HELP...statementing here I come....

[OverflowingMum]

oh ...bum...such a non ending struggle...
I have been telling the school for 2 years that dd (with a diagnosis of Aspergers) is performing way below her potential but they have been fobbing me off
Now have official report (from Learning support sevices) that dd is "not achieving her potentail, and requires 1:1 support to do so" and school have told me they don't have the resources to do so....
so down the statementing route I go...
any advice ......please... so stressed.
God...why is everything SUCH a battle...

You know about IPSEA and their model letters right?

Find out from Council SEN officers what the threshold for a Statement is. In our area funds are delegated to schools such that they are required to put in the first 20 hours of 1:1 from money they already have been given. If the problem is with the school you may have to ask to see their budget - I think its called s52 Statement - you might be able to find it on your Council website.

This will save you a lot of hassle because if the school have the money but not used it for your child (which sounds likely if they have offered no 1:1) then your request for assessment will be almost certainly refused on the basis the school have not exhausted its own resources and you could waste several months finding that out. Often schools spend SEN money on Wave 1 funding - ie extra 1:1 reading, pencil grips etc and leave little for wave 2 or wave 3 - high level needs. Often they also spend it all at the beginning of the year and don't put any aside for children whose needs arise during the year.

If its the School's fault and they stick to that position that no funds for 1:1 you need to complain to the Governors and the Council. You can involve Parent Partnership / Autism Outreach if they are any use in your area. Being me if it is the school at fault I would probably be looking for a new one with a better attitude.

I am not saying don't apply for a statement just warning you the LA are likely to push it back to the school - usually you have to have had the maximum eg 20 hours and only when that has been shown to be insufficient can you get a statement

Well, hopefully, they'll find it hard to refuse a statutory assessment at least. Fingers crossed that the process goes smoothly. It can be a long and bumpy road but worth it in the end - or so I'm told. I hope so as we're thinking the end is in sight for us.

oh lord...It is all such a minefield.

Don't get me worng - I'm proepared to fight...(I'm already unpopular at school for insiting that the school review their head injury policy after another daughter eneded up in hospital after a head injury and the school left it severalk hours before notifying me....) anyway...

school have said they have been providing her with "maximum available support" for past 2 years, and still she has faile dto progress and has now been shown to achive "well below her potential"

I have so far been putting off the statementing route (rightly or wrongly) but now feel I have little choice left.....

Just wanted to wish you luck really

Coming out the other side of the process with ds1 (thanks to loads of help from some very knowledgeable MNetters) and just starting the process with ds3 ready for school in September so I feel for you atm!

Main advice I can give is not to be restricted by the spaces the forms allow you to write your comments. I sent pages and pages of my thoughts, concerns and evidence covering every aspects of ds's life and needs, not just education.

I'm very popular with the admin staff at my LA

And come here for advice, I couldn't have got through it without MN

Sympathy. I feel the same. We were refused SA in April and I've just submitted my evidence again today. I ignored the boxes and just typed reams and reams of information which could never have fitted in their boxes! I still expect them to refuse, but dd has made no progress in a year and in fact I feel she has regressed. Her dx is ADD and I suspect dyslexia and other associated problems. She's 10 and in Y6 and can't read, write or spell competently and has low self-esteem.

That's awful aero

we were turned down when ds was in year 6 and have got through it this time (year9) and he has a thorough, complex statement

Sadly he has deteriorated so much in that time the statement really wasn't questionable this time.

Good luck, keep strong and keep battling!

gdbd - Y9!!! How awful. It's shocking that it has to go that far before they give our children the support they need to prevent exactly this situation! I should hear tomorrow (a resounding no I expect), and I'm feeling a bit sick about it tbh. With SpLD, ADD, BESD and low self-esteem, you'd think they might agree to assess, but they seem to think they've got it right in mainstream and that a statement isn't necessary because mainstream schools know what they're doing. I'm sure some are great and are doing very well and that most are doing their best (within their budget), but what happens when the money runs out - they can just withdraw support, or if a child with a greater need comes along, then support could be withdrawn and used there instead. Dd needs her support specified and quantified and nothing less will do!

Thanks Aero, yes it is a pretty shite state of affairs. Have you heard yet?