Year 9 Annual Review.

[starfishmummy]

Posting here as more "traffic" than in SN teens.

We have just had a letter inviting us to ds's annual review in January. Bit out of the blue as they are normally in april.

Year 9 seems to be significant for drawing up a transition plan. I've read the SEN code of practice and note that connexions are supposed to come ( I assume there will be someone else in their place now they are defunct); social services and health are also asked for input. I am going to write to the school - as we can't make the date anyway - and also will ask who else they are going to involve. I am going to assert myself, yet again, as school send out a letter saying we will get the reports about a week before the review and the code of practice says at least two (last year I threatened to cancel if we didn't get them in time).

Can anyone tell us what we might expect at the review?
Is there anything we should be doing? DS is more like your typical lower primary child) so we haven't really thought this through!

Connexions are not defunct. My DS1 works for them. They are very different from how they used to be, but the Special Needs side is still going. Our current SEN advisor has been very helpful and supportive.
They should be at the Year 9 review but the one we had at that time sat and said nothing, so might just as well not have been there.
The transition plan was really a piece of nonsense.DS said he wanted to be a car mechanic which was duly noted and that was about it,even though that is an unlikely outcome.The transition plan is supposed to be added to at subsequent reviews, and tbh most "normal" students don't know what they want to do in Yr 9 so for SEN children it seems ridiculous.
I think the Psychologist came to DS' Yr 9 review but no-one else from outside school.
The Connexions advisor is the one who will draw up the 139A if a child leaves school at 16. Keep your child in school as long as possible. The Statement ends when they leave school and as far as I can tell the 139A has no teeth. Have found this out the hard way as my DS is at a FE college and they are not giving him the support outlined on the 139A (hence much contact with Connexions).

Thanks. I hadn't realised that connexions still existed at all.
It does seem daft involving them with Ds at this stage considering his developmental delay. Our thoughts are that he will stay at his special school as long as possible!