Downsides to applying for a statement?

[IndigoBell]

Everyone here keeps telling me to apply for a statement, and I have a meeting with Parent Partnership tomorrow so that they can help me write the letter.

But I feel really terrible about this decision.

I assume DD won't get a statement. And all that will happen is I will stress myself for no reason.

But do you think I will also annoy school? I have a good relationship with school, and don't want to ruin it. If I am going to apply I will tell them - but not ask them.

Can there be bad side effects from applying for a statement which gets turned down? Did your relationship with school deteriorate?

your* (typo)

Dragon is basically dictation software. It doesn't punctuate or capitalise, paragraph etc, it just (after 'training' with it) can print what you say.
For us and DS1, Dragon isn't instead of writing, it's as well. And its use is subject based. But our case is slightly different from Indigo's, in that ds1 has asd as well, which means that he has to get used to things for an extended time.
The reality of the situation is that he is going to have to be very proficient at either typing or word processing in 18 months time, in order to do his assignments in high school. Which he isn't that likely to be in reality. Dragon uses his skills and allows him to work to his true potential, in subjects like history and science, rather than frustrating him and holding him back.

We've insisted that support and so on is specific to his needs, but then his school are great and as you know I'm a SEN teacher so it's a fair advantage.

Yes to the statement. to repeat the first comment I made on this thread, one to one is fantastic for any child or student. You are your child's only advocate, and you know what her needs are better than anybody else. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise : you are the expert :)

Yes Indigo I would say go for it. I know it's difficult as you do not want to spoil the relationship you have with school but all you can do is let them know of your intentions and reasons.
Also, if you have any examples of why your DD "cannot access the curriculum" it would be good to mention it on your application to LA.

It is my understanding that "cannot access the curriculum" is the main criteria needed for the LA to issue statements. Good luck

Another yes, apply for a stat assessment from me as well.
Whilst you may think that your child's current school is doing all it can for her at the moment, she will eventually move on to secondary school and without a statement of her needs, you may not be so fortunate - in fact, it might be nigh on impossible to get a future school to provide the same level of support. If you have a statement in place pre secondary school, you will have a legally enforceable document that specifies your dtr's needs and how they should be met.

I would also say go for the statement as well. My ds had terrible difficulties on moving to secondary as his needs were not communicated properly between the schools - no statement. His mental health really suffered as a result.

The school may be pleased if you get it as they will then very likely get extra funding rather than having to fund the provision themselves.

They won't like the process because the LA will be saying the school should be able to provide this and can sometimes bully the school about this. But that is not your fault. Our mainstream nursery were given a hard time by LA SEN officer even though the LA EP said DS should be in a specialist placement - so they got bullied for not being able to do something the professionals knew was impossible anyway!

if there are County wide specialist teachers / outreach you might only be able to access these with a statement - or the fact you are asking for a statement may force them to come in and work with the school more

Also lots of placements at secondary eg in schools with onsite specialist teacher etc require a statement so it will widen options at secondary.

Thanks everyone.

I spoke to Parent Partnership this morning. They think I have a very strong case, and I have enough evidence.

I've just emailed school the letter I intend to send....

So, pretty much all done. And I feel good now.

Thanks everyone for pushing supporting me....

Brilliant. Please please keep us updated on how you are getting on cos we are nosey like that
PP have the muscle to tip things that extra bit when I think as parents we'd have taken things as far as we could. Your dd will definitely benefit in the long run.
Good luck, fingers x'd for you!

Finally got an email back from school.

They are claiming she has made progress this year.

So therefore I can't apply for a statement :(

Which is good in that I don't want her to have a statement. And I don't want the stress of applying for a statement.

But bad because she hasn't made the progress they are claiming and I can see no way she'll ever catch up........

So, I guess I'll have to ask for a meeting with school where they outline what they are going to do next year to get her catch up with her peers. :(

And then I'll have to push DD all summer to try and teach her myself :(

Indigo In this instance you can (and I would personally but it's your call) apply for a statutory assessment. That is not the same as applying for a statement.

What you are asking is that there is an in depth look at her needs and her progress to establish whether she needs a statement. This will be a multi-agency assessment. The school cannot say on their own whether or not she can have a statement.

A statement doesn't have to specify MORE support, but it should specify TARGETTED support. Provision isn't better just because there are more hours or there are more people involved. It is perfectly possible and reasonable for a statement to say 'ensure 1:1 is limited as dd learns best when she is left to it' for example, - providing there is evidence of this of course.

It is also reasonable for a statement to say that the literacy work needs to be done first thing in the morning, again, if this is what meets her needs.

A statement isn't about money or people, it's just a statement of what your dd needs to learn adequately. Usually, this is to do with money, but it really doesn't have to be. It could simply be that the class teacher has to go on a dyslexia awareness course and nothing more.

Indigo, - don't be frightened of the SA process. You're right that it can be stressful, but it doesn't have to be. If you apply yourself you retain control over it and therefore the level of stress etc.

You'll almost certainly find that going through it, whatever the outcome, gets better provision for your dd.

Applyying for an assessment of his needs kick started people like the ed pysch into actually lifting my lad's file out of their in tray - do it! At this stage it's not that stressful - the onus is on the school & professionals to look properly at the child's needs and the lea, not on you the Mum. I think schools sometimes don't want this extra workload or close scrutiny of their methods and records. The reports can be very useful for you too to identify areas to work on at home.

It's when & if you get the proposed draft statement in your hands that the stress starts.

School aren't telling me I can't apply for a statement.

My 'case' for SA was based on the fact that she'd made virtually no progress in 2 years.

Now she's (supposedly) made some progress, she doesn't qualify.

Trying to get hold of parent partnership, to see what they think....

The fact that one minute she hasn't made progress and the next minute she has is enough grounds to suggest further investigation is needed. A statutory assessment is further in depth investigation. It won't necessarily lead to a statement.

Also, it shouldn't focus soley on academic attainment. If, for example, she has made a little progress, but her IQ is far advanced of her peers, you'd expect her to have made more progress than that for example. This kind of thing comes out during the SA.

My major area of concern now is writing.

End of Y1 : 1 C
End of Y2 : 1 B (But was targeted to make 3 sub levels, ie a 2C)
End of Y3 : 1 A

EP report puts her 'cognitive abilities' in 98th percentile.

(I was equally concerned about her reading, but since doing AIT in March her reading has gone from a level 1B to a level 2B)

Do you think this is enough to apply for a SA? I don't. I thought her writing was still a 1B and her reading a 2C, which I felt would have been 'bad enough' to claim she wasn't making progress....... But now her reading level looks fine and her writing level looks like 'slow progress'

We've gotten a statement based on ASD related social issues ALONE. DD1 is ahead academically!

We STILL got the statement, despite the school insisting there's no need, despite the LA refusing to assess, TWICE.

Do it. Ignore the school.

But DDs only issues are academic. She has no SN. Only 'dyslexia'.

but if she is not achieving what she should be, as per EP report, then it should be looked into.

there is a big discrpancy betwen what she should be achieving, and what she is achieving. SA woudl give you, and the school, the room to discover why that is, and what can be done about it.

That's a tough one - do you think the school have the levels right? Presumably she would be assessed by an EP if you went down the statutory assessment route and they would check her levels? Or could you get a second opinion on where she is now (ie get a private EP to assess her) so you have support for your position. I think if you are still concerned then apply, it takes a while and the summer holidays delay things (even though they shouldn't) because so many people are away. LEA can delay if they haven't had the reports in (which happened to us).

oh, and (since I don't yet have a child "in the system" properly!) - what levels shoudl dd be at? averagely speaking?

The expected minimum level for a child at end of Y3 is a 2A.

But given that, according to the EP's report, she is very bright you would expect her to be at least a 3A.

To go from a 1a to a 3a should take 4 years - so I calculate her as 4 years behind where she should be. Although she is 2 years behind where the govt expects her to be.

Quite a lot for a child in Y3 :)

Hard to find exact percentile levels but I would say well in the bottom 5% of all children - and that 5% of course includes children with severe SN and severe learning difficulties, and kids who are neglected and not sent to school, kids who don't speak English or who's parents don't speak English and all the rest........

going just on your last post, I would be applying for a SA - using exactly that those paragraphs.

your dd is not performing to the standard she shoudl be, according to arecent EP report.

the school are trying their best, but are not able to help her achieve her potential.

she is at least 2 years behind, according to average standards, and more probably 4 years behind where she shoudl be.

that is more than enough info to spark off a SA, imo.

yes apply for the statement. If nothing else comes of it, it's a paper trail for when she transfers to secondary.

wot sinverfrog said. copy and paste what you wrote, send that letter off.

I just sent a stat assess request letter in last week for a 2.9 year old child who ISNT IN SCHOOL YET - not even nursery. I want the ball rolling NOW, i know what their feet dragging is like!

*silverfrog even! heesh my typing's gone to pot :P