LA disputing EP report and asking for withdrawal

[claw2]

LA are disputing indi EP report, based on parental views.

EP is saying as far as he is concerned, they are exactly that views of the parent and he will not amend or withdraw. He says their letter smacks of back covering and is totally irrelevant and he will not respond, other than to tell them the above.

However he has given me a copy of the letter and said i can respond if i want to. They are saying my views are inaccurate. All of my views are on based on written evidence. They are offering no evidence, other than saying my views are inaccurate.

They have also sent a copy of their letter to other professionals involved with ds, CAMHS for example.

Do i bother to set the record straight or just wait and see if it goes to tribunal and put the record straight then?

Claw, I missed this latest twist.

This LA has seriously lost the plot. They are (of course) perfectly entitled to disagree 100% with your views, and to express that view. They are not entitled to say you cannot hold your parental views, nor may they say that an outside professional must disregard your views.

I also think they're just trying to rattle you and derail your witnesses. Either that, or their computers have been taken over by little aliens.

Well, it's good for you that you have that. If the EWO doesn't share that view of the exchange, it's a good lesson to her to correct someone when they say something you don't agree with.

The reports we had from the LA did not have the declaration on it. Perhaps they don't have to follow the usual civil procedure format for Tribunal. I know the independent witnesses put it in.

I agree evidence on oath or sworn declarations in statements would focus a lot of NHS professionals minds on the truth of what they are saying,

I know that Hampshire reports for general therapy (ie. SALT/OT) have a disclaimer that they are not for use in Statutory Assessment/Tribunal and that should an application be necessary a separate report must be requested.

How is that fair on the child Lougle? If reports are written that the authour has no faith will stand up to legal scrutiny?

I'm about all this to be honest and can't see how it even fits in with the respective codes of conduct.

There is a section in the SENCOP that deals with disagreement between experts and it states that the LA has to come down on one side or the other and to give reasons for their doing so. So what they are doing is not a result of disagreement per se.

Besides which my LA finalised DS1's statement completely ignoring the written reports of DK and MS which they put down as 'parental views'. They then had to have assessments carried out just before the tribunal final evidence to see if their experts agreed or disagree with ours. Turns out they agreed. The fact that they couldn't get an NHS SALT assessment in the timeframe means I have another very useful report and that the LA have had to specify and quantify according to her recommendations which are even more rigorous than the recommendations of my SALT.

When I was looking for an indi EP to write a report for Tribunal one of the issues were the assessments and tests that had already been carried out. One indi EP in particular did not want to do a 'secretarial' job of pulling together existing reports and did not feel comfortable making recommendations wrt placement without carrying out their own 'objective' assessments especially as DS1 was out of school and so it was difficult to bracket me out in the same way. They were concerned to demonstrate their independence/autonomy and show that they were not writing what I told them to and were concerned that their report would be dismissed if based largely on my views and my selection of past written records.

In the end he saw Ruth Birnbaum at her office not at home. She carried out assessments (some repeated if out of time, some new, both cognitive functioning and difference between cognitive ability and attainment and measures of anxiety, depression, perception of self as learner etc.) The parental interview was peripheral and dealt with recent events since the reports. She is also going to see the LA named school to assess its suitability. She literally wrote a/the book on choosing a school for SEN.

Did your EP carry out any assessments in addition to interviewing DS?

EP was unable to carry out any assessments, as ds was not capable of completing them. Given the history ds had, he did not even attempt to.

LA EP tried to carry out assessments 2 months later and she was unable to also. She only managed to do 3 tests before ds got distressed. She also comments that school indicate that ds does not express his worries and he is settled. That i report he has many worries and fears relating to school. She writes that during her assessment she was extremely concerned at ds's physical appearance, his heightened state of anxiety and his worries about returning to school.

By physical appearance, she meant and explained he looked pale, tired, nervous, he refused to remove his coat and looked worried, he was shaking. He didnt want me to leave the room and was upset etc, etc.