tribunal submission due, lost my mojo

[mariammariam]

Hiya guys

Was mentally all set for tribunal a short while back (failure to assess) then it looked as though the LEA were going to change their minds, so I paused a bit. And now, of course, doh, it's clear I need to actually submit the appeal pronto before the date expires, and it feels impossible. Knocking off long essays in a series of all-nighters was one thing when I was a carefree student, but I just can't seem to do it now. I just word-counted, and the very incomplete third draft is 10 000 words... it's a sodding dissertation!

If it had been anyone by myself I would have said just do it weeks ago and send in the documents anyway so I feel so and at the sheer quantity of work involved. The sheer quantity of the imminent photocopying and filing task to do the supporting evidence makes me feel faint. My draft bibliography is a long, very rough, back-of the-envelope list, eg 'all the hospital letters' 'school sen policy' are items 1 & 2. And I haven't even started to pull out the quotes and reference the reports (I've left little spaces cos I know there is loads of evidence in the mountain of paperwork we have)

AARgh
Oh yes, and there's the house, 3 kids, husband and an almost full-time job.

I have no idea it was this much work involved in a tribunal....
Well you said, you have 3 kids and a husband, time to do some delegating me thinks...

Had no idea myself till 2 weeks ago, or I'd somehow have got started before . Dh was aghast when i told him the word count, has now offered to do the photocopying at work, dont think he knows how much there is . think he'd better offer to pay for the copies and work back the hours in lieu .

If it is any help, when I did my appeals to tribunal I wrote it out a bullet points. eg DD has problems with attention and therefore need 1:1 support to keep her focused on task - insert some quotes from reports in a different colour and note name of person who made report and date.

DD has issues with xyz - quote other reports etc.

Sum up at the end that under SEN code of conduct you believe your child should be assessed and quote one or two points from the code eg if you think your child has complex needs then find the point that covers complex needs.

Try not to make it too wordy or emotional, just state the facts. You will be able to add more in time if you need to go to a hearing anyway.

My LA backed down and agreed to assess on the first appeal, and backed down from a Note In Lieu and issued a statement without ever going to a hearing on either occasion. Just fighting the final stage now over the content of the statement...waiting to hear the LA response.

Another suggestion....if your DH is doing copies at work, ask him to do at least 3 copies of every report. You are likely going to need them in the future so it will save time later on! File them all together (Paper clip them don't staple them) so you can find them when needed but keep them away from your main file. When I post off bundles I just write myself an index of reports sent rather than keeping them all in a file. Print out and store any paperwork you send such as the appeal letter too.

Thank you! Top tips noted.

Just Re-read my reply... It should say had.I was not trying to be sarcastic, sorry if thats how it came across. I genuinely had no idea. I have applied for a SA and I am not looking forward to the paperwork myself....

Oh and thanks beautifulgirls, really good tips, should come in handy in the near future.

Dev, hadn't even noticed the typo! I downloaded the ipsea failure to assess pack, sone stuff from ACE and SOS: SEN and got a short book off amazon (SEN getting started with statements, Tania Tirraoro). Followed the advice they gave and really thought it would end up being quite a short submission... Oh well.

I know I am going to struggle with the paperwork, I have a 'gift', I can look at a piece of work and work out how long it will take me to do it and my brain will not work before that, doesn't matter how hard I try, my best work will only start once the deadline starts approaching. Off course this 'gift' of mine does not factor in unexpected events, such as DW going in labour just before an important tender submission. how I got that contract I will never know.

Another thing I have started doing is scan in any reports as soon as I get them, this way I always have an electronic copy and when I want a copy all what I have to do is hit print.

Good luck with the submission. Hope you get it sorted quickly.