Proposed statement - not sure how to play it

[babiki]

Received proposed statement yesterday, ds 4 years old with GDD, I'm pushing for SS school. I never saw a statement before so quite difficult to judge how shit it is - some bits are OK, some not so much (OT).

What I'm not sure about is this: the SS I want does not operate on 1-1 basis, so theoretically the LSA hours they are offering (20) would be fine for SS. But if he doesn't get the place there, the hours are definitely not enough for MS. So what do I do?

Can I say I acce

Can't recommend them highly enough. Someone told me (on the QT) to mention that we have Families in Focus involved whenever we speak to the SA team as they will be less likely to try and slip anything past us.

School are definitely scared of our advocate, they waited until she went on holiday to try to exclude DS and get him shoved in the PRU.

Well this is a miserable thread!!!

Ffs. What is WRONG with this LA?

I have chosen an SS school but because we asked for a rewrite of the proposed statement nothing has come back yet.

They have said that if the 26 weeks ends before the school we have named gets its consideration period then they will finalize the statement without a named school and then add it on later.

DS HAS to get SS provision, short of going through all this again at another school (which I wouldn't put past them) I don't know how much more we can do to demonstrate he can't cope in MS.

Of course, it all comes down to money and how much they feel the need to be bastards about it on the day I suppose.

I've been told that Herts is worse. But I can't see how they can possibly be worse then Essex!

I honestly don't think this is just about money. There's a small number of very powerful people in our LA who are have empire-built and are hell bent on doing nothing for our children unless it's on their say so. I've seen the emails between these bastards as they do discuss it between themselves.

Can you not show that for a mainstream placement he'd need full-time 1:1 support from an autism advisory teacher with 3 times weekly direct SALT and OT, if hi isn't placed in a SS where this is embedded throughout the day?

If mainstream is more expensive they'd be more likely to consider ss

It's not about money in Herts either. They are riddled with the stuff, but need it for their regular reorganisations, top heavy management posts, trips abroad to look at good practice and to empire build and to top up their pensions.

Oh, also in Herts, a considerable amount goes on propaganda to convince front-line good people that parents are evil, to give HT training in low expectations for SEN and finally a huge wad goes on legal fees to prevent children with SAeN from getting anything.

^Exactly the same in Essex.

They're all as rotten as each other. But they sit there with their smug looks on their face, denying our children, but being paid to do so by us the tax-payer!

Maybe we should have a MNSN competition as to who has the worst LA. It'd be laughable if it wasn't so bloody unfair and wrong!

Ugh, that's so depressing right now, when DS's future is completely in these people's hands.

Sounds like what Star has suggested is pretty much what our FiF advocate has worked into the Statement, though DS has no need for SALT and OT have yet to make an appearance and they won't consider putting any on the Statement since he has not yet been assessed by them. But she has managed to get them to put specialist autism 1:1 on there, which might work out more expensive.

My mum keeps passing me articles she's clipped from the newspaper about SEN kids round here who have been left to rot in PRU for years. SO happy that we refused this.

Sakhoora I already took them to tribunal and applied to Upper tribunal and they are still behaving like this :( I really hoped they know me now but nothing changed..

Star I've been telling them that from the start, in ds case SS makes financial sense as well, otherwise he needs full time highly trained LSA as he is food aversive/no sense of danger/can't dress himself/ in nappies.

Oh god, I have no advice but am scared for my ds as our la has been named here...

In answer to your original question, babiki, in our letter to the LA, our advocate suggested putting:

"Funding
27.5 hours is clearly not sufficient as he requires constant supervision and cannot even cope with that. However, we believe that DS requires a special school so this is not relevant."

Maybe something along those lines would help get your point across about MS even though you are pushing for SS?

Sakhoora yes, thanks I will react similarly. Seems you are in quite similar position except that your ds is out of school.
Will you go to Tribunal if needed?
Is the SS you chose very oversubcriped?

Yes, Tribunal is the plan if we don't get what we need. The SS we named is massively over subscribed with no places until Sept 2014, but there is an indie SS with places that we have said we would be willing to accept, hoping this will push them into finding a place sooner. DS has already missed a year of school on an insanely reduced timetable and is only due to get an hour a day home tuition now and would have started already if school hadn't sat on the effing paperwork for two weeks

Don't have anything to lose as we will be doing it all again in six months when DS is inevitably kicked out of any other MS they decide to put him in. He hasn't coped with even the tiniest amount of school so far, he was a nightmare for them even when he was doing 1.5 hrs a day 3 days a week.

We also have the fact that DS's former HT has promised he will block any attempt we make at getting DS into another MS as he is SUCH a health and safety risk. He's inadvertently helped our cause even though he's been an utter dick about it.

Also, on paper, the old MS have already tried everything that is on DS's statement and it's made no difference.

From a purely financial perspective I don't know if DS is cheaper in MS or SS, he doesn't need SALT or personal care like your DS, babiki. He just has quite extreme sensory needs and is totally unreachable, unreasonable and violent towards adults and kids when melting down. He needs smaller classes, and calm, experienced people to deal with him, and not moronic, unkind, power crazed people who shout at him and pile on pressure after pressure when he's not fucking coping.

Ooops, ranted a little there. ... and breeeathe!

Good luck to both of us, seems we have the odds against us. let's hope we're not going for the same school, too!

Sakhoora, I think your case is stronger as MS failed already; really hope you won't have to go to Tribunal, it's so stressful. Let me know when they reply and what does the school say. Have you spoken to the school before? I have only been to Open day as they wouldn't speak to me when statement process did not start..but now have a meeting with HT in January.

Wouldn't matter if it's the same school, I'm pushing for reception :)

Doesn't sound like the same school, as the one we are going for separates year groups a bit more broadly so the first class covers reception up to Year 3ish.

Been on a school visit a few weeks back, right when we were in the thick of things with the exclusion and it really made my mind up that SS was the place for DS.

They encouraged us to bring DS with us, and the HT took him on the tour. He knew the name of every single child and introduced each and every one of them to DS, who loved it. He got down to his level every time he wanted to talk to him, asked him if he wanted to go into every room before we went in, and really knew how to put him at ease and treated him like a person. By the end of the tour, DS was holding hands with the HT and didn't want to leave.

Contrast this with his old HT, who DS regularly kicked, punched and who I would gleefully punch too and called a shithead, and whose main aim has been to pressure and bully DS into obedience.

Never mind SS, I think ALL schools should be like the one we've named. I know I would have enjoyed school more!

At 'our' school they have reception till Year 2, but HT is a woman :).
Your school sounds fantastic, really hope it will work out for your ds.

Thank you. Good luck to both of us. Sounds like our LA is going to give us a mountain to climb.