Hmm... I think you need to segment the issues a little more clearly personally.
I am also concerned that at the moment it reads that if school would only take some action, his needs could be met, which means that you simply won't get a statement - because Statements are for children whose schools cannot meet their needs without the resources of the LA.
I would change the letter slightly:
attends **C of E Primary School.
I believe that * special educational needs are as follows:
- Medical Needs/chronic illness: Partial Diabetes Insipidus and further hormonal dysfunction currently under investigation.
- Attendance problems due to anxiety bought on by illness/mental health
- Concentration and learning problems in the classroom
- Emotional behavioural problems which impact on his learning where he needs lots of encouragement to attempt any work set
** has been attending his local hospital since 3 months old and eventually he was referred to Great Ormond Street Hospital aged 2.5 years old. He has had numerous admissions for tests, and has subsequently been diagnosed with an abnormality in his pituitary gland. He will continue to be admitted for tests for the forseeable future as his condition is forever evolving and changing due to hormonal disturbances.
medical problems affect his physical and emotional development. present diagnosis is that of Partial Diabetes Insipidus - his kidneys do not receive the signal from the pituitary gland to retain water. This means * loses fluid very frequently, up to 2litres a day, so spends a lot of the school day visiting the toilet to urinate. At present Liam is undergoing further tests for Growth Hormone Deficiency and Cortisol Deficiency.
* is on Tier 2 of CAMHS for his emotional difficulties. This is further compounded by his low attendance due to hospital admissions, which has led to him falling behind in his progress at School. When is able to attend school regularly he struggles. His reading and writing are therefore, at the moment, considerably weak. His class teacher has expressed concerns about * reading, writing and concentration.
My reasons for believing that the school cannot on their own make the provision required to meet my child?s needs are:
* was already identified as ?School Action Plus? when he joined * School, and they were made fully aware of his medical situation. His reception year teacher was ?concerned? about his progress and his current teacher also has concerns. Despite their concerns, the school have seemed unable to help catch up. As the class moves on, * will continue to fall further behind as his lack of knowledge in basic areas do not allow him to access further learning.
* needs one to one tuition, which has been recognised by the school as the best course of action, yet still nothing has been put in place. At the school?s recent ?Big Write? day, was able to finish his first ever piece of writing as he had one to one supervision from his father. This was stated by the teacher. This clearly demonstrates how he was able to progress much more significantly with this individual attention, however support from a parent is not a suitable long-term solution during school hours. I believe that Statutory Assessment would enable detailed guidance to best support * and allow him to make progress once more.
School have stated that they are unable to meet individual needs, citing cost as the reason. The longer this situation continues, the more will fall behind in his education, which will cause more issues with his emotional well being. I understand that schools are given funds to meet the needs of children with SEN within their school budget, but the extent of needs goes beyond that which could reasonably required of the school to meet. I believe that without the support of the LA, the school will be unable to meet * needs both in the short and long-term, which will have a profound effect on his educational future.
I understand that you are required by law to reply to this request within six weeks and that if you refuse I will be able to appeal to the Special Educational Needs Tribunal.
Yours sincerely,
Feel free to ignore, but you have to tread a fine line between 'the school has failed my DS, so sort it out' and 'my DS has significant SEN' because if you don't, the message the LA gets is "the school isn't using it's funds that we have given them for SN', and unless the school can show that they have done everything they could reasonably be expected to do and it still isn't enough, the LA will simply say "deal with it."