am told IPSEA can help with appeals.

The form you need to fill out is at the end of this booklet.

But read the IPSEA pack for guidance on how to fill it in.

Thank you, will call LA on Mon to arrange a meeting, call PP and go from there. Funny how the letter from the LA states they looked at all information listed when making their decision - the EP report wasn't listed on there! What does that mean?!
Yet they copied him on the letter sent to me. Bizzare. That was the one report that said how badly he was struggling, scored really low on the cognitive tests and is covering his difficulties by copying others.

We had a meeting. They have to offer one under the rules - and if you don't go it might reflect poorly on you at tribunal - although its unlikely it will go that far.

Make sure you take someone with you who can take notes of what is said. We were told some outrageous lies about what their responsibilities were to DS.

Make sure you have read and have your own copy of SEN Code of Practice - I think you can get a free copy via Teachernet its much easier to have a hard copy and underline the relevant bits. You can put lots of random post-its on it so it looks like you mean business.

For the appeal I wrote a long statement about DS history - what we had tried to date - why it hadn't worked - what we wanted and why.

The other thing you must do is write and request a copy of the LEA file. You just write a brief letter saying "I want a copy of DS file. Please treat this as a data access request".

You can follow the meeting up in writing if you like. I think I said I'd listened to what they said but still felt they were wrong under COP and was going to appeal . As I say they waited until I actually sent it to SENDIST and then they backed down.

When you request the file ask them to label the specific documents relied upon in making the decision so you can check none were missed.

At the meeting the key questions you want answered are why they feel his progress to date is adequate (look at COP for definition) and what they intend to do next outside of a statutory assessment to ensure progress in next 6 months is adequate. Even if they offer you something new - still appeal - unless its in a statement they can take it away just as quickly. It will take 6 months to get a date for tribunal so you can always say I am going to appeal but it will take 6 months to get a hearing (I think SENDIST are booking into Feb 2011) so by then we will know whether your approach is going to work or not. ie make it clear that you intend to hold them to account and they have to prove it will work not take it on trust. You can withdraw an appeal at any time, so there is nothing to lose by putting the appeal in. However if you are persuaded to wait 6-12 month then of course your DS could lose another 6-12 months with inadequate provision. Your case sounds strong - you just need to quote the bits of the reports that support you.

When I sent my letter to LA disputing every fact that they had stated and asking for evidence I did mention their offer for a meeting. I said that I would consider meeting with them once they had responded to my letter knowing that it would be hard for them to respond to that. They then agreed to assess so I didn't get my meeting . I think we do have a coffee morning to meet the case manager/worker.