Got our draft statement, and vvv pleased

[pigletmania]

Yay we got our draft statement for dd 4.5 years (dev delay 2 years and autistic traits). It is just what we wanted stipulating 15 hours of support, MS school dd is attending have also got a budget to provide 5 hours per weeks, bumping it up to 20 hours, 4 hours per day which is great. I was dreading it, after reading some parents bad experiences of the draft statement and really having to fight for further hours. When I telephone dd case officer she said that if anytime dd needed more hours that school could call a review of the statement to increase her hours. It seems so positive so far . The statement detailed just what help dd needed and was very positive, feel confident about it all. DD has started her MS school and though a shaky start (due to bad sleep) she seems to be settling in well. She did attend the schools pre school so the environment was not entirely new.

The wording on the actual statement does not quantify properly how much hours she is to get, statement funded and school budgeted and whether its one to one. Due to her needs it says that she will need to take part in group work with other children so that he communication and social skills improve, not entirely on her own. I would not be happy if she was entirely on her own with a TA, i also want her to be with her peers too and participate in some of the stuff they are doing.

Therefore statement will provide 15 hours a week and school budgeted will be 5 hours per week, meaning 4 hours a day which we are happy with as its most of the day that she will have support. We just need that put on the draft statement so that dd will get it.

the statement just needs to specify the total number of hours, who funds which bit doesn't need to be there. 1:1 doesn't mean she'd be on her own, it just means that in a group situation her 1:1 would be there for her benefit alone and another teacher/ta would be there for the other children running that particular session.

oh ok ninja they just need to put that on there, do they have a legal obligation to put that info on a draft statement

they have a legal obligation to provide what is on the statement so if you want 20 hours 1:1 for the sole benefit of your dd then you need that to be written on the statement, both draft and final. The only thing the draft statement should have different to the final statement is that part 4 which names the school should be blank on the draft, everything else should be absolutely identical to what you want on the final.

here is some more guidance

IPSEA have just published lots of new 'Action Advice Sheets', one of which covers your situation, more or less. Read it here: www.ipsea.org.uk/AssetLibrary/How%20we%20can%20help/Taking%20Action/Case27.pdf

Thanks discodad we have a meeting with the headteacher anyway tomorrow, and will raise it with her, meanwhile I will contact the LEA and arrange to speak to an officer and write a letter saying why I am not accepting the statement. Gosh did'nt realise it was going to be this hard.