Received DS's proposed statement today - this really is the last straw!

[fabanflabby]

Im sure this is an LA tactic - delivery of the proposed statement whilst everyone is closed for Easter but I can't see me calming down any time soon!

The entire contents of Part 3 - the Provision, is filled with non specific, woolly phrases like 'DS may secure regular access to ...., it may be necessary for him to work either 1-2-1 or in small groups, he may need support with Literacy work, etc.....

The objectives themselves are not that far off the mark but the criteria to meet those objectives is a joke!

Are the LA allowed to be so non specific or am i being unreasonable in my expectations of what this document should say. There is nothing specific at all, no timings, no measures, nothing outlining progress, no identified outcomes, nothing.

Most upsetting is that DS's biggest issues are in the area of social communication, interaction, self esteem and vulnerability.
The LA have put here that 'DS should learn how to have confidence' and 'he should learn how to control impulsive behaviours' but again no strategies or indications of how he is going to be helped in achieving this or by who!

The best is saved until last - 'it may be necessary to involve the Senco in the IEP' and 'he may receive up to 10 hours LSA per week'

I would appreciate any advice at all as i'm so angry i cant think straight - we have jumped through every hoop possible to get this far for him!

Apologies for the mad rant!

rant away! and yes it is crap rubbish the way it is written.

Today get mad. Tomorrow get upset. Then the next day get mad again and this is the time to sit down and pick it to bits :)

Without a statement your Ds MAY get a lot of things or MAY not. With a statement like this its too wishy washy and a school could well do what they like.

reword it getting rid of the mays and the shoulds and replace them with WILL.

Check any reports you have that were used with the statement and make sure all the recommendations are there in the same dictorial form.

Are you happy with 10hours LSA do you think that is sufficient?

everything they put down like.......small group work or writing skills, or social skills etc should say a time as it "no less than 3 times a week or day or whatever for 10mins, 5mins each session etc iyswim.

Targets in an IEPor statement should be SMART - Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-related

www.education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/DfES%200581%20200MIG2228.pdf link to sen code of practice

Chapter 8 deals with how statements should be written. Some useful quotes:

"LEAs should draft clear, unambiguous statements."

"A statement should specify clearly the provision necessary to meet the needs of the child. It should detail appropriate provision to meet each identified need."

"Provision should normally be quantified (e.g. in terms of hours of provision, staffing arrangements) although there will be cases where some flexibility should be retained in order to meet the changing special educational needs of the child concerned."

It's a pig of a job but you will have to re-write the offending parts as coffee suggests, changing woolly statements to specific ones quoting directly from recommendations in the appendices as necessary. Have the LA sent you the document as an email attachment? This makes it quicker and easier to make changes if you can save it and then add strikethroughs and revisions/additions in bold or italics plus footnotes to refer to quotes from reports in appendices that support your more specific wording.

It would be nice if we could then bill the LA for doing their job properly for them ...

Leaveit to one side for a day while you calm down.

Then calmly go through it and specify and quantify every damn thing so that you can measure how he is being helped to meet those objectives. Rewrite it so that it makes sense and you'll be able to tell whether or not stuff is being delivered.

coff described how to do it very well.

The other thing to try and insert is any relevant training staff will need. e.g my son has autistic traits so needs a TA with enough understanding of autistic behavior to understand why the hell he's got his hands over his ears and is rocking back and forth. He also needs consistency. Written in his statement it says his TA MUST have training in autism + sensory issues and that he should have the same individual for the 21 hours TA support his statement specifies. This means his TA doesn't change on the same day his class has a supply teacher iyswim.

Look out for stuff like I've described above as relevant staff training etc can be the difference between success and failure of a statement. Standard TA/teacher training doesn't cover the specifics of any disability and people can't help your kid without the knowledge to understand the problems the child faces. Training costs money so the lea won't put it in a statement unless asked to iyswim, yet oft times a TA is little more than a babysitter without it.

Social skills group - is this a SALT designed, measured & monitored programme? Again you want to look at who/how the skills needed to deliver an effective programme are written into the statement iysim. Who will set and measure the targets and do they have the knowledge to do that properly?

Once you've rewritten it - send it back to the LEA & await their response.

Don't get angry. You musn't take it personally. They don't think you are an idiot specifically. They just get away with this kind of thing so much they see it as worth a try.

It's a step in the process and a delaying tactic. I know you feel you've climbed a mountain already but hopefully after a rest you'll just find that you have stronger legs for the next bit (and I'm sorry for saying 'next' rather than 'last').

As it currently stands your statement is easily appealable
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Indeed. There is nothing personal or calculated to offend or trick about it.
What you need to remember are four things:

1. The LEA person that drew it up does 100s of these a year, all to a blueprint. The person in question probably doesn' even know the school staff to whom they are referring. Straight away, there is an inherent flaw in the entire process because you have one person talking vaguely about what people unknown to them might or should do.

1. If you view life from a behavioural perspective (as I do) it becomes clear that all of us live our lives trying to avoid or minimise situations we do not find reinforcing (in behaviour speak we refer to them as 'punishing'. Much as I am trying to avoid the imminent task of tackling my ironing mountain and my son his maths homework, the LEA person is trying to get this over and done with as fast as s/he can to minimise the prospect of having yet another child's documents cluttering up his/her desk.

1. Many parents couldn't give a hoot about their child's statement. They don't even know what a statement is and will do little, if anything, to work with their child and the school to maximise thier chances. In which case, why would the LEA pull out all the stops to offer a gold star service when there will be no back up from home. What I have learnt in all my years in this job is that without consistent and concerted and co-ordinated efforts from home, the best school provision in the world means very little.

1. Assuming even that you get a great statement, it means little unless implemented. There are many schools and teaching staff who do a fantastic job with minimal interventino from the LEA. Phrases like 'trained in autism awareness' mean n othing at all in any case. It's one thing to be 'aware' and quite another to be able to actually do anything to address a presenting problem.

These are the facts, coming from someone at the coalface so to speak.
Hope they are helpful.

Thank you so much for all your advice so far ladies! I knew it was the right thing to do coming on here!

Im going to take today to focus on the easter egg hunt, the cooking and drinking a glass or 5 of wine! Tomorrow i will get stuck into section 8 of the SEN Code, the ACE document 'getting the statement right' and pulling DS's statement to pieces!

I'll be back no doubt for some more expert advice whilst going through that process!

Thanks again
xx

Good advice here. And yes it is deliberate to send it to you on a holiday we have always got our important paperwork on the last day before Xmas, Summer holidays etc etc

Sometimes the statement provision is a bit woolly sounding but this can be a good thing, allowing some flexibility. If things are too concrete and the child requires a different approach, it can be done.

IEP targets, on the other hand, should be watertight and relevant to the child at the time

Look through SEN COP and the ACE guide and IPSEA site.

I can cut and paste you the relevant bits from my statement regarding the law on how statements should be worded.

Yes, they always send stuff at the weekend - LAs, NHS or LGO. The latter sent their provisional judgment on the day I was leaving for a two week stay in Gt Ormond St with my son. After waiting 7 months for it!

PM me if you want my cut and pastes.

"May need" is absolute tosh. If current needs are defined in terms of what "may [be] need[ed]", it wouldn't be worthy of a statement to begin with. We may all need extra support in life from time to time. I may one day need a wheelchair. You may one day need a hearing aid. Put like that, it emphasises what this really means = but we hope we will never be called on to provide it.

The purpose of the statement is, as outlined above, to detail in clear and unambiguous terms what is needed. Not what may be needed.

However, needs can change over the course of a year until the Annual Review.
As long as provision hours and other therapy frequencies are outlined in unambiguous terms, it should be fine.

My son's statement had outlined the need for a social skills group. Anybody who has met him who realise he is a very long way from being ready for that provision.

As to when they send stuff: as far as I am aware they tend to want to clear their desks before holiday periods/weekends. I do not think they send things out strategically. There is not a huge office working away on these things.

The statement should reflect what the child needs. If your child doesn't need social skills groups, they shouldn't be in his statement. The statement can be amended to adapt to changing needs but all needs and the provision to meet those needs should be clearly set out in a way which is legally enforceable. That is the law.

As for when they send stuff, it is surprising that these people are always 'clearing their desks' on Fridays rather than Tuesdays isn't it?

I disagree Spinkle. I have worked both in LAs, for LAs and in 'challenge LAs' capacity. Redundancies, changes to working conditions, notice of bad news are consistently given late on the last day before holidays. It's the culture though, not specifically targetting parents.