How many objectives can you put into a statement??

[claw2]

Just re-writing the draft statement and i wondered how many objectives you have in your statement?

Can you have too many?

My DDs has 8 long-term objectives for these areas:

access the curriculum, develop cognitive abilities, attention and listening, receptive and expressive lang, social communication, gross and fine motor, self-care and awareness of danger/risks

Sorry posted too soon . No idea if there's an ideal number, my DDs represent the overall areas identified in the reports and in Part 2.

To be honest, this is the one place where wooly and broad generic is good.

Part 2 needs to be tight and accurate, part 3 needs to be quantifed and specified, but the objectives need to be wooly as feck.

This is because you need to be able to say they are not met at a future date if/when a LA tries to cease to maintain the statement. If the objectives were not too clear, and there is plenty of room for interpretation, you have a better chance of keeping it.

So 3 of the objectives can just be generic ASD triad ones.

i.e. to improve ds' social interaction blah blah blah.

Then one for OT

to improve sensory blah

Then one for SALT

Then one for anxiety.

First line of statement - no 'ds is a lovely boy crap' but

'ds is a cognitively able boy'.

The FIRST line might be the only one that gets read and sets the expectations of the providers.

Thanks Messmonster

This is what i have so far, which i have worded badly, but bearing in mind i have never seen a statement before, i hope i am on the right track.

To help ds understand his work more effectively and reduce his fear of failure and ?getting things wrong?

To develop ds view of himself as an effective, independent, successful learning and help him manage his anxiety more effectively

To develop ds?s social communication skills to enable him to understand his work more efficiently

To develop ds's social use of language so as be able to engage with peers in a more rewarding and effective way.

To help ds to manage his anxieties more effectively and gain a better understanding of his feelings and how to communicate his needs to others.

To develop ds?s ability to overcome his needs associated with sensory processing

To develop ds?s ability to overcome his needs associated with sensory processing, in particular with feeding

To develop ds's fine motor skills and refine his handwriting

To help ds with his dressing and soiling

How do these sound?

They sound fine claw

I would'nt use 'to help' or 'to develop' though. I'd just say 'for ds to overcome x'.

I know it feels important, but the obectives aren't really.

Ok cheers Star, i will replace the wording. i spoke to the LA today and asked them to send me a copy of the draft statement so i could make amendments online, apparently they cant for 'security' reasons. I already know that they can, after what has been said on here!

However, there is literally nothing in the draft, that is worth keeping. Part 2 is just 7 pages of them quoting positives from reports. Part 3 isnt any better with access to etc, etc.

So i might as well just start the whole thing over myself.

Tell them to send it with a fecking password ffs. How do you think they sent it to each other?

Did you put the request in email?

If not, email them and tell the idiots to clarify this. My LA were shit but even I got an electronic copy of the statement.

Oh if you're okay with it then do, but tbh I would still do the email as it shows them to be liars if you need to in the future.

Yep i requested via email, got fed up of waiting on a reply, so phoned them today. Bearing in mind my response to the draft is due like NOW. They are obviously just wasting time. I asked that she put that in writing to me and she is going to check with her manager and get back to me. Apparently they have never had anyone request this before.

I already had a plan b and sent a response anyhow. I now have a bit more time to re-write the whole statement.

Apparently they want to arrange a meeting with me. She kept repeating that the 'panel' had already agreed to fund the indi school, as though i should be grateful and just accept what i have.

If you meet, it resets the 15 days.

Sometimes meetings are used as stalling steps.

She has to ask her manager to write an email confirming what she told you on the phone? . If she isn't sure enough of the information she is conveying to put it in writing then the silly bint shouldn't be saying it on the phone either.

Well she was saying after recieving my response, they will request a meeting with me to discuss changes. That they will be agreeing to fund assessment at the school etc, etc.

But as you say, she doesnt seem too sure of the info she gives out. Either way i just knocked together a response, pointing out the severe inaccuracies and asking for it to be quantified and include experts recommendations etc, etc and sent it for now.

It will either result in them finalising statement to which i appeal (which i doubt they will, they know is total crap as it stands) or asking for a meeting to discuss changes. I am thinking the latter, so i am now spending some time and re-writing the statement, and preparing for either a meeting or a tribunal.

If they do eventually send me a draft, i can just copy and paste what i have already prepared.

You know not to take any promises about school funding etc. as if they are fact right?

just checking.....

Panel don't make decision re funding. Bint (or behind scenes, her boss) does.

They just 'advise', it's the statementing officer (who is the LA representative) with power to agree or disagree with panel's advice

The obfuscation can be entertaining: watch the confusion and disarray you get in response to an email asking who exactly made a particular decision, when, on what grounds, and how might it be challenged if need be.

No reason the statement has to be agreed prior to school visit. Actually sensible to get some school input for it, if it's v likely he'll be going there.

Star i trust no one in the LA! i will believe it when ds is dressed in his school uniform and has his foot in the school door!

Although school have written to LA about ds going for assessment there and the price, and that if they can meet needs he can have a place there. She told me verbally that will not be problem, as 'panel' had already agreed to fund his placement there, hence them approaching the school.

So looking hopeful, rather than certain!

Mareey, im in no particular rush to get the statement finalised.

The person i spoke to on the phone is the case officer and the person who signed the draft. Is that the same as the statementing officer?

This will make you laugh, she actually advised me to not make changes to the draft, as the school placement was given on the basis of the draft!

Yes. I only laugh because you know better, but actually it makes me angry.

Another quick question if anyone is about.

Would you include strengths as well as needs in statement?

No.

The only strengths I would include, are those to encourage the reader to have high expectations.

So, you can say 'above average IQ', 'learns fast in right environment', 'Can concentrate and progress well in small and quiet groups', 'Has a natural ability with numbers when supported adequately'.

That kind of thing.

But keep them minimal. You want a statement that is as short as possible otherwise the reader gets lost, and you don't notice when things disappear, and it waters down the overal need.

If they are cognitive strengths they should be mentioned as this effects the academic suitability of peer group and can also indicate that attainment and ability are out of kilter and that DS is not appropriately accessing the curriculum.

It helps to keep in mind teaching staff that have never met DS and need to get a good understanding of him and his needs and how to meet them from the contents of the statement.

Don't forget though that DS has been out of school for 2 terms and yet trust has not been established with DS sufficient to even begin the reintegration package. He has to be somewhere. If you had to go to tribunal he would be out for another 2/3 terms and I successfully argued that no integration package would be attempted prior to the tribunal ruling. EOTAS is supposed to be temporary.

Having said that I would want to see their agreement to fund placement in writing.

What i am finding when writing the statement is that if i dont give strengths, the boy i am describing doesnt sound like ds and i am 'at risk' of them thinking 'difficulties only on paper' like other 2 schools.

I will keep it short and concise.

For example communication and interaction the LA have spent 2 pages waffling, mainly chunks from reports. Then conclude he doesnt need any SALT input.

I have written communication and interaction

ds's understanding of concrete spoken language, expressive language and vocabulary is developing well.

Ds has an uneven and complex profile of language skill development with needs identified in processing language that is abstract, sequential and complex, expressive language, social communication, social engagement, social language, understanding of social situations and difficulties with understanding the feelings, emotions, motivations and of others and peer interaction. Difficulties with separating fantasy from reality, Difficulties with attendion and listening. flexibility of thinking and literal and inflexible understanding of language. Delayed play skills, imagination, creating thinking and interests. A relative weakness with regard to vocabulary.

Ds?s mother reports then i go on to say how this affects him in about 8 lines.

So i have included a stength about concrete language etc to give a clearer picture of ds.

'ds's understanding of concrete spoken language, expressive language and vocabulary is developing well.'

I wouldn't put that personally. If you feel the school need to know some of the nicer stuff, keep a seperate list that you can give them after the statement has been finalised.

If you really feel you need to put it then write it like this:

Although ds' understanding......is developing well, he has an uneven.....