statementing process - at what stage do I have to tell LEA what school we want?

[chocjunkie]

DD's nursery applied for a SA. LA agreed to assess and sent a form to us to fill in (called something like parental contribution for SA). was talking to PP the other day and if I understood them right, I need to tell LA at this stage what school we want. I always thought this would happen at a later stage...

oh, DD has autism and is due to start reception in september...

If I understand right and someone may come along and explain things much better as DS is in infants but due to go to juniors in Sept.

Infants applied for SA and so this is his current named school. They also sent me parental contribution bit. After SA was all done the LA sent me a proposed statement. Now on the proposed one the school naming bit stays blank. It is not put in until the full on statement is produced.

I wasnt happy with the proposed and so forwarded an IPSEA letter saying I dont agree and would like an interview and ALSO at this point I named the infant school. (look on the IPSEA site for that letter to see what I mean)

So I guess if they send you a proposed statement and you agree with it then you do the same say you are happy and name the school???

DS is due to move as I said in Sept and from what I know, come March/April your current school/nursery would review his needs and the statement and it is then you name the next school?

If your assessment takes its time and its coming to nursery end then I would phone the LA then and tell them who the next school is and discuss with them.

I dont 100% know if this is correct so perhaps someone will come along and either confirm or tell me I am barking mad lol

thanks Coff, that is what I thought as well. hopefully I misunderstood PP. would not be happy to make the school decision at this early stage as there are still a lot of question marks about DD and her skills/potential...

That's what we had, too. Proposed statement after SA had school placement blank. The issue might be whether a MS or SS would be the appropriate placement, as the statement is usually written with either any MS or a particular SS type in mind.

thanks! did i get it right then - we will have to decide the school after we receive the proposed statement but we should decide now about the school type (MS or SS) at this stage?

TIA

Yes I would visit both MS and SS schools and meet with them and see if the MS feel they are suitable to meet DDs needs and more importantly which you feel is more suitable to your DDs needs. I would definately do this in the meantime.

You might not get the choice of MS or SS, though. I would expect that during the assessment process the EP or other profs would be making that call, depending on your DS's needs. Not 100% sure how it works in all LAs but it should become evident which type of setting would be most appropriate. If a SS was deemed the right setting then most MS schools may not have the facilities even with a 1:1 TA to support your DS and could refuse to take him. If a MS setting is thought appropriate, the LA will want you to take that option as its so much cheaper...

In theory you don't need to name school until you get a draft proposed statement.
However an assessment does not guarantee you will get a statement and if you don't you would have to apply for a school place under normal arrangements. Usually for transfer to reception you would have to complete an admissions form around January and put your choice of schools as would for any other child. Places are usually announced around April / May
If you want special school then that could usually only be named via a statement.
If you want mainstream and want to ensure a place at a particular mainstream you would be wise to fill in a normal application form as once a mainstream school is full then you cannot get a place there statement or not under infant class size rules.
You could fill in the normal application form and name mainstream so you get your preference as a reserve option but still pursue SS through the statement route.

have done it already :) saw SS and my local MS primary (with SS unit). still not sure what is best - I can see advantages and disadvantages in both settings. also, all the professionals involved (EP, Salt, paed) cannot agree and gave rather conflicting advice... the more I think about it, the more I get confused :(

Sorry, DD not DS. Also, if she's due to start reception in Sept, you will need to choose a MS school so that there is a place for her. The current round of admissions is just starting. You need to 'bag' a place. Schools will take your DD with a statement as top of the admissions criteria, but if they are already fully subscribed some may argue that admitting an extra child above the magic 30 would be detrimental to the other children. So choose your MS school, if a SS ends up being the right place, you can always withdraw from the MS list.

Oops, crossed with you and Agnes.

oh yes, we applied for a MS for september already... :)

Name the MS which has the unit on the normal admissions form to bag the place at the school (which does not necessarily mean will get a unit place), but say you are just doing that to keep options open and the unit or SS may be more appropriate once got reports.
You could also consider a dual placement eg PT m/s and PT ss.
LAs often not keen on these but are possible
If you want m/s then the LA have to do everything reasonably possible to provide it.

Hmm, I'd usually say try MS first if you would like her to be in MS (for NT role models, possibly more academic) as once you are in a SS (safe, peer group, expertise etc) it's rare but not unheard of to change to MS. If she really doesn't cope in MS then move to SS. I have three friends whose children moved to SS from MS, none who moved from SS to MS.

agnes, we did exactly that (naming the MS with the unit) on the normal admission round and also mentioned that DD might actually need place at unit or ss (statement pending).

I heard it a lot that changing from SS to MS is supposed to be more difficult than the other way round. but it doesn't seem to be a problem in my LA. I know of several cases who went from SS to MS...

might really try to get DD a place at the unit of our MS school and see how we get on. suppose this is one of the things you need to try to find out if it works or not. oh, decisions, decisions....

I don't think it's the LA that would make the move difficult, I think it's more a mindset thing. SS is safe. They can take care of your DD, they are usually lovely, heartwarming places. God knows, I loved the early years SS my DS went to. But it only took DC up to end of reception, so it had to be a change and the SSs were all being closed down. (Policy changed on that, thank goodness.)

You can state your preference in your Parental Advice that forms part of the Statement.

LAs are supposed to look at MS first and accommodate parent's wishes for MS if at all possible.

Yes, MS if at all possible, rather than if at all appropriate, often.