Campaign group

[appropriatelytrained]

On one of the threads below, a few of us were discussing putting our minds together to start campaigning/researching on a few key issues.

One of the ideas was to compare SEN practice in the UK and elsewhere. This would be a long term project.

Short-term ideas would include basic FOI Act requests made across the country (in exactly the same way) on key specific issues of relevance to many parents, irrespective of the child's diagnosis or difficulties e.g. (and these are only ideas) accountability in the SEN process, educational psychologists quantifying provision, training etc

If you are interested, do please PM me so I can get an email group up and running and we can agree a first step.

Hi

Just bumping this so others might see!

There are 6 of us so far. I intend to send an initial email out at the weekend so do let me know if you want to be added to the mailing list.

Thanks

I think getting a collection of general documents about LA's to compare i.e policy on panel minute taking, or just the docs that state criteria for statements, or use of TA internal docs to schools from LA (ours was interesting and full of blanket policies), perhaps the contract arrangements for commissioning SALTs or whether they are LA employees.

Perhaps a simple question asking for their latest communication to parent partnership re green paper or the last HT circular that mentions ABA/TA use or statements/ delegated funding etc.

Wouldn't it be lovely to have a one page 'profile' of each LA with demographics, political orientation, whether head of children's services was an Education, social care or Health person etc and a list of their blanket policies or illegal ones.

There are probably some ideas we could borrow from something like the Dr Foster website which rates different hospitals and compares data.

That all sounds very good Star. We could draw up a list and check things off one at a time or different people could work on different areas.

Zzzz - will send email out tonight.

If anyone is interested, do still get in touch.

There's a group that's done the FoI re SN to every Scottish local authority already. I can't remember details, but give me a couple of days to make some calls and I will find out for you. No point reinventing the wheel.

It takes about 5 hours to email every LA a cut and paste letter through the whatdotheyknow site and then a couple of hours to fight with the awkward ones who pretend they don't understand or claim there is some law which let's them off.

Email has gone to those who have volunteered.

Here you go - Kate Higgins from an organisation called For Scotland's Disabled Children has been working on this, and some clever person has collated all her requests and listed them. Hope this helps you.