Information sharing - LAs and service providers

[appropriatelyemployed]

Some of you might have seen my posts about the appalling practices of my council. Disclosure shows that they were passing information between services pre-Tribunal in an attempt to get me branded 'vexatious'. This was successful.

S&LT services were complicit in this. They were passing information to the council without my consent, meeting with the council and backkdating provision, filing reports with Tribunal without my consent.

I advise anyone todo he following:

1. Only deal with LAs in writing. If you have to go to a meeting, have someone take minutes and get them agreed afterwards

1. Issue very clearly limited consents to information sharing, for example, identify those people with whom you are happy for the LA to share information and the reasons why

1. Confirm that you do not consent to meetings taking place with service providers without your prior consent

1. To all health service providers, limit your consent to information sharing so that reports have to be disclosed to you first and meetings cannot be conducted behind your back.

There is a duty of confidentiality on these people and constraints under the DPA - use that protection.

I think it is important to pint out tha at both the TAC and the CAF parents get a form shoved at them to sign agreeing to consent to sharing of information.

I think at this stage of the process most parents are extremely vulnerable and trusting so it can be hard at this point to refuse.

Having said that, if you have a key worker you can write to them stating that on reflection you are withdrawing consent.

As you know, I am appalled at what you have been through.
Bear in mind thoguh that if you do this, it may well be used as an excuse to slow thnigs down further still.
If they have to seek permission at every step, it will take months to agree to anything and the bureacracy involved has to be measured against overall benefits for yuor child.
Doesn't make it fair or right but just saying...

Thanks Moondog - I take your point and I know they will try and use these things against you but I cannot see how asking for a report to be sent to you before being disclosed or for you to be told about a meeting will actually slow things down.

If they are going to lie about stuff, I''d rather they lie about the reason it takes so long than file reports with lies.

I think, too, it depends on the people you are dealing with. DS2's paed and OT have permission to send copies of reports to the senco for school purposes, however, if the school needs information from the paed or OT, they have been instructed to go through me first. The senco went to DS2's paed directly once and gave the impression to the paed that she had my permission to ring the paed, which was not true. I point blank told her this was not to happen again, and I discussed it with the paed, who was quite annoyed that she was misled (although I think it may have been a bit of a communication issue at that point) by the senco. It hasn't happened again, and everyone is quite clear that I will not tolerate this.

If I was constantly having to fight with the school though, they would not get any information unless it was through me.

I dunno Moondog. I think it is easy enough to issue 'pardons' to people you find you can trust.

Yes, you don't mind info sharing with people you trust!!