What reasons can an LEA give for not meeting Final Statement deadline?

[moosemama]

Been chasing LEA all week to find out what happened to our amendments, as there were a lot. Final statement deadline as supplied by them is Monday 21 May and they had agreed to issue a second proposed statement due to the number of amendments. (I called earlier this week to try and speak to our officer, she wasn't in, but the admin assistant said there is a clear note on our file that says 'second proposed statement to be issued'.)

Dh called them today, because I am in no fit state and was told that they don't have to meet the deadline because we have a lot of amendments and they will start looking at it next week.

We moved hell and high water to get our amends back to them within the 15 day deadline, as we were advised that if we missed our deadline it gave them carte blanche to miss all theirs from that point onwards. We got them in on 17 April, our deadline was 18th. She told dh today that they have only had a quick flick through and not done anything else with them as yet 'as there are so many amendments'. So they've had it for almost a month and not even read it properly.

When I spoke to her prior to submitting the amendments I told her we had had a meeting with the school SENCO to discuss the proposed statement and she was happy with our changes. Between that conversation and us submitting our amends we actually found a few more we wanted to make, but it was the Easter holiday by then and we couldn't reach either the statementing officer or the school, so ended up just submitting them without running them past the SENCO.

Today she asked dh to confirm that all our amends had been approved by the school. Am I right in thinking that we don't have to have our amendments approved by the school? The SA request was done by me, not the school and either way, we are entitled to have our say about what we want to change on the proposed statement without the school agreeing to/approving our changes beforehand. We did meet with them to discuss it just for courtesy really, we didn't have to. They get a copy and can make any changes they want to make and we can do the same - that's right isn't it?

Dh is wobbling now and saying we should take a copy of what we submitted into school and run through it with the SENCO. Personally, I have had enough of bending over backwards trying to keep on everyone's good side. All we really changed was to add up the number of hours 1:1 and quantify it, rather than leaving it wide open and add in that the 1:1 support should be supplied by someone trained and experienced in working with children with ASD, plus the usual removal of all the standard LEA 'weasel words'. I told the SENCO before Easter that it was my intention to try and specify and quantify as tightly as possible and she was happy with all the rest of our amendments.

After speaking to the SO today, dh is stressing that not taking a copy of what we submitted in to the SENCO will hold the whole process up as the LEA will approach the school to make sure they are happy to provide what we have stated. Now .... call me an idealist if you want, but aren't the LEA supposed to be telling the school what they have to provide here, rather than the school telling the LEA what they will provide.

They're obviously stalling.

You're right, if you applied for the SA, you don't have to consult the school with your amendments to the proposed statement. School should have been consulted by the LA during the SA process - are they named in part 1 as being part of the SA?

And yes, the point of a statement is to specify exactly what support a child needs, which a school must provide (unless they have sufficient grounds not to, in which case you either choose a school which will, or appeal).

The only way they can move the deadline for issuing final version is if you meet with them in person. If your changes are all done without meeting them, and within the deadline, they have no grounds for delaying.

You can complain to local govt ombudsman if they go beyond their deadline.

Whoever your dh spoke to may have been spouting bullshit got muddled up. If you have an email address, I'd email your case officer and confirm that they will be sticking to the statutory deadlines, and gently remind them of their duty to do so.

Of course you don't have to have your amendments approved by the school / SENCO - that's total nonsense, especially as, a child's current school may not actually be able to provide the support that is finally written into the Statement.

They really do try it on don't they

They are supposed to offer you a choice of 3 dates for a meeting once you have submitted your amendments but, as far as I know, they do not have any deadline by which they must conisder amendments - just the usual 'as soon as possible'.

Thanks Bialy.

I know that school had their copy of the proposed statement, because they had it when we met. They said they didn't want to change anything and would be returning their slip stating this the day they came back after Easter.

Dh has sort of come round to my way of thinking now and says he is going to confirm his conversation with them in writing and remind them of the deadline date.

I suspect it has something to do with staffing. A friend of my parents works in the same department and had to interview for her own job last week and the SO dh spoke to said something about the other SO being off sick. There are only two SOs anyway and they don't make up one full-time post between them.

WetAugust, I rang the SO after we'd met the school to talk through my amendments with her. We discussed whether or not a meeting would be necessary, as there were a lot of amendments and she said that, based on what I told her, a meeting wouldn't be necessary and they would make the changes and issue a second proposed statement. This was because we weren't asking for more or different provision, just tightening up the wording and quantifying.

I have since been told by ds's inclusion teacher that she has never seen a properly quantified statement from our LEA. She has apparently never seen one with the sort of wording that goes 'X hours of X provision to be provided by a person qualified to X and experienced in working with children who have an ASD'. I'm wondering if this is what's really holding things up, as our LEA has in the past been reported to the Sec of State for Education by IPSEA for failing to specify and quantify. They were told to investigate internally, did so and found no case to answer. Seems nothing has changed.

I know they don't have a date by which they must have considered amendments, but afaik, they have to meet the deadline for a finalised statement regardless of what else goes on and that deadline is Monday after next.

The school are coasting and barely providing anything while they wait for the statement and we need a copy to take with us to secondary school meetings, so we need them to get on with it.

Sounds like my LEA. They are stalling hugely. And I have a trubunal date fast approaching. They have ignored all my requests to meet. Are useless at putting the amendements through as apparently they all have to be approved - and I want it like you quantifying. The working document they sent to the tribunal ignored all my amendments to the 2nd proposed statement. I am getting very very fed up. I do hope that they capitulate soon as I am getting stressed about the thought of actually having to go to Tribunal.

Not a million miles away Leonie - think just south.

Alison, it's so frustrating isn't it. Surely it would save them so much time and money if they just got on with it and did it first time, within the defined schedule. So many of them cave just before tribunal anyway, it just shows that their purpose is purely to grind us down.