How do I know if DS's dyspraxia/dcd is bad enough for a statement when school are burying their heads in the sand AGAIN this year?

[Alambil]

He's in year 5 now.

I'm getting mightily pissed with his school and am looking elsewhere for support as they are worse than a chocolate teapot.

He was diagnosed in year 2 and had a small amount of OT support, which was great but didn't tackle his writing (in)ability and now he is lagging miles behind and they just won't LISTEN to me properly.

Now he's nearly 10 and still can't write legibly (letter formation, no word spaces etc, however his spelling is really good and he's reading a year or two ahead of his age) and takes half an hour to write a short sentence (of five or so words - very short). He is falling behind in school - his levels at the end of last term were too low for my liking. His writing level (or whatever it's called) was in the box below where it should be - I think he was a level 2 or 3 when he should be a 3/4? I can't remember - anyway, it was under where it should be, and his maths was only JUST in the "right" box, but his new head said he should be comfortably in that box.

Anyway, the new head said about finding him a laptop for writing stuff in school; she hasn't. I've got a laptop I can send in, but I'd rather not send the one from home, tbh!

and he STILL hasn't got any friends on the playground. Actually, he has one, but that's it... that is not on.

My DS used a Neo Alphasmart in school because his physical writing ability was way behind his actual ability. That's a much cheaper solution for the school than a statement. Not that money should be your concern but it might sweeten your case if you make noises about applying for a statement yourself. I did actually buy ours as the school would have delayed it forever.

Actually, applying for a statement yourself might be a better idea. Don't wait for the school to do it, they could be waiting until your DS is about to leave to avoid having to actually do anything, and it's much better to have a statement in place before secondary. It will take at least 6 months.

Go and make waves, a squeaky wheel gets the oil and all that...

Just make the statement application - it shows you are serious about your child's education and shakes a school out of it's complacency. IPSEA has model letters on their site to make the job easier too.
I think I did a one page bullet list of the "barriers" to the national curricum was experiencing, and the help I thought my son needed.
eg - poor grand and fine co-ordination = regular OT programme, regulary set and monitored administered daily by a TA.
Handwriting - use of Alpha smart for maths and science
You do not need to ask for anyone's permission and if you don't fight for your kid, noone else will bother as it's not their problem : (

Good luck!