They are going to carry out SA!

[Galena]

Had a bit of a mad summer - requested SA in July but not in time for preschool to put the info together due to LA sending their form to the wrong person and also the summer holiday. Had to cancel request and re-request. Panel met last week and hadn't heard anything so emailed on Tuesday evening asking when we would hear. Had reply saying they would resend letter.

Today I received the letter - they are going to carry out SA.

All they are asking me for is a form with our views and DD's views. Do I need to/Am I allowed to assemble any more information (for example, I have a new paed's report and I want OT to provide report too) or will they request it all?

Tbh, I woukd assume that they don't have any information you have not personally sent (recorded).

Also (not trying to make you paranoid) but be careful with their forms. Legally you don't need to use their template so it is often better not to.

You might find subtle things wrt forms like a huge space to talk about strengths and half an inch space for difficulties. There may be a whole section on birth/baby stages that if irrelevant just increase the white noise to the fundamental issues, so don't feel you need to complete them.

Thanks - birth and baby stages are a little relevant because it's due to her early birth that she has CP, and she wasn't diagnosed till 2.2 because she was only slightly delayed in reaching her milestones before walking...

The spaces on the form are all the same size, but I was thinking I would type it on the computer, so I can keep a copy, so will just use their headings.

Thanks for your help :)

I have used the LEA form as a template, including information under each heading but adding my own when necessary. Submit a Word document rather than actually using their form and then they are not able to control or suggest the length of information required/given. This opinion and the pupil views form part of the finalised statement. Do the new reports provide missing evidence or do they confirm earlier reports?

You can add in your own headings too if you think they will help.

Have you got a copy of he SENCOP?

You might want to include some of the terminology from it to help signpost your expectations, and subtly point out that they won't be able to fob you off.

Depending on your LA, I might even be bold and suggest that your child needs their provision quantified and specified.

The previous paed report wasa different paed (who has since retired) and simply included the sentence 'DD attends a mainstream nursery who will need to seek extra help in time' or something similar! The latest one is from her new paed, and very much more focussed on SA - goes through different headings, stating how she is affected in the educational setting, etc. definitely adds to the previous report. I'd like a report from the OT as I didn't have that report previously. However, it will probably simply reinforce what has been said by everyone else.

I don't have the SENCOP. Will try to download.

Perhaps when I've written it, I can email it to someone for comments/advice?

As part of the assessment the LEA will request that DD is assessed by a paed who will write a report for the assessement. If DD is an existing patient she may not be seen specifically - assessment appointment is usually pretty standard general medical stuff - height, weight etc - but the paed may already have sufficient information to write the report. There's nothing to stop you mentioning it in your opinion and providing a copy. If a report has not been requested from OT you can always request your GP refers you.

I retyped their form into Word, used their main headings but then sub-categorised everything in a more logical way. I also made sure every paragraph was numbered and that I cross-referenced important points and highlighted them all.

My final document was about 32 pages long, plus 12 separate appendices, some of which had sub-categories as well.

I then created an easy to follow contents page to make it easy for them to navigate the document and find what they wanted quickly.

Much of this was on the advice of the head of our local inclusion team, who said the most common reason given for children not to get statements in our area is lack of evidence, when often the evidence is there, but they couldn't find it quickly or easily enough.

I made the assumption that I couldn't rely on them getting all the evidence I wanted them to see from 'others' so I included all the reports we had from people like EPs, OT, Paeds etc plus copies of his IEPs, samples of classwork and homework and handwriting etc.

Don't worry about whether or not the evidence you include may be repeating what others send in, that will just serve to reinforce the needs and make sure they can't possibly miss something important.

As Star said, definitely get hold of a copy of the SENCOP and choose some useful phrases to include. I was advised to spell out what issues present ds with 'barriers to learning' or 'prevent him from accessing the curriculum'.

Iirc, SOS!SEN and ACE Ed have some advice on their sites about the process. So it may be worth having a look at their websites.

Mine was a weighty tome, but it did the trick and they have included the main body in the final statement, but without the appendices - which is fair enough, as you'd probably need a crane to carry the statement about if they'd put all that in as well!

You may have noticed that I'm not exactly concise in my writing style, and as my ds was 9 years old when we applied, we had a lot more physical evidence in terms of classwork etc. So don't worry if your form doesn't end up anywhere near as long as mine. As long as you include everything you have and have clearly indicated where you feel your dd needs support over and above that which schools would ordinarily be able to provide and made sure it's all easily to read and locate the salient points that's all you need to do.

Good luck.

We have an OT - I just didn't request her report before. DD is existing patient of a paed - will they write to her paed or ask another paed to view her? I think the report I received today from paed would cover all the bases they need.

The LEA specifically asked a different paed to assess ds and write a report. All she did was have a quick chat with us, weigh ds, check his height, ask him how he feels about school and that was it. I included his normal paed's report in my evidence.

I included ds's OT report, because the LEA didn't ask for an OT report for Statutory Assessment, but we had been referred by our Health Visitor and he had had an assessment a couple of months earlier. The final statement actually includes several pieces of advice from that OT report though, so it was well worth including it.

I also included his dx report from the assessment unit, which was lucky, as bizarrely they didn't request that either.

Good re them carrying out a statutory assessment.

Leading on from all the good cousnel you have already received,
your next task is to ensure that you actually receive a statement that is worth the paper it is written on!.

I would seek advice on both here and via independent charities (e.g ACE< IPSEA, SOSSEN etc) regarding the wording used in Parts 2 and 3 of the statement when you receive it. They have to be bang on because they are the most important parts of this legal document. Do not accept it without seeking any such counsel beforehand!.

You must remember as well that support given must be both specified and quantified as required in law. None of this child should receive ..., it has to state XYZ WILL receive... and by ... If it is not specified and quantified then it has to be rejected.