Star, Agnes, Keep and other helpful people

[santaclaw5]

EP assessment very soon. My solicitor has asked that the following points be addressed in his report. Can you think of anything else to add or any other info i should give EP please?

On the basis of the evidence that has been provided to you and from your own independent assessment of , is it, in your opinion, the case that he probably has special educational needs and the LA needs or probably needs to determine his special educational provision itself by making and maintaining a statement for him?

(2) Having regard to your answer to question (1), is the special educational provision which ds requires able to be reasonably provided within the resources normally available to mainstream schools in the area?

(3) In the event that you would recommend that ds is provided with a statement of special educational needs, please then also set out the following:

· The description of ds?s needs that should be recorded in Part 2 of the statementfrom the perspective of your expertise as an educational psychologist.

· The description of educational provision which should be recorded in Part 3 of the statement. Please be as specific and quantified as possible with regard to any support that you advise should be provided.

· With regards to any support, please also state how that support should be provided and used, from whom and how often. Please also refer to any other further points which you believe should be recorded in Part 3 so that they may be set out in a statement for Ds. To do so in bullet point fashion would be acceptable here.

(4) If relevant, please also advise specifically on appropriate educational provision whilst a Statutory Assessment is being carried out (this process can take approximately 5 months).

As you are seeing ds at home, it would be helpful if you could advise (not necessarily in your report) whether a separate visit to School may be helpful.

Hmm don't know. My initial thought is that he might be pissed off - sign that you don't trust his expertise and are trying to tell him via a solicitor's letter what he should do/write. EP has experience of writing reports for statement/Tribunal/ss - trust him. It's perfectly possible to talk about placement at the assessment - after they have formed their own opinion. You may also be sent a draft of the report to comment on.

What do others think?

You've left a name in your OP.

Can the solicitors ask him themselves? Most of what is requested is pretty standard tbh and, shoukd he not write a report that addresses those s points you shoukd be able to go back.

I woukd be wary of making specific requests because although this is important, you and he and ultimately the LA need to know that he is independent.

If it is who I think it is, he's credibility lies in his reputation for being independent. Also, you do not want him to even for a split second consider whether you might be playing a controlling part in the school fiasco.

i think any independent EP would cover all of those areas as a matter of course. i am currently awaiting my EP report and she will be sending me a draft first to comment on so can always make amendments if some areas that may be important are not covered fully

Also there is the issue of the official status of the school you would eventually like to name - is it offically mainstream or on the approved list of special schools? Could be a problem if you argue against (state) mainstream but then name (private) mainstream. The small classes can be legally dealt with by small groups.

I think its a standard solicitors instruction letter and the EP will have seen 100 before so will just what he always does anyway. Indep experts have to follow guidance and codes of practice and are used to sols pointing this out

Having seen some vague and woolly EP reports I think its fine to spell out what you want so if they don't do it thats breach of contract rather than an opportunity to charge for a supplementary report! As long as not seeking to direct the EP to a particular placement, which this is not.

The only question I might add would be about whether DS has any medical / social care needs which need to be taken into account in considering SEN provision / placement

How did things go today? Or have I missed a thread?

Sorry guys maybe i didnt make that clear, those are the questions my solicitor has asked EP. I was asking is there anything else i should ask EP to look at or consider, not in writing, i was thinking about when i speak to him on the day.

Star damn i missed the name, im so tired, i will ask for delete later.

Agnes thanks i will write that down.

Not good today, ds hardly slept at all last night. Went to sleep at 1am, up again from 4am to 6am, he woke me up, told me he was itchy and insisting i cut labels out of his pj's, the labels are already cut out of his pj's. I had to go through the process of checking and removing any trace of a label at 4am this morning. He was itching and scratching for 2 hours. He then told me later on today that he also woke up again and was crying, without waking me.

I phoned school, told them he hadnt slept all night so wouldnt be in.

He had a major meltdown too when i mentioned school, he got hysterical, screaming at me to get him a knife so he could kill himself, thrashing about, punching me repeatedly and trying to throw himself off the bed. It only lasted about 10 minutes and i had to tell him i wouldnt mention school again to calm him down.

Its ridicolous to expect me to even mention school to him. Im sick of, well just give it a try, how many more times do they want me to try. He cant go on like this.

We have removed a name from the op for the op
Best of luck with it

I know you've clarified that your question isn't about the solictor's questions directly, but:

"the LA needs or probably needs to determine his special educational provision itself by making and maintaining a statement for him? "

That sounds a little confused.

Determining his SEN provision would come after assessing his SEN.

Making and maintaining a statement is not 'determining his SEN provision'. It is defining the provision. It is quite possible that the LA could 'determine' his SEN provision by issuing a NIL.

I wonder if your solicitor has deliberately made such a confusing question, in order to get a more powerful determination from your EP, or whether he/she is a little bit confused his/herself.

The solicitor has taken that wording from the legislation, which refers to the duty to identify children whose needs are such that they need to assess them with a view to determining the provision to be made for them. For what it's worth, I think s/he has confused it slightly because "determining" is in effect the assessment process, the statement is what is issued once the LA has determined whether provision is necessary and, if so, what.

So far as information you need to send is concerned, I suspect the solicitor will have sent copies of anything relevant, but if you have anything else like recent school or medical reports that might be helpful. Also when the assessment happens you could show him school books with recent work in, if possible - but the solicitor may well instruct him to do the assessment in school, in which case I assume he'll see the books anyway.

Thanks, the EP comes highly recommended from here and solicitor, so im sure he will know exactly what solicitor means and what to do and i will get a draft.

Was just wondering, if he would expect anything from me or anything i should ask him.

I'd leave it to him to ask you questions they usually have their own preferred list

I agree - make sure you have all the paperwork organised and can find information easily to support the answers that you give but take a backseat. When DS1 saw a private ed psych I had to make myself scarce whilst the assessments were carried out. Discussion was 2-3 hours later after the assessments have been carried out and there has been an opportunity to observe for several hours. The fact that I was paying did not mean that I was in control and does not influence the professional opinion given - this is why they are independent.

Its ridicolous to expect me to even mention school to him. I'm sick of, well just give it a try, how many more times do they want me to try. He cant go on like this.

You're right. You know its harming him to mention it. So stop. You are still his parent and you are still the main expert on your child.

Hope it goes well with CAMHS.

Thanks.

He is refusing to go CAMHS this week. He doesnt want to talk to her.

Ok well they created that problem themselves
Just keep doing a diary / paper trail

They are thinking of ways to re-engage ds and will get back to me. They cannot complete their assessment unless he attends.

Keep emailing asking how you can support their efforts to engage him. Offer skype, phone, hone visit... And what their plan B is, eg short in-patient assessment, refer you to a specialist unit, or a child/ family observation service (all costly).

Would solve CAMHS problem nicely if they could say DS not very interested and parent doesn't want to force him. Watch out for 'did not attend' letters. they're usually the prelude to being chucked off the books.

Nearly there eh?

Hope you're all okay.