Helping others with Tribunal

[appropriatelyemployed]

I saw the post below about the stress of Tribunal and I really sympathise. We pulled our children out of school 3 weeks before ours when it dawned on us that no amount of extra hours or S&LT would make school honour our son's statement and support him.

What I have learnt since is the depths to which the LA will go to attack a parent who is challenging them. Despicable, without morals and any sense of public service ethos.

I am a lawyer. I am not an education lawyer. I have access to legal databases and some experience of the system.

If I can help anyone out there - even just by offering a fresh pair of eyes or talking you through the rules etc or helping with DPA/FOI requests etc - let me know.

If there are others out there who can help, perhaps we can band together??

One point I would stress. If you are dealing with health professionals, they have a duty of confidentiality to your child and are required by the Data Protection Act to get your consent to releasing information. Make sure they do this. A simple letter asking them to obtain your information before disclosing documents may mean you stop some of the crap they usually file on behalf of the LA.

Hi AT, I believe you've helped loads of people already.

My skills lie more with the evidence-gathering and statement writing into plain English which I've helped a no of MNers with and happy to continue to do so.

But a question to you. Should I write to all the Health agencies involved with Ds in the last LA reminding them about their confidentiality, in order to control the surprise and flow of information to new authority?

One thing that us odd is that they all discharged us as the 'heard' we were leaving the old LA. Whilst it it true we were, we never informed them ourselves(although woukd have) and I am disgusted that they must have been having meetings/communications about this without doing the sensible thing and simply asking us directly what our plans might be.

That is an amazing offer, AE. May I ask if emails are as valid as letters?

Aha, a timely and very kind offer AE.

I'm currently in a quandary as have had DS' (crap) draft statement through the post. We're setting up a home ABA programme that we know we can afford (ie cheap) because I've read all about the hideousness of tribunals etc.

BUT it seems daft not to even try for funding.

I'm doing some reading but am finding it hard to get to the crux of the issue. I know nobody can answer this one briefly, but can anyone give me a clue HOW you can prove that a special school 'would not provide an adequate education', 'can't meet the child's needs as set out in part 3', 'inappropriate', 'would not be suitable' or 'would not be proper'??

How can I find out what sort of evidence I need to collect? How can I get access to other similar cases where ABA funding has been won? What do their children's statements end up looking like?

Sorry for all the naive questions, but I guess I have to start from ignorance!

LeonieDelt - I think the chances of getting a case to quote on this issue are probably pretty limited as cases will rely very much on their own facts case and the evidence put before the Tribunal. I?ve just had a quick search of the rulings from the Tribunal and there are none listed on failing to issue a statement. To get further up in terms the court system and end up with a ruling on judicial review, there would have to be a legal point. I have had a quick check of Westlaw but nothing comes up that would help.

From a legal point of view, you are best being very clear about the grounds for a child to need a statement. This means going through part 7 of SEN COP in detail, looking at the headings for each area of difficulty, making notes of your child?s needs and provision under each heading, and questioning how these needs will be met on a day to day basis without additional provision. Remember it is not just about failure to make progress but also about identified needs not being able to be met at all without provision beyond school alone or without specific assistance or equipment being needed: SEN COP at 8.13 is quite interesting here.

Star ? you are indeed a colossus on the Tribunal support front with masses of practical, tactical advice. I was wondering if we could pull that together in some way to coordinate here or off-board??

I think ? yes, is the answer. Write to all those who are dealing, or have dealt with your son, and remind them that they need your consent before seeing him, or disclosing information. Just remind them that you want to work with them collaboratively. You could point out your concern that you were formally discharged without anyone checking what your plans were and on the basis of passed on information/gossip.

Iceflower- what is the context? There are few situations where evidence in an email would not be just as acceptable as a letter these days (just see the Leveson inquiry!!). Let me know the specific issue offline if you wish.
Schobe ? I think most people will tell you that appropriateness is a question of fact and so will depend on the evidence in each case. This is where case law won?t really help as it will about the evidence . This can evidence can come in a variety of forms (school, parents, Ed Psychs etc) but if it is a more complicated issued like a specific type of provision/school, you will need to locate an expert who will support this and provide evidence that this approach works where others will fail.

There are others on this site who have been through this process fro ABA and will be able to direct you better on evidence gathering to support your appeal..

Thanks, AT. I was thinking of what you said about health professionals. My ds has a CAF and I understand that this means I have agreed to all info being shared.

Can I now ask health professionals not to share without asking me first by sending them an email?

Thanks AE and Pipinjo, very helpful.

Yes Schobe, consent can always be retracted or amended at any point. Email is fine but if you can always ask them to let you know if they would prefer to have a signed letter. Ask them to acknowledge receipt. Print out your consents and put them on your file.

Sorry that was for Iceflower. Just do an mail saying something like:

I am writing to request that no information is shared or disclosed regarding my child (name, dob) without my consent. This includes reports.

I am happy to discuss this with you and provide a signed letter if required.

AE thank you, thank you .

You deserve a mention in the Queen's honours list

Bookmarking! Thank you so much, this is very helpful.

schobe if you pm me a RL email I can send you a copy of DS ABA statement. Its not perfect - and incredibly long and repetitive as LA would not agree any of our wording so the same thing ended up being described in several different ways, but its a good start.
I would say its hard to prove something you have not tried will not work. We kept DS into the mainstream nursery with the LA usual provision part-time and ran ABA alongside so we could compare.
Is SS what the statement has offered / your child going to go into SS?

Do you think we could get this thread pinned at the top of the page seeing as it is Tribunal system? Mumsnet HQ??

Tribunal season that should be! Please Mumsnet HQ - that would be really helpful.

Am going to be needing help too. DS is being issued a NIL and we are appealing. Scares the life out of me but has to be done. Any help with this will be fantastic.

starfish. I think the fear is mainly in the desperation that your child's prognosis depends on the tribunal win. What parent would put themselves through such a thing if they weren't right and absolutely convinced it was necessary and their only recourse?

This is an extremely stressful situation to be in.

As cross as I am about our loss, I can tell you that yes, ds HAS been disadvantaged as a result, but there is a lot that can be done whilst collecting evidence for the next tribunal. In short, it is not the end of the world, and you need to try and keep some perspective.

Starlight I am trying to keep some perspective on this and know that it is all budget led decisions being made. My lovely DS who accepts he has aspergers as do all the professionals working with him but who does not see the need to 'label' himself (CAMHS will not give dx without his consent..) and says to me that he should get the help he needs without a dx, it should be needs based.

It should be needs based but it's not is it? And unfortunately our LEA are using this as a strong reason not to issue a statement.

Thank you LeonieDelt, that will be really helpful.

Brilliant idea AE, this is something i would find really helpful. Not at Tribunal stage yet, but i know i will have lots of questions.

If anyone is in my locality and I can help by attending meetings or even a local Tribunal to help I will do. I work in London 3 days a week and freelance the Thurs/Fri but PM me if you think you'd like the help. I don't want to post here where I am.

AE, i have a question for you. Do you think it likely that LA would agree to statement without assessments?

Ds currently has a NIL. School have tried to put me off of SA/reassessment, saying 'all these assessments are causing ds's anxiety and self injury'.

Ds doesnt need assessments, his needs have been identified 100 times over. I agree these assessments are stressful for ds, he gets very anxious as he knows he doesnt 'perform' well and cant do the things he is being asked to do.

What are the chances are getting LA to agree to statement without the need for assessments?

Hi claw, that is something I am wondering too. Do I need more assessments done, privately, that show DS needs a statement instead of his NIL?