Parent Power

[Minx179]

I was just reading some comments on another thread about parent power www.mumsnet.com/Talk/special_needs/1085089-Iisad123-You-okay, but rather than hijacking I thought I would start a new one.

I was talking to a psychologist last week, who asked me why I don't try to get together with like minded parents, who want to expose the poor quality of SEN education, provision and dare I say it, the corruption which is regularly can be involved. Why don't I?

Now I tried to get a support/action group together about 18 months ago, but found people weren't really interested in getting political, increasing their knowledge re education and the SEN system. I understand this view, it is easier to not know/fight, accept what your told and don't question; especially if your contending with multiple issues at home.

So on here we have a number of well informed parents and professionals, including teachers. What if anything could we do to highlight the educational/health needs of our children in order to bring disability/SEN to wider public/political attention? Would you want to?

[pom]

I had no experience of SEN 2 years ago before DS regressed and I have just been totally shocked that all this stuff goes on under the radar. And that its endemic - it goes from the top to bottom of every dept and across depts and across bodies (from LAs to NHS). We have lost count of the professionals who have bullied and lied to us. That the people who were supposed to help and support us made a bad situation a hundred times worse, its unbelievable. I work in fields where I would have thought professionals would have been wary of messing with me - but it is so ingrained with my LA that they can't modify their behaviour even when faced with a parent who they must know is not going to buy it. But their arrogance and total disregard for the families is just ingrained. Its like they don't know any other way to behave except by lies and deceit.

The blog would be great - once we have enough stories on it we can do a press release - group of MN started own blog etc - that would be a story in itself - and generate some publicity to make it grow - and then we can track the SEN Green Paper and be the true story behind the propaganda

Did anyone see the episode of Outnumbered where the headteacher suggests the rather atypical middle child (Ben) take a few days off during the Ofsted visit? The mum is outraged, the dad (a teacher) says "It's wrong.. but it is understandable.."

So it's on someone's radar, albeit comedy scriptwriters rather than journalists (though they may have more subliminal influence...)

Agnes Me too. I thought 'but I know my stuff, I have 'some' inside knowledge, I've never made a threat and not carried it out, I've kept records and they know it etc etc etc.'

It makes no difference. The directed arrogance and contempt is probably the only thing that is fairly distributed across families!

And it goes further. Who'd have thought you could lose a tribunal when a LA don't even seem to know what their approach is because the judge rules quite simply 'The provision the parents are asking for has only been recommended by the parent's witnesses and no LA witnesses'.

But no-one believes me because Justice is always served right, and we lost, so obviously we were wrong. The only comfort I have had since losing is hearing other parents report similar stories. The comfort isn't that they have lost of course but that it wasn't personal.

Here's a horror story website.

liveslosttoautism.blogspot.com/

Mainly from lack of support and understanding, hate crime etc. Tough reading.

I know Star - and its presented as though you don't need witnesses, as though you could turn up and tell your story with no lawyer and no experts and still be heard. And thats another lie. Because we were not asked one thing at tribunal - they wanted to hear from everyone else, but not a word from parents. It was only because our nursery came and said yes the LA provision was terrible and yes ABA is working that we were believed the 2 lever arch files of evidence I had collected were not mentioned. Our nursery nearly bottled it because the LA threatened to pull out all their funding for 3-4 year olds and they could so easily have bailed on us.

And our SEN officer deleted a bit of the statement headed Parent Views on the basis Parental Views were 'not relevant'.

And now people won't get legal aid to even get basic advice. And law centres, CABs and any charities relying on legal aid funded helplines etc will shut. And we're told by Kenneth Clarke these are minor issues about parental choice not life and death and we can navigate tribunals without help because its so easy - even though less than a year ago Brian Lamb was saying they were so technical and legalistic all children should get legal aid for them.

But I am sure it works the other way as far as the LA is concerned I am sure they are saying we won because we lied not because we were right and they were wrong.