Help me decide what to do with dd2 reg school??

[Marne]

I posted a few weeks ago because dd2 had started doing some full days at school but was getting no 1:1 in the afternoon even though her statement said 30hrs support. Since then dd2 had a week of with chicken pox and them most of last week off due to snow. This week dd2 is ment to be staying at school all day tue, wed, thur and next week everyday. She still has no extra support in the afternoons.

The school keep telling me they will cover support by using the other ta's in the classroom and they will keep an extra eye on her at break/lunch time. I don't feel this is good enough as dd2 needs consistancy (not a different TA watching her every hour.

The next few weeks will be stressful for dd2 as there are alot of routine changes due to christmas plays, carol sevices and parties, dd2 is likely to have meltdowns and will need an adult (who knows her) with her to calm her down and prepare her for changes.

School wont give her a 1:1 in the afternoon until they get extra funding (they don't have the funds to pay for it).

So do i take her out each day at 1pm or do i let her go in and have meltdowns as well as risk her safety?

I don't know what I would do in your situation;but her statement says 1:1 not someone to 'keep an extra eye on her'I agree she needs consistancy.I guess it is a question of whether you feel she is at risk ,in which case you would have to take her out.When are they likely to get the funding?The statement is a legal document so are they able to wriggle out of it in this way?

what do the lea have to say about school not providing the support she is legally entitled too, their funding shouldn't be your issue, whatever you do make sure they have put their reasoning in writing! And then write a complaint letter to the head and cc the lea.

The school have the funding to provide one to one assistance. Whilst, in my experience, this does not mean a single person is joined at the hip with the child, my son has 25 hours provision. His IEP is specific in its objectives and these cannot be met with someone merely "keeping an eye on" him.

She is not getting what she has been allocated....it's far better to give the full assistance, for things to go well and to "pull back" from the one to one when your daughter is so happy6 and settled that she required less help than for things to go horribly wrong and then have to do a damage limitation. I know. It's what happened to us.

They have "her" money in the school bank.....make sure they use it for her good.

The statement says 'support to be used as 1:1 or very small groups' (so not sure where i stand), her outreach worker seems to think the school should have a 1:1 for 30hrs to work with dd2 and sometimes a small group and told the school to get it sorted. The school are waiting to hear if they can get funding (applied a while ago). She has a great 1:1 in the mornings who she has really bonded with, her 1:1 is happy to take on more hours to support dd2.

At the moment i am driving the dd's a half an hour drive to get to this school as i thought it was a good school, we moved away from the school a few months ago. I have spoken to the SENCO at the village school here (just down the road) and have been told they would fund 1:1 for dd2 and she could have the same 1:1 (if the 1:1 agreed to move schools), the only problem is that dd1 doesnt want to move school (she has AS) and the school is a lot bigger than the one they are at at the moment.

If the school does not provide 1:1 in Jan i will have no choice but to move them.

I feel like i need to pull her out because they will say that she is ok without a 1:1 so she will never get the support she needs. I can't risk her safety and i dont want her getting upset and having meltdowns because it will make life so much harder at school and home.

bigcar- i havn't spoke to the LEA, do you think i should give them a ring? (i havn't got a clue what to do), i'm worried the school will just say 'they are covering it with other staff' (which they are not).

Dd1 told me that the whole class was asked to keep an eye on dd2 a few weeks ago when her 1:1 wasn't there (thats not covering it with other staff?)

they can't say she's ok without a 1:1 because her statement says she isn't. It's not all about just being ok, she's supposed to be getting something out of being there and the whole school day should be accessible for her.

I'd be ringing the case officer at the lea to see if they know what is going on and what they will do about it. They might already deem the school has enough funding to do 1:1, also mention about the other children being asked to keep an eye, that's really not on!

Surely if they are using a TA which is already in the classroom (for the whole class to use) then this is not 'extra' support. There are 26 children in the class (mixed class of 3 year groups), one teacher and 2 TA's (one of which is used for another child with sn's), if they use the other TA for dd2 that leaves no TA for the other 24 children and 1 teacher to teach 3 year groups .

Thanks bigcar, i will see if i can find the phone number for the case worker. She's ment to be going to church tomorrow (with the school) in the afternoon, she will meltdown as soon as they take her outside (as she will think she's going home), she has never been to church in her life so will be anxious, i think her 1:1 has offered to go with her (un-payed) as she is worried that dd2 will get upset.

I would be very unhappy if this were DS2. He has 30 hours 1:1 as well, wording the same as your DD2s statement.

By law they have to provide the allocated 1:1 for her. I was under the impression the LA had to fund this and not the individual school ( I could be wrong).

I quite hate christmas time at school for DS2 a he gets too over stimulated and flaps a lot. Too much change going on, lessons all over the place, and now we have had a few snow days. During this time he needs his 1:1 more than ever.

Simply "keeping an eye on her" isn't good enough Marne. You need to call the LA or her EP if you can.

I have phoned her case worker and she's going to give me a ring tomorrow (she's not on-site today).

I have had another look at the statement and it says '30hrs teaching assistance to be used as 1:1 or in a small group to be used under guidence of the SENCO. this assistance is to be used in small groups and as part of whole class support. At times this is to be used as 1:1 for specific programmes eg. spelling, reading, speech and languages etc..'

So what does this mean? Should she have her own TA at all times but to work as 1:1 or part of a group, or can they just use one of the other TA's to keep an eye on her?

I am confussed .

I'd get the case worker to clear it up as it's not entirely clear. Hope you can get it sorted. I'd read it as she needs her own 1:1.

Thank bigcar, i'm hoping it meand she needs her own 1:1 for 30hrs to help her work in small groups and as part of the class but i might be wrong .

I read it as 30 hours and the lea should be providing 30 hours funding or topping up whatever they deem the school should put in from own funds. You can refer it direct to local Govt ombudsman as the statement is not being implemented but they can usually only look at lea not school. The duty to make sure the statement is implemented lies with lea. They often try and word statements to put the duty on the school but legally it is the council who must make sure it happens. I would put your concerns in writing to sen officer and go to Lgo if not get satisfactory response. It does not matter who pays you just need 30 hours TA time. It would not be a tA in the class already.

My DD's wording on her statement is similar to your DD's - very vague - but it does say on my DD's statement "LA will provide 25 hrs". It it my understanding that the LA give money to DD's school to fund her LSA.
So I am assuming the extra TA in DD's class is technically paid for by the LA. Not sure if I am making much sense but like somebody else said I am sure a statement is legally binding.

What will the person "keeping an eye on her" actually doing to fulfill the statement & any IEP targets with regard to helping her access the curriculum?

Bottom line is a statement is issued to allow a child with sn to access the curriculum and or keep him or her safe & safeguard the other children & staff.

They should be able to quantify what actions will be taken by the TA to achieve this.
If a need for consistency is in the statement or in the supporting reports from profs which has gone toward the issuing of the statment then they are duty bound to make all reasonable adjustments to ensure consistency is maintained wherever and whenever possible.

Funding is not your or your dd issue that is the ht problem and your dd's level of support must not be comprimised.
They usually ahve a set period (I think ours was 2 months) to put in place everything needed to meet the statement/childs needs. If they have already had that period & have not applied for emergency funding or juggled adequately then I would strongly challenge if theya re meeting her needs as set out in the statement.

"Dd1 told me that the whole class was asked to keep an eye on dd2 a few weeks ago when her 1:1 wasn't there (thats not covering it with other staff?)"

This struck me as a bit odd, as well. Are you saying that the entire class was instructed to keep an eye on her? Doesn't that single her out a bit in a negative way? And I would think that the person responsible for monitoring her and doing the 1:1 should be an adult, not her classmates.

Yes Triggles, the whole class were told to keep an eye on her, it is singling her out and it makes me very angry.

I have been in to speak to SENCO this morning and i am now taking dd2 out at 1pm until she has 1:1, i know i shouldn't have to do this as they should be providing the support dd2 needs, the SENCO said they put in a application for funding 2 weeks ago for 30hrs 1:1 for when she goes back after christmas, she agreed that the statement says she should be getting a TA for 30hrs a week but still said it wont be sorted until Jan . She did not try and talk me out of taking dd out early and agreed the next 2 weeks will be stressful for dd2. Her 1:1 has agreed to help with the school play next week so she will stay for the play and i am going it to help with the x-mas party so i can take dd2 out if she gets upset.

Im hoping her case worker can offer me some advice as i dont know where to go from here. Before dd started i spoke to the school and they promised me dd would have full 1:1 even for lunch and break times, now she's barely getting 3 hours a day .

There is a model letter on the IPSEA website to help you complain when your child is not getting the special educational provision on their statement. It might be problematic that your statement isn't as specific as it could have been. But it's worth sending it in to the LA to have it on record and push the school into taking action.

I would add in the letter that your dd2 is not currently able to access FT education due to lack of support and ask how the LA plan to meet its legal duty of providing FT education which is appropriate for her.