Part time school placement - I need help.

[Voidka]

I have been taking a MN break for a few months but I could really do with some help and I know all of you on here have lots of knowledge.

DS started in MS primary in September, at first it was quite a bumpy ride but once they made some adjustments to what as expected of him it smoothed out. He has 20 hours a week 1-2-1, which worked out at full time as he was there mornings only.

The plan was that he would increase the time he spent in school slowly, this was agreed at his last review meeting. I was also informed that they would be applying for High Level Needs funding because they felt he needed 1-2-1 all the time.

2 weeks ago I was told that he wouldnt be able to stay past 2.15 in the afternoon as the school cannot fund a 1-2-1 after that time, until they hear back from the HLN bid at the end of this month.

Now he turns 5 at the end of the month too, so he needs to be in full time school by the beginning of Summer term. The school seem very positive that they will get the funding, but his Inclusion Support Officer told me that she feels its unlikely.

The school have been fab, his TA and the SENCo have worked really hard but I am worried about how things will go if he doesnt get the HLN funding. Is there any way around the full time by 5 rule?

Thank you SilverFrog :)

I will approach the school to see if they will support my application - it will be much easier with their support, especially if IS and Ed Psych are against it.

do you know that the Ed psych is against it?

and (this is the worst question to have to ask) - would you be in a financial position to get private reports done? at least you can trust those to be impartial...

do not let the school say 'oh yes, what a good idea, we'll handle the application' - if you do it, you know when it has been done (as opposed to sitting in an in-tray for weeks), and you have better rights of appeal as a parent than the school has if (when?) the LA turn down your request for statutory assessment.

there are plenty of people here who have been through this (every single bloody step of it!) and are going thorugh it - the LA will (if the are as tricky as you say) have plenty of tricks and nifty wording, but there will be someone who has come up against it before.

it isn't always a straightforward or easy fight, but it is one well worth having. it is supposed ot take 6 months for a statutory assessment, but it took nearly 3 years for us to get a satisfactory statement for dd1, and we are not the only ones.

inclusion support will tell you lies as it's there budget they are trying to look after, trust nothing they say, get everything in writing, even from school. get them to put it in writing about 2-15 pick up and state why.get a folder and put every scrap of paper school and education, (health if involved) in file. save everything.(even basic letters that all pupils get from school)if you need help pm me and i'll try and help out as much as i can.

Voidka...we are in Notts too, ds starts school this coming September, also have specialist Teacher from Inclusion Support, and we too are waiting to hear what level of funding ds will get, so very interested to hear how things go for you.

I posted some time ago about whether to request SA as thus far support has been first rate from preschool and as we know Notts operate in a different way, the response was mixed and I decided to sit and wait as we had been told that we will get similar levels of support in school...so not really liking what I'm hearing from you. I am still undecided, but will wait to hear what level of funding he gets, and then make my mind up to proceed or not.

PM me if you like, would be great to compare experiences from someone within the county.

Davidsotherhalf would be great if I could pm you, if that's ok

Voidka there are two different issues here. One is the LA policy - which is how they sort out their funding for statements - the other is what the law, says. A tribunal will not care about the LA policy - particularly if it breaches the law or does not meet the needs of the individual child. You only have to go by what the law says so you need to look at Education Act and SEN Code of Practice. LA SEN policies frequently break the law.
A tribunal can order that the LA put in fulltime 1:1 and won't care that they have organised their funding arrangements to make this difficult. The funding arrangements are not your concern.
I agree you should keep your child at this school, better a school that appreciates his level of need and is asking for more resources than a school which says it can do it all on a shoestring then fails him for the next 5 years. Personally I would keep the school on side even if that means staying PT, whist making an audit trail confirming when you are asked to pick your DS up, who said what and when etc. The fact they are saying he has to go home (in effect an unofficial exclusion and inability to meet his needs) is fantastic evidence he needs fulltime.
Apply for a statement - when its turned down - appeal. Know you have a really good chance of a tribunal backing you.
It is discrimination your child is not getting the same hours as every other child.
I would consider getting some advice eg IPSEA / SOSSEN or a lawyer if you are eligible for legal aid and sending a tough letter on these lines. You might even be able to judicially review a rubbish HN funding decision.
But put your statement request in now - you can get evidence from the school later. Just send the standard letter from IPSEA website to start the process to show you mean business. If you have put that in there is a better chance the LA will fund HN as they know you are not going to go away quietly. They may fund it just to get you off their back. I will still pursue the statement though so you can enforce it down the line.
When they tell you that is not Notts policy etc just say thats not your concern. They have a legal duty to meet need and lack of resources is (as uk courts have decided) not an excuse.

Thank you very much everyone - you all seem so strong and I feel really grateful for all your advice.

I feel so let down by the IS - and in fact I had a massive cry about it earlier because I feel like I have been misled and persuaded to go along with things how they are. I will try giving IPSEA a call tomorrow evening. DH is about as much good as a chocolate teapot and I have to resist the urge to scream at him.

My head is a mess but at least I know what I need to do now.

I know the previous Ed Psych was against a statement, but she is on ML so we have a new one that I am yet to meet. I would be quite happy to pay privately for an Ed Psych if that what it takes.

void nottingham won't accept any private reports so don't waste your money. do your sa letter and if you want me to i'll do plan of action for you ready for your reply from education.

I have yet to come across an LA that happily accepts private reports.

they can still be useful, though, in helping to get to the bottom of what your child needs (as opposed to what the LA bods will say your child needs), and how to word it etc.

agree with getting the letter in though - get it in sooner rather than later, as everything takes time, and with only the slightest delay you'll have the LA using the excuse of Easter holidays, then exam period, whatever. even putting it in today, you'd be pushing it to get a statement for September, even if everyhting went absolutely smoothly and the LA assessed and didn't bugger about.

Thank you - I will do the letter over the weekend and get it sent first thing in the morning.

Do you learn to deal with those professionals who dont agree with it and make you feel rubbish? I know I need to be stronger.

you learn to see that they are 'just doing their job' and that, maybe, they don't know as much as they think they do.

it isn't easy though. I remember dd1's portage worker - fab in oh so many ways, and a huge help to us in lots of situations, but then would not put in writing (as a prsonal reference - obv she had no 'official' say in what happened with dd1's education) things which she woudl agree with us she saw happening - such as dd1's language being better than the LA SALT report, or her difficulties at pre-school being mre significant than the LA ed psych said, or the difference between home and pre-school (she was the only person who saw dd1 for any length of time in both settings, so her observations would have been very useful) in how dd1 behaved, etc. that felt like a huge betrayal.

you do get over it, though. eventually (mostly you forget as the fight moves on to another level - and you are so busy with that that you don't have time to mull over what was said/done before)

I have spoken to the school and they have said they will support my statement request.

But they have asked me to wait until we know the outcome of the HLN bid, which is at the end of the month. I have agreed to do this but I was just so pleased that they agreed to support me.

I worry that IS will put a spanner in the works though. I am going to have to start worrying less what people think!

Don't delay.

I know you said to the school you would, but really, don't.

After you write the letter, the LA has 6 weeks to decide whether to assess or not. that is all that happens for those 6 weeks. so you will know the HLN funding result before you know the SA result, iyswim.

Write the letter. Post it (recorded). Delay now means your ds will almost definitely not have a statement in place for September.