Advice on educational psychologist for tribunal needed

[Pilaf]

I have a tribunal coming up in a couple of month re part 4 of the SEN statement (naming of the school). Because we are struggling to get factual evidence against the school, it was suggested to use an educational psychologist to do a report on our son and visit the school and report his findings.

John Hall (edu psych) in Bristol was suggested although someone nearer Birmingham would be better. He quoted £1500 (!) for doing an assessment on my son (bringing him to Bristol for 4 hrs) and writing a report. Going into the school and writing a report will be on top of that. Giving evidence at a tribunal would probably then be a small fortune.

Money is an issue and I am really not sure how much this will help our case.
I am aware there are no guarantees for a successful outcome of the tribunal but I don't want to end up with massive bills either.
The ASD specific school we want is oversubscribed and the ASD school they have given us isn't. That's why we need (apart from our own) evidence against the proposed school.

Really don't know what to do. Any advice or suggestions re educational psychologists?

I called SOS:SEN and they arranged to email me a list of recommended Ed psychs localish to us. I found someone for around half the price you have been quoted (we are South East). Hopefully you can find someone near you for a more reasonable fee.

I used John Hall a few years ago and he was excellent, he was well worth his fee. He used to be HT of a renowned special school in London and had a real understanding of DS's ASD needs. He wrote a long report (40 pages) and gave evidence at our tribunal for an independent ASD specific school which was pretty crucial for our case.

I think you are going to need some tight evidence if the LA are naming an ASD school - it is much easier to argue against a generic school in favour of ASD specific education. What are your arguments against the LA's choice?

From what I have been told Ed. Psych. fees are about £450 for a 3-4 hour report. I have seen 20 sides of A4 for this.
I would suggest John Hall's fees are on the pricey side. I think it is important to try and get an Ed. Psych. who may have had more experience with diagnosing the problem area your son has. However, most Ed. Psychs should be able to do the job for you at the going rate if they had the right qualifications. I would shop around a bit if you have the time. Ring the autistic society if there is one and they may be able to recommend at a better rate. Alternatively tell him that his fee is 3 x what others ask, so what extra are you getting for the money, given your financial situation. It's often a law of diminishing returns on fees.

We used link who was really good and her report was brilliant.

We had an independent EP for our tribunal, and it cost us around £1400. However, he came to us from Bristol to London, and observed ds in his school setting, all as part of the assessment.

I'm a bit that yours seems to need to assess him for 4 hours in a clinic and again in school - and that you have to take ds to him, I would have thought it the norm that the EP would come to you. I would also think that given your appeal is about part 4, the observation in school is essential and should form the basis of the whole assessment, rather than being an added extra.

However.

You need someone who will observe ds in his current school, go to visit the one you want, and then write a report which backs up your view that the school you want is the only one that can adequately meet ds's needs. You need evidence to support your appeal, and imho if you have the extra £500 or so, it is worth spending it if it will increase your chances of tribunal success. I agree with leonie that with limited funds you have to prioritise, but in your case I think an EP report is essential and might be the most important evidence you have.

Of course it's utterly utterly wrong that we, the parents, have to pay for this ourselves but sadly it seems to be sink or swim.

The reason why he asked us to bring our son to his clinic was because he would be charging a lot more than the £1500 for coming to see us!! He said he would be doing 12-15 hrs work for £120/hr. This was for 4 hours observation and testing our son and the rest for writing up the report. (includings us providing him with all previous reports IEP's statement of ed needs etc)

Bialystockandbloom, was the £1400 you were charged for everything including attending the tribunal? If so this sounds more reasonable and affordable
Can you give me the name and or contact info for the independent EP you used please?

I agree that an EP report would be essential but I can't justify £1500 on just a report. Would like to know what a more realistic figure for a good EP report
is and names of EP's that are good and reasonable would be appreciated.

Thank you for your posts

Have pm'ed you.

No, that cost didn't include tribunal (we settled without having to go to tribunal itself). He would have charged again for that.

Actually dp has reminded me, it was £1200, not £1400.

I think you should definitely shop around - no doubt he's got a good reputation but those costs are very expensive.

Makes sense about you making the trip to him rather than the other way round though - he'd charge for the travel!

Other thing to bear in mind is the specialism of the EP you choose - this isn't always relevant, but eg in our case we needed an EP who knew & understood ABA (which is what we were asking for). You need to be sure that whoever you choose really is an expert in the particular aspect you're fighting for - and getting that right person might be worth paying a bit more for. In our case, even though we didn't end up at tribunal, our EP is very well known and respected so I'm sure his name on the report brought a lot of credibility to our evidence.

PM me if you want details, happy to pass these on, but as I say he might not be the most appropriate person for your specific case.

Like everything in life you get what you pay for. John Hall has been doing this for a long time and is very skilled. He is well regarded by Tribunals and is listened to.
His report fully analyses the child and the background. I have used him many times in the past and would have no hesitation in doing so again in the future.
Is he expensive? Yes but the report will be to the necessary standard to get you what you need for your child and it will be done in such a way that the LA will have little scope to argue about it. Yes it is important to view the school.
He has to get from Bristol to Birmingham see the schools - the school you want him to go to and the school the LA want and compare the two by asking the necessary questions and interview staffs at the school.
Yes it will cost more but if you spread the cost over the duration of the time of the child in school then it is quite reasonable.
Alternatively ask him to visit and assess the child and see the schools in two consecutive days.

Sorry to butt in but on the topic of Private Ed Psychs that do tribunal work is there anyone any good who does the north west area? I have emailed a few on the child psych associations website lists but not had responses.

Insanity linked to one Wassuup!

The link is showing as a reported attack page!!

That's strange. I can see the page. Perhaps when it gets too many hits it locks it's doors or something?

Maybe? I have googled the website mentioned though and it brings up the ed pschs name and I have found them via the bps website.

Thanks star

Sorry wasuup the link was fine when I posted it and it is again for me this morning.

I will try using a different browser at some point today, thanks.

My AVG is blocking it.