Star, Wet, Agnes and all you other great people....educational welfare officer

[claw4]

EWO phoned me today, as school had passed on my letter to her.

She is saying that LA do not provide home tutors.

She is saying i need to get camhs to refer him to a medical needs centre.

She is saying she wants to meet with me in September.

She said she wanted to phone my GP. I told her no need, they had the letter that my gp wrote just days ago, situation hasnt changed. Told her I would consult with my gp and provide any updated info as and when necessary.

Are they independent?

Im not sure, doesnt give too much info. I phoned and someone is going to call me back.

Only one result for independent school, which is a school i have heard off, more for challenging behaviour and im not even sure if it is independent. My friends boy goes there.

If they ARE independent, ask them what was the business rationale for opening where they did. If not independent ask a question along similar lines.

Keep looking. They're a bugger to track down Ime, but they are there.

I wouldn't refuse to meet her - maybe I misread it I thought she was fobbing you off elsewhere and saying it wasn't her remit. If she wants to help then let her.

Locally most children who don't survive in m/s end up in the only other option - MLD school - which they have renamed as a MLD and ASD school to try and make it look like a school appropriate for HF children with autism rather than the cheap dumping ground it is. I have no problem with children going to MLD if they do indeed have MLD but here we have the same issue - no provision for children who are too autistic for mainstream teachers to know what to do with and too clever for LD schools. There is nowhere for them to go except out of area.

This is why they fight our cases so hard because they know the only option is expensive and out of area.

Ok i written that down. "The school uses the Structure, Positive (approaches and expectations), Empathy, Low arousal, Links (SPELL framework) but not in a formal way. We do not have a specific intervention. However, we provide an environment which allows our students to be themselves"

Just checked out their website and it seems they offer 'emergency' packages to LA, for out of school children. Ranging from HFA to severe.

According to website they are independent

So. If you can be bothered, Send a FoI to the LA asking how many children have accessed this provision.

I have to admit, their provision sounds a bit vague and I woukd have some concerns. I don't much like the spell framework. But my concerns are about the low expectations within it rather than it being dangerous, and your Ds may well benefit from it for his self-esteem to begin with.

Just spoke to the Director, apparently this was started 6 years by the HT of a local specialist school, as an alternative education to those children who were being excluded or could not cope elsewhere, as there was a big market for it.

They give 1:1 or maximum of 2:1.

They also offer respite. She said they focus on behaviour first, education second.

Referal has to come from LA.

I have asked if i go and look around and also tell them of ds's needs and whether they can met these.

I am a bit concerned, that she is talking as if this is the right place for ds, without knowing what his needs actually are ie really trying to sell her product to me

LA also fund 90% of placements. Can they really be that independent?

I think it works differently. LAs tend to fund a high proportion of most independent schools. Very often Chikdren are only in those places if the state has no alternative to offer, in which case the child is entitled to the funding and MOST parents woukd expect that.

Do go and see other independents though, even if unlikely due to distance etc. it gives you a benchmark for how they are run and a feel for an appropriate level of 'sales pitch' iyswim. I saw two schools with a heavy sales pitch. One I would never touch. Sales pitch was a bit OTT and promised things without being able to explain how. The other was very professionally conducted and gave me faith in the school rather than the urge to run. I sent Ds to neither in the end but was in two minds about the second.

Well this is suppose to be a temp education for children out of school until a school can be found (although she said some children did stay and do their exams etc).

Is it worth going to look and IF they can met his needs, proposing it to the LA?

At the moment they are telling me, no home tutors, but not offering anything else.

I think this 'school' wont be able to follow recommendations either, but will offer their version of the recommendations, pretty much like school really, but in smaller groups.

Yes its worth going to look.
If for no other reason that after weeks have gone by without the LA suggesting anything you can go to Ombudsman / Tribunal and point out there was a resource around the corner with places available which should have been offered.

Most indep SS require a Statement so inevitably will be funded by LAs

I would say it does lead to compromises on certain things e.g. they will often use LA friendly approaches - but you need to go and see - some SS will say we use behaviour approaches and ABA but we call it something else to not freak out the LA. So you need to go and chat to them and find out what they actually mean about dealing with behaviour.

Also one person has told you no home tutors and in an informal tel call not in writing.

As far as I can tell it is the school doing the running around the LA has not formally done anything since your DS stopped going to school. Aren't they supposed to put help in within 5 days?

Getting new professionals involved with your DS who can back you up on his strengths and challenges may help you with statutory assessment etc. I suppose your worry is whether they will back the LA and say your DS is fine to go back to mainstream school. But you are going to hit this somewhere down the line where professionals will take a view - at least here there is a new group of professionals with a different perspective who may see your DS as you do.

Interestingly this centre is just around the corner from ds's school and the lady who i spoke to, a smaller member of her family attends the same school as ds and has autism!

She was saying that the child's mother put her ds in this school, because of the ASD unit that was attached and specialist provision that was available, she was told it was up and running by school.

Its not even built yet! I also have a letter from SENCO stating that she has no idea of the staffing of the unit or what services will be available. It will be used by TA to teach ASD children ie just another building away from the classroom. No specialist provision, just another building for the few children with statements, that the school has.

So guys, should i wait until ive looked at this centre, then write to LA confirming that they dont provide home tutor, but this is an alternative?

Not bothering writing to anyone and save it for Tribunal?

Just write to them confirming they told you they don't do hone tutoring.

Don't mention this unit, but do visit it. You don't yet know whether it is appropriate and it is the LA's job to find appropriate not yours. Besides if this is a secret you may yet discover better secrets.

Cheers Star, should i ask them how they are planning on educating ds while he is not in school?

In fact i might follow Agnes advice, write to the LA Chief Exec and cc SEN Officer, stating what has happened and repeating myself.

Yes, but nicely. You'll get nothing this term (and possibly not next) btw, so may as well use this opportunity to create documents that show how reasonable you are.

You can thank them for putting the EWO in touch and ask them how they think she might be able to help and if they can send you any of their policy documents/guidelines on what should happen when a child is signed off.

They didnt put the EWO in touch, school did. The EWO didnt even know that i had written to the LA. She didnt know that i had even applied for a statement.

School had just passed her my letter, stating ds wasnt well enough to attend school and enclosing a copy of my gp letter. She had gathered from the gp letter that it would be long term and was phoning to check if i had removed him from school, as she is also the home ed officer.

All the EWO seems to be offering is liasing through her with school, i might add.

I looked around an indie ASD school, found it was not the right place for ds but it had lots of strengths and gave me a very good idea of what provision a sensible statement would have to contain.

My impression is that schools are a bit scared of EWOs.