You couldn't make this up

[asdx2]

Anyone want a laugh? Response from LEA to halt the Judicial Review process.
Four months after the deadline and six months after the Annual Review today I get the amended statement (only I haven't it's in the post so I demanded an email attachment)and.........wait for it......they have decided not to amend the statement and ds's placement for post 16 is to be in the unit.

The unit that has already stated three times that they can't meet his needs and a place that technically doesn't exist because it's a five year placement and it has recently been decided that any students from the unit wishing to stay post 16 would transfer to the mainstream and be supported through learning support.So ds's statement that categorically states his placement is in the unit is obsolete.

I'd love to say I was joking but I'm not unfortunately. I have been offered a meeting with the LIO to discuss any concerns the same LIO that stated categorically the unit was no longer an option for post 16.

:(

OMG . I feel your pain. We really do live in a crazy twilight world that normal folks don't know about don't we?

It's an absolute disgrace and these people act with impunity. Is your local MP any good?

madness, good luck with sorting it.

Good grief! words fail me! :(

god that's awful asd What has your solicitor said?

She is out of the office until Monday so have just forwarded her the letter so I don't know what she will say only that we will appeal obviously.
The most positive to come from this is the LEA acknowledge he needs a specialist placement because I thought they might name a mainstream college and the unit and the school will support me 100% so will provide evidence of ds's every need and why they can't meet it.
Head of unit is arranging a meeting with LIO myself, himself SENCO, HT and head of sixth form to discuss the amended statement. LIO should be like a lamb to the slaughter as he walks in as feelings are running high.

Good! go girl! stick to your guns. Its good you got so much support. Just make sure they write it all down when you are there and maybe just maybe you wont get another amended statement full of mumbo jumbo

How do they think they'll get away with it? It's just more delaying tactics. Bloody nightmare, I'm not looking forward to the other end of secondary school.

THEY AREN'T GOING TO GET AWAY WITH IT the only positive is that the school will support me 100% and I assume the solicitor will be somewhat bemused by the fact ds's statement now names a provision that doesn't exist as the unit is 11 to 16 only and has already informed the school three times that they can't and won't be able to meet ds's needs.
I think Judicial Review will go ahead because the amended statement(that wasn't amended IYSWIM) now names a non existent provision.

Just a rhetorical question, asdx2! With you fighting them, of course they won't bloody get away with it.

I'd like to think they are a bunch of incompetent loons but I suspect that in fact the LEA have a policy now of delaying and stalling so as to save money and hope that parents fall by the wayside in the process.Well I for one won't be giving up, I'll do my utmost to make sure they have to justify every move they have made in front of a judge. Bastards!!

You hit a point when you decide that the lunatics WILL NOT take over the ayslum otherwise known as your home don't you?

On a good day you could assume the poor LEA oficer needs an urgent referral to MHS for pychosis or a supported living environment for the severe comprehension difficulties demonstrated and be kind enough not to knock em out when you see them. On a bad day you can laugh and determine to go above their heads to Tribunal, JR, the Daily Mail & beyond.

It is worth reminding them that at 18 your child can obtain legal aid to sue the pants off them for some REAL money by way of compensation as you are so close to that age anyway ; ) It's been done by other children in recent years.

I remain convinced that it's not OUR kids who suffer from a real deficit in empathy or theory of mind.

They are gonna hang themselves with their own rope as soon as they step foot in front of a judge at this rate. Hang onto that fact as it'll help you retain your own sanity.

Gosh Bochead you aren't recommending the Daily Mail on Mumsnet you'll go to hell I'll tell you .

Ds as far as the solicitor is concerned is the litigant now so is already on legal aid I am apparently only his litigant friend. This is going all the way I can tell you

Nah hell is when you let an lea officer get you down ; )

Yes he said it in a meeting that was minuted by the school so witnessed by myself, school and Connexions. I also have his y10 transition plan that states the unit is an 11 to 16 placement and so ds would need alternative provision for post 16.
His statement names the unit with specialist support but if a child from the unit was to do post 16 at that school they would have to transfer to mainstream with general learning support given which would be impossible for ds and this was stated in the schools response.
Ds can't cope in the unit so he doesn't go into mainstream with his specialist support but if he was to stay there he would be expected to be in mainstream full time.
He would be expected to do A level courses when it's quite likely that he has failed his GCSEs because of his anxiety at being in the school and so won't have the entry requirements for sixth form anyway and won't cope with the academics if he ever got there.

Asdx

SNAP!

This happened to DS2 too.

At age 15 he could no longer attend mainstream and CAMHS, Ed Pysch etc all stated he needed a specialist placement. The LA refused to name a specialist placement on his Statement and named a PRU that wold be unable to educate him post-16. The LA had nothing else on offer.

The LA then proceeded to drag it's heels over looking for an independant placement claiming they had no obligation to provide him with an educational placement post-16.

Just after his 16th birthday they ceased his Statement.

Hence my complaint on the LGO thread running here about failure to make suitable provision.

That's what your LA are doing too - playing for time so they can claim he's post statutory education age and therefore no longer their responsibility. They'll be expecting Connexions to deal with his post-16 education.

In effect the LA are forcing him to leave school at 16 by failing to make post-16 provision.

Options:

Tribunal to secure adequate support in mainstream or independant placement

FE College with suitable support

I'll be going to Tribunal to get the Independent Special School I want. I suspect by naming the unit rather than a FE college will be their downfall tbh because they are by default accepting he needs specialist provision but unfortunately the specialist provision doesn't exist for post 16 in his unit.

Actually a young person can qualify for legal aid at age 16 - worth getting him to a solicitor. Mine signed his legal aid application on his 16th birthday!

Post 16 is a very grey area. LA try to pass the buck to Connexions but Connexions are funded (or were when I was in this situation) by the L&SC who expect the LA to continue to provide post-16 education.

So an impasse is reached.

There are some things you can do:

Write a letter for DS to sign stating that he wishes to remain in full-time education at school post-16 and send it to the LA. That puts his wishes on the record.

Look around for independant placements that may be suitable with a view to getting it funded by either the LA or LS&C. That will prove that suitable provision is available - at a price.

To get an indepenant placement you'll need to prove that not only the LA but also local FE College could not support his needs so look at all the local FE courses and ask what support their Learining Support Team could provide.

MP will be a waste of time. You may get some help complaining to your Local Councillor.

It's actually quite easy to get LS&C fubnding if you have a well-documented need. You can also ask any suitable independnt schools / colleges to assess your DS's suitability and their admissions staff can assist you in securing funbding for a placement.

You can initiate a formal comapkint against the LA and eventually to the LGO. Worth starting the LA complaint now as these can take months.

Other than that complain, complain to the LA Director of Education, Cheief Executive of LA, Local Councillor, Regional Director of Connexions.....

Unfortunately many on thsi board will face this same dilema at post-16. It's horrific, unjust and inhumane. But to them our kids are just expensive hot potatos that they try to drop as quaickly as they can.

There are some things you can do:

Write a letter for DS to sign stating that he wishes to remain in full-time education at school post-16 and send it to the LA. That puts his wishes on the record. the LEA have ds's wishes in writing so done

Look around for independant placements that may be suitable with a view to getting it funded by either the LA or LS&C. That will prove that suitable provision is available - at a price. I've found an independent school that assessed ds at LEA's request so must now establish whether I could get it alternatively funded.

To get an indepenant placement you'll need to prove that not only the LA but also local FE College could not support his needs so look at all the local FE courses and ask what support their Learining Support Team could provide. When making a case for the independent school I did this and gave full reasons as to why they couldn't meet his needs (LEA suggested 3 colleges initially) I assume that as they chose not to name one of these then they accepted my claims they were unsuitable am I wrong to assume that?

MP will be a waste of time. You may get some help complaining to your Local Councillor.Have tried MP was useless so will try councillor's surgery at the weekend.

It's actually quite easy to get LS&C fubnding if you have a well-documented need. You can also ask any suitable independnt schools / colleges to assess your DS's suitability and their admissions staff can assist you in securing funbding for a placement.

You can initiate a formal comapkint against the LA and eventually to the LGO. Worth starting the LA complaint now as these can take months. have begun that and so will push to get that in by Monday

Other than that complain, complain to the LA Director of Education, Cheief Executive of LA, Local Councillor, Regional Director of Connexions..... and will copy the complaint to them all

Many thanks for all your help x

Do a FOI request to see how many other children have lost their LEGAL RIGHT to post 16 education before you? It proves it is an unlawful council policy then, which means that you can take your complaint to Secretary of State for education (or at least copy the letters written to the LGO to him!). Policy is worse than failing an individual as it's clearly maladministration rather than a simple one-off mistake.

bochead who do I address the FOI request to to get that information. I'm pretty sure that the LEA names an unsuitable placement so that the statement will lapse as the placement breaks down. So I'd need figures of all the statements that lapse at 16 (because the LEA push FE colleges to avoid funding responsibility) and figures that show the numbers of statements that lapse because of placement breakdown or other difficulties.

I have an lea meet today followed by a sw home visit so will have to put my thinking cap on over the weekend. The question would also have to be worded by the solicitor so they couldn't weasle out of answering with specific facts.

The "measure up" team might have some ideas?