what would you do?

[jenk1]

if like me you have just been told by the CAMHS that my sons headteacher HAS HAD A STATEMENT ABOUT HIS SPECIAL NEEDS SINCE JULY 05, AND HAS DONE NOTHING ABOUT IT?

I dont know what to do/think/say im so so shocked,apparantly the report we had back in july is the majority of his statement, it details his strengths and weaknesses what he needs etc,we thought it was just a summary from the psychologist-we didnt know that it WAS a statement, but SHE WOULD HAVE DONE-silly moo.

Ds has had to go through weeks of being depressed,thinking he,s no good when all he needed was a bit of 1-2-1 support on how to interact and socialise with other kids.

I dont know what to do now but i definately want him to go to a school that has a unit for AS/ASD.

I feel hopeless, rubbish,how could i have NOT KNOWN that that was his statement,how stupid stupid of me

jenk cant you make an official complaint to LEA,

I dont know much re the educational as I have never had to fight for that side but have with lot of other things

i dont know if ive got it in me to make more fights etc, theres so much going on ATM with dd,appeals for me,and now ds.

My aunty is a retired headteacher so im going to email her and see what she thinks.

Interestingly the head phoned me this morning and said "its nothing we,ve done is it?" i said no cos i didnt know about this at the time, but she perhaps thought this had something to do with it.

Can you obtain a copy of this document from the headteacher?. Where did this report come from?. You need to see this document asap and as a matter of course. Its appalling that this has been sat on by school for so long.

My guess is that is this document is actually not a Statement of Need issued by the LEA but more like an assessment of your child's needs pertaining to and leading up to a statement.

You should have received a copy of the statement as well if it is indeed such a document. If this is a statement it will have arrived from the council directly. A statement is usually in six parts.

TBH if you leave it then nothing will be done. The onus is very much on the parents to obtain the necessary provision for their child - would also suggest you talk to IPSEA for their advice and suggestions.

If you want your child to go to a school with an AS/ASD unit you will need a Statement of Special needs issued by your LEA. The LEA will then list the school in the Statement.

The guy at CAMHS said that this formed part of the statement and it does say what ds strengths and weaknesses are but it didnt come from the council but the hospital.

The school that we want ds to go to says they accept pupils who are being assessed,surely this is proof of that?

Hi,

With regards to your last sentence this report will help your case but it is not a Statement.

This hospital report is part of the overall evidence that should be presented to the LEA when making the case for the child to be assessed with a view to getting a statement.

It goes without saying that the school should have told you far earlier that they received this report from the hospital.

If you have not already applied to your LEA asking for your child to be assessed with a view to getting a statement then you need to do so asap. You can use this report too as back up. IPSEA are very good and have model letters you can use.

www.ipsea.org.uk.

The onus is very much on parents to do the donkey work with regards to applying for a statement.

BTW if the LEA do agree to assess they will write to all the various professionals who have dealt with your son and ask them for reports.

Thanks for the info Meerkats, im going to write to them tomorrow