Proposed Statement

[Frustrated2003]

Okay well my DS proposed statement is due on the 6th March, and I am getting really nervous as I know it will not be worth the paper it is written on.

Just wondered as the LA wont communicate with me without going through their legal department how can I discuss the proposed statement with them and ask for a rationale behind their decisions when they wont deal with me. Or do I just leave it to my solicitor and their solicitor to argue the points.

Anyway am just panicking so any advice on how to deal with these people or to stay calm during this process would be greatly appreciated.

i was expecting it to be a pile of poo but mine was 99% ok only a couple things i asked to be changed/added i was surprised after reading some reports ive no idea about how to deal with them tho but please try not to worry esp if you have legal people helping you but some of the others can give better advice in this area but just want you to know were all there with you , im waiting now for them to return my DS's statement hopefully with the changes ,the waitings horrible isnt it

Have you got a parents partnership or similar service in your area? I think LA's should have some kind of free mediation service available and PP should be able to point you in their direction.

ive got PP helping me they've been great they helped me check mine and read between the lines one of the things we had to do was name the school we wanted mines not got to be back april [sad} pp said they will prob wait till last min as they will be busy with all the placements for sept i duuno if thats true i think its just in her opinion

i hope you dont have to resort to that LeonieDelt good luck to you hope you hear soon

i heard that how do they get away with that

That's completely against the SEN CoP. It actually states that LAs must not have blanket policies not to specify. I'm sure they'd have to back down if lawyers got involved.

ill be doing that too as they did something very bad to my ds (Cant say on here) and ive specified a particular school so if it doesnt materialise ill go balistic

Keep us posted LeonieDelt. Good luck next week.

yes sorry to hijack the thread i guess were all in the same boat

so if you reject the proposed statement and name a school that you want your dc to go to how long do the LEA have to get back to you? Is there no legal timescale?

what does this mean?
we cannot deal with a case if

the local authority refused to name an
independent school or non-maintained
school (these are schools which are not
maintained by the local authority and
which normally charge fees) or a different
type of school (for example, a special
school when your child currently goes to
a mainstream school or the other way
around) where you have asked for a
change to part 4 in a statement that was at
least a year old.

does that mean we can't appeal for a specialist placement through sendist?

Oops, forgot you weren't the OP Leonie. Good luck also frustrated2003 for next week.

corns12k - it depends on the grounds on which you're appealing to Sendist. If it's a new or amended statement and you're appealing against part 4, you can name any placement you like - mainstream or special, independent or maintained.

There is also another situation where you can just ask for the name of the school to be changed on an older statement (must be at least a year old). In this case you can only name a different mainstream school if part 4 currently names a mainstream, or you can name a different special school if it names a special school. But you can't ask for an independent special school in this case.

I'm guessing that you have a new proposed statement and want to name a special school, so the second situation doesn't apply to you .

Regarding timescales - the LA should still finalise the statement within 8 weeks of issuing the proposed statement, regardless of which school you name. But I think if you request changes or a meeting, they no longer have to stick to the timescale.

Sometimes it's best just to accept that they won't agree to everything you ask, and to let them finalise it so you can then appeal to Sendist - the LA often won't take you seriously until you've gone to appeal.

Frustrated2003 - I made attempts to negotiate with my case officer, but to be honest it was a bit like talking to a brick wall . If you feel keen to attempt negotiation, you could get support from PP and/or try going through an official mediation process. Personally, I felt any attempts I made were a bit of a waste of time until I got to tribunal and found myself before an impartial panel.

Thanks
Is there anyone at the LEA who can let parents know how long they will take if you have asked for changes to a proposed statement? Or do they usually leave parents waiting in limbo indefinitely.

You can try asking your case officer, they should be your first point of contact at the LA. The problem is, if they say they'll take one week and then it turns out to take longer, there's nothing you can do about it really.

Whereas with the statutory 8 weeks (which still applies I think if you only ask for one meeting), the LA has a legal duty to meet that deadline (although LAs have ignored it with some parents and not met any penalty).

its supposed to be within 8 weeks acording to the paperwork ive been given one can only hope i guess

Can I ask are all the LA as bad as each other or are some better with working with parents throught the statementing process...