SN Child - Separated parents - help!

[RockinSockBunnies]

I'm looking for advice regarding DSS who is autistic and currently going through the statementing process.

DP and his ex have joint custody of DSS following a protracted court case and much acrimony(DSS spends a week with us, then a week with his mother, etc.)

Does anyone know of the legal situation as it relates to the statement, if the parents have opposing views (i.e. one is pushing for most comprehensive statement with as many hours as possible, other won't engage or research process and would happily accept a badly drafted statement offering only a few hours)? Can the mother accept the statement and the father go to a tribunal? Or vice versa?

Whilst it would be lovely to be able to work together for the best interests of DS, unfortunately, in the past, this just doesn't happen and I'm trying to pre-empt finding ourselves in a most confusing situation.

Many thanks.

Gosh, wish I knew. Have you tried putting this to the local Parent Partnership?

Sorry can't be more helpful, but good luck. It certainly does need to be clarified asap.

Haven't yet approached any 'official' sources (other than legal statutes which still don't clarify things). DP doesn't want to raise the issue with DSS's nominated Case Officer because, and I think he's right, if he highlights potential division between the parents at the beginning of the process, the LA may try and exploit that (am thinking cynically, given funding and budget constraints etc).

I suppose I could call up the LA and ask 'hypothetically', but I doubt anyone would know the answer! I have a lot more faith in MN than the LA!

I probably at this point shouldn't admit that I'm a lawyer . Problem is I know nothing about educational law, though lots about the Companies Act!

The SEN COP instructs LAs and schools to 'work in partnership with parents.

So you're a parent - they shold be working with you.

We've had the opposite situation on here recently with the LA preferring to do business with the parent who did not have residency, rather than the one who did. Our view was that the LA should deal with the parent with residency as well as the one without as the one with residency could be deemed the 'primary carer'.

You can, as the parent, object to the Proposed Statement. I'd write to the school and the LA reminding them of their need to work in partnership with *parents' and ask to be fully informed and engaged in the process.