Draft Statement has arrived

[brandy77]

And i just typed up loads of it and lost the lot when mumsnet said it was closed try again in 5 minutes, grrrrr!

Anyway, states he needs a special school, high level of support (no hours), 1:1 support (no hours), OT for sensory and anxiety, Will be taught by staff who are trained and experienced in working with children who have profound, severe and complex needs ..........states under "monitoring" though that if he makes progress then consideration will be given to formally ceasing the statement. Dont know if thats a cut/paste that goes on all statements, silly phrase because if he made good progress then it would be down to the statement, take it away and back to square 1 surely.

States that staff are competent and confident with meeting the needs of children with behaviour, emotional and social difficulties and speech and language difficulties. This MAY be realised through the utilisation within the Inclusion evelopment Programme. Care Plan to be agreed to cover emergencies and his medications. Direct teaching of strategies to identify his feelings and emotions. Introduction and specific interventions designed to foster respect and empathy......circle time,circle of friends and Kar2ouche. A carefully managed programme to support his re integration to school. Advice from OT to help his fine motor skills.

All these comments and more are under Objectives a) reduce his distress and anger that results from his anxiety and behave in an appropriate restrained and calmer manner b)learn to co-operate with adult direction and accept new experiences and challenges c)develop his social interaction skills d)continue to develop his conversational,expressive and receptive language skills.

The special schools OT and SALT has left and they are not being replaced. Found that out today when I was chasing up the JSC team about his full Speech assessment, which apparently is a huge waiting list for Dont know how he will progress with SALT and OT? this SS is only 4 miles away and is lovely. The other ones are too far away, son hates travelling, he hates school, so the nearer the better. Feeling a bit fed up, thought I would be pleased when I got it, I feel a bit of an ungrateful cow actually

Also the classes at the SS are small, but since Ive found out that the Y1/2 are mixed but just work in small groups. He didnt cope with a mixed 1/2 class in mainstream of 22. The paed had said when she assessed for ASD that she felt the school may not be appropriate as lots of the children are behavioural and if he got put in with the wrong boys he wouldnt cope, god its soooo frustrating

Well go and visit it lots and lots and visit some alternatives too.

Ask SOSSEN for their questionnaire to take with you to the schools.

You can't make a case for what you want if you don't know.

Thanks for that Star, il look up the questionairre now , dont know what SOSSEN is, il google it

So they don't have a school in section 4? Are they expecting you to choose a suitable special school or have they made any recommendations? Some special schools, even if not specialised in a particular disability, are better for ASD than others. Lots of emotional and behavioural difficulties probably wouldn't be good, ASD children need good role models preferably. Visit them, ask to talk to parents with children with similar DXs to your DS, find out if you can see where your DS would fit in. Get a feel for how flexible they are, what the SENCo is like, what parental support they provide, do they have a parents room, how active is the PTA.

Hopefully you'll find that your decision becomes obvious...

Hi Ellen, they havent named the school in section but have suggested it on the covering front letter and the head of the school is coming to the TAC meeting next week, theyve also had the statement sent to them.

Ive visited the school twice, the head has done both visits, the 1st time i visited i came out very impressed, the children (5-18) all looked very happy and considering its about 70% behavioural 30% ASD they were all well behaved. The reward systems they have in place are excellent for motivation, something my son has none of! Must admit I havent seen the SENCO, perhaps I should ask for another visit and ask to see him/her? im guessing that is who will be looking at the statement. Ive spoken to friends that have had children there and they love it, one boy is now in year 11 and the mother says its a fantastic school.

I phoned the LA in the end and asked for an extension on returning the statement as the EP is coming to my house a week monday when its due back and shes going to look over it, its all her recommendations for support in it anyway. The things I was worried in the statement im not worried anymore, the LA said its because a special school that they dont write hours for 1:1. They are also going to ask the Head about wether my son would get SALT and OT there if the staff have left, thats a huge worry for me. As for the year 1/2 classes being mixed, i think this is something I need to question as i wasnt aware of this during our 1st visit. God its so stressful just trying to find the right school. The next special school is too far to travel so its got to be this one really. Thanks for replying, sorry for waffling

Star or anyone else, what is SOSSEN in words please, i put it in google and got some computer company come up!

www.sossen.org.uk/ That's their website, brandy. You'll need to get SALT and OT hours on your statement especially if the school doesn't have their own anymore. What a shame, on site SALT and OT are so helpful. Children with ASD can find it hard to transfer skills from different situations, so class based sessions are ideal, with teachers and TAs providing the therapy as a matter of course.

I have a special school statement you need to make sure that if your DC was ever taken out of special school all your needs and provisions can be converted to ms by just adding hours. So although it may not be quantified is still should be described in part 2 and 3. Hope that makes sense

we had ours as well. It is really, shockingly bad.

thanks for the link ellen, heading there now. So i actually have to get SALT and OT written on the statement then, didnt know that! how would that be worded please? havent got a clue. Thanks utah, thats great info

sorry to hear your statement is awful corn5ilk

don't worry brandy-I'll be going over it with a fine tooth comb this weekend.

utah - any tips on how to word the special school provision?

If his needs in part 2 include speech and language issues and OT issues, his provision in part 3 should include what help he requires from those therapists. Usually specified and quantified, but in a SS LAs try to say there's no need to quantify as the SS will supply it automatically. But if this SS has no SALT or OT, I'd seriously get some therapy quantified.

The SOSSEN website has a great 'how to check the statement' info sheet link here about halfway down the page. You need to get your highlighters out on a photocopied statement, check every need from the professional advice and parental advice (reports in English) are specified in part 2, then provision to meet each need in part 2 is specified and quantified in part 3. (slightly different for SS as others have stated, but every need still needs to be specified.)

great link

ok ellen, thankyou. part 2 starts with ....has poor social interaction, social communication and social imagination which acts a barrier to sustained academic progress and learning. It doesnt mention the actual words that he requires Speech and Language? says "hes literal. His difficulties with social communication and the social use of language and communication means he can be misunderstood by others leading to them forming an incorrect, negative picture of him". Il have a look at your link. I think the SALT/OT are the main things bugging me that i want put in it

the most important thing for a special school statement is the right special school as tbh if the school is run well a statement should be irrelevant as the school is established for small numbers and 1:1 with all the practices stated in your statement already included in daily curriculum. Your statement is your guarantee and your future bargaining tool. Before amending and returning it is good to revisit the school and ensuring all they have to offer is included and if off site or bought in this has to be included. You need to make sure that at any time the LEA or yourself do not feel SS is the right placement all your provision is there. In mine for example salt daily with experienced TA as instructed by professional with experience and expertise, reviewed fortnightly with reports termly. ELSA at least twice a week. Explicit support from an adult to help with schedules and routines. I have teacch, my son is autistic so I have teachers experienced in autism and a multi-sensory approach to education.