What to expect now?

[Foxy800]

DD is nearly 6 years old and the school put her forward for formal assessment which I was happy about as been saying she needs help right from pre school
We received a letter yesterday to say they felt her needs were severe and complex and likely to be long term so were going to put her forward for formal assessment so we have got through stage 1 which is of course great but does anyone know what happens next?

is this Statuory Assessment? We are currently in the Statutory Assessment phase and I am finding it a replica of the application phase. LEA are seeking reports from all involved agencies/professional and will then reach a decision. There is a mandatory time frame for them to respond in (off the top of my head 24 weeks). Have you contact Parent Partnership Service for your area? they will outline the whole process for you and advocate for parents by ensuring that the LEA follows due process.

Hope this helps and fingers crossed for a good result - we are currently at the breath holding stage as decision due any time

Hi thanks for the reply and yes it is the statortory assessment process. Didnt even know about the parent partnership service. How do I find out about that?

HOpe you get a good result too.

If you google Parent Partnership (PPS) you will be able to find your local service (they are part of LA) . It is a national service but covers local counties/clusters. They are excellent and have attended school meetings with me etc especially when ed psych was dithering about (long story!) They also have all on the info on specialist educational provision and will help you find the best provision for your child. Just a tip that another parent gave me is that if you are issued a statement then you only have 14 days to agree with it so if you feel that specialist provision is recommended then PPS can arrange to take to your local specialist schools/units for a look around so that you have a clear idea of what you want for your child

Thank you so much for all your help.

And good luck with your statement process.

Well having gone back to school today it seems we havent yet had a decision, the letter is just saying that we have the support of the local authority and that they feel it would be appropriate to go for it.

So no idea how long we wait for decision and what happens next!! Have emailed my local parent partnership, thank you for the suggestion as I have never heard from them.

hi foxy I am fairly certain the timescale from receiving the application (usually from the school) to a decision is 24 weeks but PPS will be able to tell you exactly. Also we received a phone call from the LEA to give us a named SEN officer and again they advised us as to timescales and also as a point of contact. Where we live it is really hard to get a statement - we were advised by Ed Pysch that children usually had to be on 1st centile across the board. However my DD is 'complex' (how I hate that phrase cos we have encountered it for years and it usually means that no one knows what the problem is!) and apparently now complexity rather severity is what gets a statement. I don't know if you know about the Statement audit bands? it is a grading system for different areas of the statement (off the tope of my head mobility, physical, academic etc) we didn't know anything about this the first time we went for a statement and PPS have now explained this to us. Also we as parents are asked to submit a statement introducing our child, their problems and also what educational support we as parents would like. Again PPS can help with this - I drafted one and asked them to check it for context, tone etc.

I have found them to be a real help and very supportive and like you hadn't heard of them until another mum told me about the service. Still holding our breath here ... must admit not very optimistic but hope things progress well for you

HI there, have emailed parent partnership and dd's named officer.

GOt an email today with a copy of a letter they have sent out today but basically dd has been turned down for going any further!!!

Hi foxy, if they have turned you down for assessment the next stage is to appeal against this decision at the Special Educational Needs Tribunal. Below is a link to part of the IPSEA site which explains the process. It's worht persevering with ringing them up for advice over the phone too (it is often difficult to get through as sadly lots of people in your position). SOSSEN are also very helpful and Partnership with parents.

www.ipsea.org.uk/what-you-need-to-know/how-to-complain.aspx.aspx

THank you very much, sorry been at work last two days so not been on here.

WE had meeting at parents evenign tonight with Senco who is going to look into it but think I will also phoen her named officer I think and of course look at the link.

Many thanks