the senco has just adamantly told me..

[cheeryface]

that ds2 could not have a statement without a diagnosis.

is that correct ?

No it's not but it may be easier with , depending on the problems.

In a word, no.

hmm i thought i had read that on here. doesnt fill me with hope ! first meeting i have had with senco. not saying i want a statement as yet but bit worried that she doesnt know what shes on about .

To be fair the SENCO might not be lying. Her in-service training from your LA might have sold her the line. That's what ours are told anyhow.

or does it prove that she does know what she is talking about but doesn't want you to apply for a statement?

And Cheery, from everything you have told us on here your ds is definately a statement candidate.

I think that most SENCOs just don't know the law. They haven't read the SEN-COP, just know what the LA has told them.

It doesn't necessarily means she's a bad SENCO.

The LA will have a doc about who they give statements to, which will disqualify almost everyone. And the SENCO believes that doc....

They're mostly just trying to do their job on inadequate training and inadequate funding.

The only way to know if you'll get a statement or not is to apply. And in the letter keep quoting the relevant parts of the SEN-COP.......

My "helpful" EP specifically not to quote bits of the code as it was more likely that they would turn you down [forced grin through gritted teeth]

My "helpful" EP told me the on-line form was "too difficult" for me to fill in...as it just required my name & address, I didnt seem to find it as taxing as she suggested...

no - support is meant to be based on need not dx
It's not up to her anyway - you can apply yourself

eh? What on earth is that about? Turning you down if you use bits of the code?

I can see our LA doing that tbh, because they use tribunal as a way of rationing provision, so if you quote the code they might drag you through the longhaul process of tribunal at every stage to save themselves a year or so of provision.

I'm not sure what the rules are but I don't think my DD would have a statement without her diagnosis. School did not look to gettting DD any extra help they were just taking a wait and see approach but on the day she received her diagnosis things moved pretty swiftly and 1:1 was in place for her start in reception.

Anyway, it might be worth suggesting to the SENCO that you are thinking of applying for a statement yourself.

DS2 got his statement without a diagnosis. Not necessary. It's based on needs, not diagnosis. If you have one, obviously, always handy to put it in , but they're not going to shoot you down in flames for not having one yet.