Putting a call out for parents who were told that their child didnt meet the criteria for Statutory Assessment.

[Ineedmorepatience]

What happened and where are you upto now ??

Dd3 has multiple diagnoses and is described as complex in her Ed Psych report.

She has been refused SA and we are meeting with the person in the SEN team at the LA to submit further evidence in the hope that Dd3's case will be taken back to panel.

We are putting an appeal in at the same time.

Have any of you managed to actually get a statement for your child from this point?

I keep being told "She will never get a statement because she doesnt meet the criteria" Surely a blanket criteria is not lawful and doesnt look at each child as an individual?

I need help

Hi yes, I was told exactly same and worse, for four years and I believed them because they were the professionals, I was so very gullible. Ignore and go ahead anyway - it's your right.

We were refused SA when DS2 was 3 (SEN officer said appeal but was vulnerable at the time and hadn't discovered mumsnet at that point)then applied again when he was 7. LA refused I appealed with the help of mumsnet and now he has a statement. We missed out on four years of better education because we thought they were the professionals.

Mumsnet and I are still not happy with his provision so are appealing again with the help of mumsnet.

Somebody helpfully posted this tribunal statistics which explains everything if you are anal (analytical) like me!

www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/tribunals/special-educational-needs-and-disability/SEND_AnnualReport_09_10.pdf

Good luck, just do it. Hope it helps xx

"Mumsnet and I are still not happy with his provision"

I'm probably being a bit thick here, but when you say 'Mumsnet and I....' who are you referring to?

Ineed, you know lots of parents get told this stuff. Even before the stage you're at. DD2 was 'possibly going to get some ELSA if we can get a group of children similar to her together at some point' before the summer holidays. Suddenly they found a space for her 3 weeks ago.

I was never told DD1 wouldn't need a statement, but she was causing trouble.

My general view is:

-Causing the setting a problem - statement recommended.

-Not causing the setting a problem - 'you'll never get a statement'.

The Ed Psych has recommended that she be assessed and statemented Asap.

I sometimes wish Dd3 would meltdown at school, just occasionally That is awful isnt it!

Been told ds would never get a diagnosis or statement. Refused assessment and appealed. By the time the tribunal comes round he will have seen all sorts of people and I believe he will get assessed. Pretty sure I will win that. Not so sure the statement will be easy to get but without appealing I am 100% sure he would not been seeing learning and language support or the ed phyc.

Nothing to loose and everything to gain. Let a judge tell you what your child can and can not have. Not the lea

Thanks kafkesque I will have a look at the link.

Lougle I read about refusal to assess alk the time on here but you know when people who are supoosed to be supporting you just keep on saying its not going to happen, you almost start to believe it.

I have had a massive kick in the guts this week having received the EP report and seeing in black and white how much Dd3 is struggling in some areas and she has had yet more lables added to her already complex list.

I am very worried for her future, especially without a statement

Thanks 2boys You are right of course

If the EP has recommended it, then that's all you need. Is that in writing? .

I think the key here is that the majority of people get refused even the kids who so obviously need a statement. So it's then hard to judge if that refusal was right. When you see kids who can't function in school get refused you get disheartened. But in really that kid not coping needs a statement. Don't think of the golden bench mark for meeting criteria. If you think your child needs extra help that let that be your guide

We were told exactly that, the LA refused to assess, we appealed. The LA backed down immediately. They then issued a note in lieu which we appealed and the LA backed down straight away again. We got a statement that was utter rubbish so appealed that and went to tribunal. We appealed parts 2, 3 & 4 and at tribunal the appeal panel found in our favour on everything and she now has a place at an indi SS where she is thriving. If I had listened to the people who told me she didn't qualify then we would be no further forward.

If you believe that your child needs this help then you need to continue to push for this. Whatever you do, do not agree to remove the appeal on a promise from the LA until you have absolute proof that any promise is being kept. Nothing wrong with meeting with them though and trying to negotiate that way. If you are not sure about any proposals they make to you simply ask for more time to consider them rather than agreeing then and there.

Yes lougle it is in writing !!

2boys I guessed we would be refused so was ready for that but its the people constantly telling me she wont meet the criteria.

I dont bloody care about their criteria, she is a child with a primary diagnosis of Asd, she isnt going to fit anybody's criteria!!

Beautiful I know she needs support because she already has it in her mega inclusive primary, I just dont trust the high flying academy she has to go to next to meet her needs. Without a statement they will put the minimum supoort in place.

If she cant cope in MS secondary she will need a specialist place, so surely it would benefit the LA to try to support her in MS !

If Dd3's prospective school would consider putting 15 hrs in place for her I wouldnt be bothering applying for a SA but they have said there will be no one to one and no support during lessons without a statement!!

They will put strategies into place but Dd3 will not be able to access them when she is anxious so she needs at least some one to one every day. The EP has said she needs TA support for all lessons that contain literacy and numeracy!! So that will be everything except PE then !!

I think 10 hrs would probably be the minimum she could cope with if you factor in all the moves around school in secondary!

I reckon you should ask who was told their child 'would' meet the criteria for a statement tbh.

If you have the LA EPs recommendation in writing then I imagine the LA would back down immediately because by dragging it out to tribunal they could be accused of maladministration by the LGO or charged for compensation (for any provision you had to subsequently provide yourself plus a level of stress) and timewasting by the tribunal.

Go to the meeting but say nothing. let them try and persuade you that a statement isn't needed. Agree only to think about things, rather than sign up there and then.

I'm sure you know but the key words are 'complex' and 'adequate'. Her needs are complex, she needs a thorough assessment to enable her to receive and adequate education. Say that on repeat.

Its not the LA Ed Psych though, its an independent one but the LA have already been told by a tribunal that they habe to act on her recommendations!! So I think we will be ok.

It is in writing that her needs are complex and we are about to get an up dated SLT report too which apparently has lots of info in it.

Thanks star I will

Refused nearly 3y ago. They were wrong but I wasn't ready for the scrap. Then refused again a year ago. Backed down when I filed the appeal papers. Assessed and no statement. Appealed again with private expert reports etc... the rest is too long and twisted for the public board really.

Not quite given up hope though Have a Christmas iron in the fire...

I do wonder how many children are similar, where the 1-1 isn't actually supporting learning, they're picking up the pieces of a rigid, inflexible school Polter, yes. Sometimes I feel a bit sorry for the LA. They have to hand over the so-called delegated SEN funding, and they know full well it's usually spent on other things.

and the ed psychs do often recommend some quite sensible easy things but they're too hard to do because of the attitude of "We know best, and we can't just make exceptions for one dc, Mrs Lurking. By the way, we're running a parenting workshop "

Two requests for school/s to apply for statement at age 7 and 9, both refused. At the time of the first I trusted their judgement and did nothing . The second time I made the application myself and it was refused, based on school's claims that he was doing well (he wasn't). In the meantime, ds deteriorated dramatically and we withdrew him to home educate. I didn't appeal the decision but wrote to Head of SEN explaining that I didn't agree but under the circumstances (ds was off the scale with stress and meltdowns and couldn't be contained, Home Ed team were on our backs and making illegal demands of us, plus lots of other time-consuming family matters) I wouldn't be appealing but may re-apply for SA at a later date if I still felt it necessary.

A year ago I started looking into college provision for ds post-16 and was advised by several sources to apply for a statement, which I did at the beginning of this year. This was primarily to have a documented history of need to take to colleges as proof that he'd require additional support. I also felt it was necessary in case he ever has to return to school if I'm not able to manage his education myself. My MP supported me and arranged a meeting with the new Head of Learning (the previous one was an obstructive twat) who said he'd help too. The SEN team looked back at our previous experiences, including the letter I wrote to the Head of department several years earlier. The application has gone through smoothly and ds was awarded his statement in July.

My LA is a pathfinder for EHC and we're in the process of converting the statement. As a result doors are opening and therapeutic support that I've always said he needed is being sought. It's early days but it's looking promising.

Tbh, I don't think he'd ever have got the statement had he stayed in school. Although he wasn't coping, was aggressive and violent, socially isolated and beginning to fall behind academically, teachers were very vocal about his difficulties in person but none of it was documented, so when it came to statement applications they claimed he was doing well, and this was accepted as gospel by the SEN team. He was never going to get the support he needed until school was out of the picture and we had truthful accounts of his presentation to submit.

The EHC is not legally enforceable. Keep with the SSEN until he goes to FE.

Haven't read everyone else's posts but SA was turned down first time for our DS due to "lack of evidence". This turned out to be school tests he was incapable of doing. School had written a covering letter to say this but they still said no. In the end work samples were submitted and the did agree to assess. The outcome was a statement and a named place at an independent specialist school, lots of stress but we didn't have to appeal or go to tribunal. Good luck!!!

"My LA is a pathfinder for EHC and we're in the process of converting the statement. As a result doors are opening and therapeutic support that I've always said he needed is being sought. It's early days but it's looking promising".

IPSEA have sought clarification from the Dept of Education.

The DfE have confirmed that:

That Pathfinders must maintain existing legal protections for families.

When offering assessment of a child's SEN to parents that they should be made aware that they can choose whether to proceed with the particular assessment processes being piloted by that LA or follow the current statutory assessment process which requires the LA to gather evidence from specified professionals including an educational psychologist at the LA's expense.

That any EHC plan once issued does not have a statutory basis and cannot be appealed to the SEND Tribunal.

That if disagreements about a EHC plan cannot be resolved, that Pathfinders should offer to "convert" the Plan into a Statement and that parents should not be expected to start the whole process again.

Parents would then have a right of appeal to the SEND Tribunal.

That EHC plans do not place a direct legal duty on LAs to secure the special educational provision they specify. The DfE does however "expect" Pathfinder LAs to treat them as if they did.

Thankyou all once again. I am determined to at least try to fight this. If the secondary fail Dd3 without a statement she will have to go to a specialist setting. There are none for HFA/Aspergers in my LA so it will be out of borough. That is going to cost them loads!!

There are no small secondaries in my LA and we are only in the catchment for one which is one of the biggest!

She has struggled massively with nearly every September transition so goodness only knows what will happen next September.

Part of the problem is that I dont think school have kept written documentation of times when they have had to put additional support into place so now they are scrabbling around trying to put something together.

Its not great is is, considering it is a fab school, by far the best in the area for inclusion!!