Individual Partnership Agreements (IPA) - anybody had any experience of them please?

[Niecie]

DS goes to secondary next year and as part of his transition planning the SENCO has suggested an IPA.

I have never heard of one of these before and am not sure what we are supposed to get out of them

DS doesn't have a statment and won't get one and apparently the IPA is supposed to be instead of that.

It seems that from some goggling that it should be an Inclusion Partnership Agreement - Probably why I haven't found anything about them before.

Still, has anybody had any experience?

birmingham?

Or Hampshire.

In Hampshire they are sold as the 'easy equivalent of statementing without the fuss'.

Supposed 'benefits' include:

The fact that only those who already know him make the decisions on what goes into the IPA.

Flaw, which they don't mention, is that if they don't know what is the real underlying cause for the SEN, then they aren't going to find out without additional assessment, and by only having those who already deal with the child involved, they are precluding that.

It is basically a piece of paper for everyone already involved to say "well, what are we doing here, then?" and everyone to say "well, I do this" and everyone else to say "oh good, well carry on then". IMO.

This is what Hampshire say:

"Sometimes, especially for older children, having a statement of SEN can be seen as a stigma and the IPA will avoid this. The process will be less intimidating for your child. Professionals will not need to see your child unnecessarily as part of the process. Your child will be involved in the process, as is appropriate for their age. Some arrangements for your child could be made more quickly, with obvious benefits for him or her. In other cases, it will confirm the arrangements that are being made and how they can best be reviewed.
The process will be shorter and simpler than the statutory assessment process. It will still, however, be specific to your child?s needs. The IPA can be implemented much more quickly than a statement and, in some cases where new arrangements are being proposed, can begin to meet your child?s needs within a shorter timescale. You will be involved throughout the process and you can still request a statutory assessment if you think that is necessary.
The IPA will allow your child?s needs to be recorded alongside the arrangements that are being made, without excessive paperwork. The IPA will usually be based on a meeting to discuss your child and the outcome is a document tailored to your child?s needs to be agreed by you, school staff, and any other person involved. It can easily be transferred between schools, including schools outside Hampshire.
The IPA will be a less bureaucratic process for those who work in the Children?s Services Department SEN Service. It will draw on information from those already concerned with your child rather than waiting for information from someone who might not know your child at all. It has more flexibility than the statutory process and will offer a more rapid response for your child and to your concerns. "

Now, tell me if I am reading that with cynical eyes?

Remember, Statutory Assessment is a legal process and Statements of SEN are a legal document with right of appeal.

IPAs are not covered by first-tier tribunal. The only recourse is to request a Statutory Assessment from, well let's see....the people who feel an IPA is sufficient

Ah, just read your profile - so you are Hampshire.

Thanks Lougle. I am in Hampshire yes and slightly embarrassed I couldn't have found this myself. However, that aside I was wondering if anybody had ever actually had one and their experiences so not an entirely wasted thread (I hope).

DS has a dx of AS and dyspraxia but he has no hope of getting a statement, he is simply not that bad. His old teacher last year suggested looking into getting one which I did but couldn't think of a single thing to get one for - most of his problems will be transitory, i.e. once he has settled into school they won't be necessary or things a statement can't do anything about like getting him some friends.

I think the proposed purpose of having one of these agreements is to smooth his transition from primary to secondary as we predict he will find it difficult. It sounds like, if it works properly, it might just do that. Or it might, as you say, be a worthless piece of paper. We have had a meeting with the school nurse and the school to start planning his transition, the school nurse, who is the nurse for our chosen secondary too, is going to arrange a meeting with the SENCO there and also arrange for DS to have a personal tour. After that, it is proposed he spend a few hours every week there for the summer term so he is used to the place before he goes. If the IPA helps everybody stay forcussed on these goals then I suppose it will help. But will it?! (the reason for my post)

Shame I didn't go to the meeting where these were being pushed. I was invited as the SN governor at the school along with the SENCO (who proposed the IPA). Unfortunately, DS2 was ill and I couldn't go. Apparently Hampshire has not Ed psych provision at the moment so this might be the best we can get.

If you genuinely don't think that your DS needs the provision of a Statement, then an IPA can be a good way of formally agreeing what has been decided for supporting transistion. As long as you know that there is no legal basis, and it is simply a document that states what everyone has agreed to, that is fine.

My problem is when parents are given the (false) impression that an IPA is equivalent to a statement, but simply quicker and easier for everybody. It isn't.

Thank you.

The thing I would really like him to have is more OT support but that stops at the end of primary so not hope on that score - that is the only thing it would be useful to have a statement for.

The next best thing is that all his teachers are aware of this condition and make the appropriate allowances so that if he rolls up late for a lesson because he got lost or if he fails to hand in his homework because he got confused about what day it is or simply left it at home through his lack of organisational skills, they don't get come down hard on him. My hope is that the IPA will at least draw him and his difficulties to the attention of all his new teachers simply by being there. Our SENCO hopes that is what will happen but she doesn't work in his new school and she is as new to these things as I am by the sounds of it, so who knows!

Do you know if they are a recent invention?