Preparing for LA tribunal

[Claw3]

Hi everyone, i would appreciate any advice on how to prepare for the LA Tribunal.

Tribunal is going ahead and school are not backing me, both school and LA are stating that ds's needs can be meet with school budget.

My arguement is that ds hasnt met a single IEP target or SALT target in 3 years.

Cheers Star, so if OT help was in a statement, the LA would be legally obliged to make it happen?

Will add those points to my questions. Thanks.

Pipin, to be honest i had a solicitor who was dealing with everything, without going into too much detail the split with my now ex, left me pretty desperate financially and lots of other problems etc, etc and i havent given this the attention it deserves.

Thanks Pipin, i have been kicking myself for not preparing as well as i should have.

Thanks again for all your advice and words of encouragement and of course MEGA VIBES x

Claw, just to remind you, this isn't IT. If anything goes wrong and you don't get what you need it isn't the end, you can take the tribunal ruling, go through it bit by bit and then beaver away collecting evidence specific to it, and go again in 6 months time with the advantage of not being scared of the unknown. It isn't ideal, sure, but the run up to a second tribunal isn't half as scary, - I should know.

Wishing you the very best of luck.

Well im back from Tribunal, it was all very civilised!

I think it went ok, although Tribunal seemed concerned about the amount of time that ds already spends outside of the classroom receiving 1:1 or small group work etc.

SENCO did make herself look silly at times, for example she said that it would be possible to increase the amount of time the TA spends with ds without a statement and it transpired that the TA is in the classroom for another boy who is statemented full time 1:1. She went red, when asked how this was possible and stuttered and stammered a few times!!

Fingers crossed, i should hear in about 2 weeks.

Thanks Star

Well done claw! You'll probably need this .

It sounds like the SENCO dug her own hole, a similar thing happened in my tribunal with backtracking and trying to cover up, erm, inconsistencies, and the judge could see right through it.

Really hope you get the right result in two weeks - try to plan something nice to distract you from thinking about it.

That's good to know.
How are you feeling now?
The stress parents undergo in these cases is beyond belief.

She really shot herslef in the foot there eh?!

i'm glad things went well for you today.

Well done Claw!

Well done Claw, you should be really proud of yourself. It isn't an easy thing to do and you've had a horrendous time getting this far. Sadly it isn't unique.

I will be tough waiting to find out the decision but try to plan some nice things in the waiting time.

Well done.

Thanks everyone, still feeling a bit disappointment with myself, it has taken almost 2 years to get this far and to fall at the final hurdle due to life getting in the way, makes me want to kick myself!

Feel the Tribunal could have gone much better, still what is done is done and im not going to dwell on it. Lets just hope the best i could manage at the time is good enough.

Thanks again everyone for your best wishes xx

Oh Claw, fgs you can't be the perfect performer all the time. It's just not possible. The fact you did it at all makes me in awe of you. It's something that requires fucking balls of steel.

If you have any worries or regrets, think of it as a dress rehearsal. YOu might not fancy doing it again, but your ds is still little and practise makes perfect.

Thats true Star, just feeling tired and drained and my hair looks greasy!!

Nothing that a bath, hairwash, takeaway and some sleep wont cure, tomorrow is another day and i havent lost yet. Will let you guys know the outcome x

Yes please. I'm currently re-writing the WHOLE of part 2 of ds' ammended statement.

Part 3 isn't too awful (although needs tweaking to stop them getting away with murder) but part 2 is a joke. Guess they thought they could start eroding it from the part 2 side. If anything I'm thinking he needs more in part 3 than I first thought -

Wow Star you have been at this even longer than me, it really is never ending. Good luck.

But that is what I am trying to say. I resent having to spend my evenings doing this, but it gets easier and become part of just what you do, and the more practise you get the better you become at both doing it and dealing with the emotional aspect.

So whatever happens, don't feel like this was a waste. Your child is little and practise makes perfect.

Oh no, not a waste, was just wishing that i hadnt been so sidetracked by other problems and that i could have given this my full attention. But life has a horrible habit of getting in the way unfortunately!

Thanks Pipin, i will enjoy the 2 week break waiting to hear.

Yes her excuse for taking full time 1:1 support away from another child to give to ds, was that they like to "encourage independance" as they dont want the child to "become dependant on the 1:1"

Brilliant, so ds will steal 5 minutes of a TA's time from another child, when recommendations say he needs 3 hours!

The panel seemed concerned that ds spends too much time out of the classroom receiving help, im hoping this means that they feel he needs more help in the classroom.

Fingers crossed :)