Meeting with LA tomorrow to discuss proposed statement

[Mumtoprem]

We have got a meeting tomorrow with LA and SALT to discuss proposed statement. DD is 4 and starts school in September and has Specific Language Impairment and developmental delay in her fine motor skills. It has been estimated that she is 1-1.5 years behind. DD was born 15 weeks early and was in hospital for over 3 months and has had follow up since birth from OT, Paed, hospital etc. She has been on Early Years Action Plus for 2 years at nursery.

So far in the proposed statement she has 20 minutes a day of TA time for SALT activities, 45 minutes a fortnight with SALT and 2 hours of OT review per term. She has also gained a diagnosis of asthma (never been told she has asthma and no one has seen her as part of the SA process!). They are expecting the school to meet her needs from their delegated budget (i.e no banding/funding from the school)

What will the meeting be like? I already wrote 5 pages worth of changes I wanted to the proposed statement, they have re-issued the proposed statement with some changes. Any tips on handling the meeting? Is this just a tick box exercise and no further changes will be agreed?

Feeling very nervous about tomorrow.

Take someone with you - don't go alone.

The LA will attempt to persuade you that a) it's the best deal you'll get b) there is no additional money available blah blah blah - ignore all this and hold ut for what you want.

Don't agree to anything - tell them you'll think about it

Let them do the talking - just listen

You can always opt for Tribunal if LA will not agree to your changes.

Ignore any funding issues - who pays is their problem and not yours.

Good luck

Thanks for the reply. Parent Partnership are attending the meeting with me.

The LA have already said they plan to issue the final statement after the meeting. Is it best to get the final statement issued sooner so I have the right of appeal? Or should I continue to fight for more provision?

You only have a right of appeal to a tribunal once the statement has been finalised, so if you are still not in agreement after the meeting then let them finalise anyway and start the appeal process. They can still change the statement any time up to the appeal by negotiation anyway. I agree with the above, agree to nothing you are not happy with totally and do not be led by them telling you certain things are policy/not funded etc. This is about the needs of your child being met, and how they staff and fund that is not your problem.

Make sure the wording they use is not ambiguous. No "access to" or "opportunites for", "Consideration will be given to..." type things. Define who will provide the support, when it will be provided and for how long. Ensure that any off site support necessary is written in too for trips off school premises if necessary. There is a good website www.ace-ed.org.uk/Resources/ACE/advice%20booklets/GettingTheStatementRight%20Mar2011.pdf here to check about wording etc.

Agree to nothing even if positive sounding, although yOU can look pleased and be positive back. Always say something like 'Sounds good, I'll need to just think about it and get back/ask my DH/ask my mil/run it by my advisor etc.'