Is this ok? I'm fuming

[armani]

I've req SA for dd, recieved a letter last week saying they will go ahead will the SA and to expect to hear from EP etc soon for appointments.

Went to pick dd up from school today and EP had been in formally assessing her for 3 hours! I've had no warning so couldn't explain it to dd or pre warn her. I've had no explanation of what they've actually assessed for, I've just been told EP can't discuss it until I recieve her report.

Since picking dd up from school she has been acting horrendously all night and is still not asleep :( she has been hitting, shouting, swearing, crying etc and is now refusing to go back to school tomorrow.

AIBU to be fuming about this? I feel as if I've lost all my rights as a parent.

I've no idea how dd will cope with the rest of the assessments now, this has put too much pressure on her and she is hysterical.

On the other hand salt have been lovely. Decided to break dds assessment down into 3 parts so she doesn't become overwhelmed and withdrawn.

Am I being unreasonable about this?

Oh and I forgot to mention when I arrived to collect dd she had been removed from classroom as was in full meltdown mode and shouting that she wanted to die :(

You should have been informed that this was happening. But if you request the assessment (for SA) then you presumably have given consent?
Sounds like the assessment wasn't handled that well either but maybe they were trying to squeeze it all in before the end of term?
You should have been told that it was going to happen today and what the assessment was for.
Stern words at school tomorrow.

Yes, you are right. Ep saw my child last week and didn't even tell school they were coming. I only found out when I asked if school had heard from EP. Arrogant and bad communication I reckon.

No it is not ok. Under Schedule 26 of the Education Act 1996 and para 7:75 SENCOP, you have the absolute right to be informed of and be present at "any interview, test, medical or other assessment which is being conducted and [you] should be told of the time, place and purpose of appointments". I would complain about this and the inappropriate length of the testing.

IE - I love you!

Been trying to find the relevant bit of the Sen Cop all afternoon ready for a meeting with the hostiles and now I have it thanks to you

Thanks for your replies. Dd is curled up on the sofa with a sick bucket as she has made herself physically sick with anxiety. I honestly don't know if I will be able to get her to school tomorrow if she is like this. She has bitten her arm so much it's bleeding and keeps shouting out that she is stupid :(
I don't even know who the EP is, as have never had one involved before.

Every single EP assessment the boys have had has been notified to me, along with a chance to talk to the EP, so they can take a history and note my particular concerns.

Definitely complain and ask you will (not if you can) talk to the EP, yourself. Take photos of the damage your DD has done to herself, today, too.

It really does go to the EP's professionalism and ethical duties too. She should know better.

See that's the worse bit I can't explain to dd what was happening today as I generally have no idea what went on.

Does anybody know what and how they assess?

I haven't got a name or contact of the EP but first thing tomorrow I will be on the phone to the LEA.

Thanks for all of your help, I feel like I've gone down the wrong path for dd now :(

Every single assessment that dd has had I have been informed of before hand, even if it's just an informal assessment to help the school help her more. We're always in constant contact with the SENCO.

The EP should have not only informed you first but spoke to you about your dd too. And 3 hours of assessment! Your poor dd, I hope she feels calmer tomorrow and is able to get some sleep tonight. I complain, massively!

It's horrible as she doesn't have the language to tell me what actually happened :(

I should have questioned the school at collection time, but dd was so distressed and screaming, kicking etc I had to get her home and try to calm her down.

Don't blame yourself. They should know better!

The 3 hours really is astounding. ANY child would struggle with that.DS1's EP visited him over a series of appointments. Because she'd talked to me, first, and realised that he could be very different on different days, and knew that he suffered extreme anxiety when he was anticipating something, she made those visits random to him, so she had a better chance of seeing him in a range of moods (the first time she met him he was plastered to the floor, in full meltdown, while she was assessing someone else)

BTW - it's the school who squared appointments with me, so they are equally culpable for leaving you in the dark.

Armani, I'm for you. When the EP came to school to assess my son, I only knew about it because I had been called in to school to sit with DS, as the school couldn't manage DS without me being there.
I was furious that he was there, and pointed out that I hadn't been informed. He seemed genuinely surprised that I would expect to be told. I 'explained' why parents might just want to be informed, and to be present, and insisted on having my own, private meeting with him.
I'm also enraged that the EPs only see children at school, and never think to come and observe them at home. It's as if they only exist between the hours of 9 and 3.30, and anything that happens outside those hours is irrelevant.

Also I can't see how this report is going to show dd in a fair light, as she obviously wasn't assessed in a way that she could cope with :(

I really hope this doesn't mess up the rest of the SA. We have assessments with salt and OT next week. To make matters worse the school have even insisted to salt that dds assessment was to be completed in three seperate appointments, as they know she can't cope with it. Why did they allow this to go ahead?

Take a photo of her bitten arm. Send it to the LA for the EP to put a copy into her report.

Yes...pls do what star has said

Armani, first I think it is unacceptable that you were not told about the visit. Also amazed she has not visited you to discuss your child first as that is what happened for my boys. The EP explained to us that the tests are quite stressful because they start with easy questions and then get progressively harder - they do not give the child feedback on whether they are answering correctly but stop when they get a certain number wrong. She said this can be hard especially for the bright ones who are used to not being stretched. ds1 was so wound up after his (which she stopped after one hour) he managed to jump over two fences and escaped from the school grounds - he is no longer at that school! In terms of what they test ds1's covered aptitude for maths and literacy. ds2 did not cooperate at all but she was also going to do something that tested for stress and depression with him (we had agreed to this). Even though ds2 did not cooperate she produced a good report for him based on what we and the teachers told her and tbh his non-cooperation when stressed was exactly the kind of behaviour that was causing the problems at school.

All I can think is that school wanted to get things moving before everyone went on holiday and this was the only appointment available.
You would have been waiting another 6 to 8 weeks for an appointment otherwise.
This doesn't really excuse how this has been handled but maybe this was the thinking behind it.
(Maybe I'm just being kind!)
Hope your DD is feeling a little better this morning.

You have a right to be told during an SA. The LA knows this: the EP knows this: the school are probably cluesless but about that should have involved you as a matter of good practice,

But the law is very clear and they have breached it. A stern compliant with reference to the law and confirmation that this must not happen again,

You should also note that you believe that the unlawful way in which this was handled may have led to to results which cannot now be relied upon

Tell them also about the impact on your child.

Disgraceful.

I have only found out about assessments and observations after they have happened too. Was annoyed the first round as we forgot his glasses....had I known he was being assessed I would have come back with them later.

This is appalling. I hope you both got a good nights sleep last night.

As a parent you absolutely have the rights to be told about any assessments and to be present during any assessments. In my own DS's case, when the LA EP requested an assessment just before evidence deadline, she too tried to do without me in the room (she couldn't do it without my knowledge as DS is out of school, so i had to take him to her office). I absolutely refused not to be in the room. In the end, my solicitor had to get involved to remind the LA of their duty and my rights as a parent. I stayed in the room.

After the assessment, my DS acted in such a way that left me in no doubt at all as to his stress levels and anxiety. Last week, in a Tribunal room, when the LA tried to remove my DC's medical diagnosis of an anxiety disorder, I gave oral evidence to a Judge exactly what happened after that assessment (amongst other examples). The LA had no alternative but to back down.

Write to the LA and copy in the school. Tell them that you do not authorise them to carry out any further assessments without your knowledge. Tell them that from now on, you expect at least 48 hours written notice when any assessment is carried out. Even if you've already agreed to next weeks SALT, still write to them saying 48 hours notice so that your email/letter becomes part of the school's record for all to see.

Then, document (with photographs) exactly what happened after this assessment. When you write your Parental Views, this should be included in that document. Every one should be under no doubt as to the stress levels your DC experiences and by putting it into your Parental Views document, this extreme anxiety will become part of your DC's Statement. If it happens later on, as it did in my DC's case, that the LA later denies that anxiety, you will have documented/photographed evidence that it did happen.

Yes you should have been aware of the EP coming in, but you might only have had very short notice as I assume that the EP was only informed that a statutory assessment had been agreed for your DD within the last week, sounds like she had not been previously involved, she would have 6 weeks to produce a report or be in breach of stat assessment timescales and that would have all fallen within the holidays making it impossible for her to assess your dd in a school setting if she didn't move at once. Under those circs, as an EP, I would probably contact school and ask them to make contact with parent, because there may not have been time for an appointment letter to be sent and received and responded to. And yes requesting stat assessment would include you consenting in principle to those assessments being made. That said you should have known in advance. Again the 3 hours was prob not ideal but again with 2 days before the end of term there wasn't an ideal solution. At this time of year in the circumstances I think it is not okay, but it is probably more understandable than if an EP hadn't been directed to complete a statutory assessment on a child with no previous EP involvement within a week of the end of the Summer term. You DEF should have known in advance, though, but I think short notice and a longer assessment are explainable in the circs.