suspicious courtesy call parent partnership

[hannahsmummsy]

had a phone call out of the blue today asking if now i have had nice chat with senco and ep if i would be withdrawing my appeal , told them i was doing no such thing until i have iep/care plan in my hands and my dd was reciving adequate support for at least a term. I thought pp was impartial are they allowed to discuss dd case with ep without my permission , and do the lea use them to put "friendly Pressure" on parents like this,

What sort of appeal did they want you to withdraw?.

PP usually work under the auspices of the LEA in question and are therefore not impartial or independent (the PP in my area work out of the same office as the LEA). Advice on such matters should always be sought from one of the charitable organisations out there like IPSEA, SOSSEN etc.

that's not how it works here and no, they're not supposed to be putting lea pressure on you. At least now you know where you stand with them and can be careful with what you share with them in the future.

Attila is spot on, PP and ds case officer literally had offices next door to each other in the same building, first name terms etc.

They are good for attending meetings and putting pressure on school for more help (so that you dont apply for a statement) which can be useful. But the LA pays their wages.

Would also say that even if your dd receives a care plan and IEP and adequate support for a term, the school can withdraw this support at any time, without a statement.

Think you are right to be suspicious, sounds like fishing for info
For eg we contacted PP at outset, they gave advice that 'of course' my application for SA had been turned down because DS was only 3. Ignored them and appealed - and they said 'well if you want to' (so really supportive then). We didn't bother with PP after that but did the appeal ourselves. Then after tribunal (we won) were at a public meeting where senior council officer for SEN and PP officer seen having a chat and glances in our direction (along lines of they're the ones) so they clearly knew the outcome of our tribunal - but we had certainly not told them. Not clear why they would need to be told of outcome for a family they were not working with - pretty certainly a breach of confidentiality! If you don't want their advice just be asked to be taken off their books.

I think you are right to be suspicious! Our local PP work separately across 2 LA's and althought they receive funding from LA's they have their own offices (which I believe is the Best Practice guidance for PP's). And our PP Officers are overstreched already and certainly wouldn't have time to be making courtesy calls! Does your PP work out of a LA office?
Don't withdraw anything until you have the support you need for your DC in place and it is working. Otherwise you coud find yourself having to start the process all over again.

so sorry PP have not been helpfull to you , i would urge that everyone doesnt just think all PPs are like this because there not , our PP offices are separate and they act impartial and are extremely busy , ( i think we have a particularly fantastic PP service in my area) as everyone ive spoken to found them very useful they were the ones pushing me TO go to trib if i didnt get what DC needed and were with us every step of the way throughout , ours are government / charity funded but not part of the LEA so perhaps is why there very good.
If you dont get anywhere and feel they have been at all detrimental to your case try the mediation service instead its the next step they help with SEND Tribunal hth

freephone: 0800 064 4488
E-Mail : [email protected]

i have a friend who has used this free service and she recomended them to me so worth a call.

"What will it cost?

Unlike many other organisations Global Mediation provides a fixed price for all our services.

Your requirements can be discussed in confidence and without obligation.

Once we have established how we can help you will be quoted a competitive fee that is fully inclusive." www.globalmediation.co.uk/what-will-it-cost.php

Sorry, driveme, but not free at all.

I am horrified that some PPs work like people have mentioned here. PPS is supposed to be an arms length service, ours is fantastic and have very little contact with the LA apart from fighting parents corners. I started to volunteer with my local service this year as they where that good. Minimum standards, set out be DofE state PPS should not be based within the same building as the LA, and our isn't, we are based in a building with physios, health visitors and OT service, nowhere near sen dept.
I have see our pp officers having massive arguments with LA staff, they are all out for parents and kids, NOT the LA. It is so sad that some LAs work like this.