IPF

[Teenz38]

My child's school suggested for the Individual Pupil Funding rather than going for statementing as they said it came through quicker. He has been awarded this at Level 3A for this school year (Year 5). Apart from him not being excluded so far this school year I do not see any difference in his education and I have no idea how it is being spent. He still has bad days in school and is still in the normal classroom environment and of course when he's on a bad day they have to remove the rest of the class. He is supposed to have a one to one teacher but she is not always with him.
My concern as a parent is how do I go about finding out how the money is benefiting my child and if I don't feel the school are using the additional resources wisely for my son's benefit what can I do ??

I think all you can do is ask, put it in writing though. Unfortunately unlike a statement you have no legal protection to this funding. I would seriously consider applying for a statement as then your ds will have the legal protection it offers.

I would also recommend applying for a statement. It's the only legal way to guarantee a level of support for your child and you could make a complaint if the provision in a statement is not upheld - you have no such legal rights with an IPF.

It does take a long time and takes a lot of paperwork but in the longer term it will be worth it. It sounds like your son has quite severe needs if the rest of the class has to be removed.

With your son in Year 5, you would also benefit from more choice over a ms secondary placement or possibly a specialist placement.

You can apply for a statement yourself as a parent, look at IPSEA's website for a model letter.

Thanks for that advise I looked at that website and rang their advice line which was really helpful. I've a CAF meeting with the school next week so once I've attended that I think I'm goin to inform them of my decision to applying for a statement after Xmas