I have in my hand a piece of paper...

[inappropriatelyemployed]

Ok, I don't want to rejoice as I feel brutalised but I have an amended statement in my hand with an out of school package on it for DS.

SEVEN months after he left school.

They say they have agreed direct payments too - well we'll see.

But thank you all. Thank you Wet and Agnes and Star and Towie and Senmerrygoround and so many others who have been kind enough to support me - always. I am so sorry if I've missed your name out - I am full of cold.

You are special, special people.

Oooh star! Hmm...

Interestingly, then SEN Code of Conduct doesn't suggest that your report goes with the review:

"Submitting the report
9:32 Following the annual review meeting the head teacher must prepare a report, and submit it to the LEA no later than 10 school days after the annual review meeting or the end of that school term, whichever is the earlier. The report should summarise the outcome of the review
meeting, setting out the head teacher’s assessment of the main issues discussed at the meeting; and the head teacher’s recommendations about any educational targets for the coming year; and any other steps that ought to be taken including whether the statement should be amended or maintained. The head teacher should always give reasons for the
recommendations. The head teacher must send a copy of the report to all concerned in the review, including the parents and any relevant professionals.
9:33
The review report should be written as quickly as possible. The head teacher should make sure that the recommendations are clear and that any relevant professional reports are appended to the review report so that the LEA is able to review the statement and make decisions without any unnecessary delay. LEAs may find it helpful to offer guidance as to the form that reports should follow, or provide a common format for review reports for all schools in their area. "

Hmm, I'm not sure. I thought that the parents and the child's feedback should be sought and evidence of this sent to the LA!?

And surely we don't need a code of practice to ensure that parents are copied into minutes of a meeting that they attended?

They sent a proforma for parents and child to fill in.

I suppose they could decided they are for the school file rather than the LAs!?

I'm bored of this game........................

My apologies, star:

"9:14
The written advice will be used as the basis for the discussion at the review meeting and sent, with the report of the meeting and the head teacher’s recommendations, to the LEA for their consideration."

I suppose you could let it go, then write to the LA SEN Officer and say 'oops..I realised the school forgot to send you our written advice. Here it is. Please note paragraphs x, y, z, where we request ammendments to the statement...'

T's alright. I'll just rewrite it for the LA adding a request they amend part 4 and not copy in the school.................

Amend Part 4

That's a bit drastic - you are joking aren't you?

Sadly no. It's been two years of peace and happiness and friends, charity events and school plays and language development. Not much Reading and writing though and the failed mainstream children are now falling out of their state schools into his class with all staff consumed by behaviour they're ill equipped to manage.

School refuses to admit difficulties or lack of academics and his peers of a similar profile are beginning to leave for more academic placements.

That's a bugger, Star. I know you've been unsure about keeping him there for a while, now, but I guess this sort of arrogance has sealed it for you :(

Yep. God knows what we'll try next. Spoke briefly to the LA who were surprisingly helpful and knowledgable. Different LA feels like a different world.

No delusions about the system anymore but refreshing to have a conversation with someone not opaque and defensive.

That's always been the rub with specialist provision Star - can it also accomodate the academic child?

I don't know where DS would have gone had he been dx'd earlier and been provided with specialist placement as none seemed to cater for his ability.

Perhaps he needed that 2 years of quiet stability that you've just experienced to be able to cope with somthing more demanding in future? Like it's almost settled him into education IYSWIM.

It's good to hear that your current LA is being helpful.

I am glad you had a positive conversation Star. It does make a massive difference.

I agree with Wet about specialist provision. It is what in innately puts me off. I haven't really seen a school where DS would be made comfortable enough to learn yet feel confident he would learn as his peers do.

And I don't see why there should be a compromise on that. If the system can't offer that, it is inherently discriminatory because all children should be able to feel safe and confident enough to learn AND be able to achieve their potential.

When I see expensive AS provision and they say not many children take exams because they're anxious. I think what a cop out. If you can't work a away round that after 5 years in hugely expensive provision paid for by the state, what are you doing? And yet they many of these schools get 'Outstanding' ratings.

There was a tweet yesterday by someone who was a head at a special school who described something as 'going over the head of my SEN children'. When challenged, she and others got very defensive about them actually 'making a difference' rather than bothering about using the right language. But that bothers me. Who is measuring difference and what expectations are being set with paternalistic attitudes like this?

I don't know why these independent schools can't cater for the academics. They sell themselves as being able to.

I think the independents just have so many parents desperate for a place with the main reason being their need for an escape route, that they can see that as a sign they are exceptionally good. Not so.

I've heard some bloody awful things about More House too now and that was once our aim.

There's mainstream of course but a)they school will fight his expensive placement there to start with and b)they will not see his needs and his provision will be reallocated to those struggling to reach level 4 SATS.

There's the local unit with mainstream integration but the above will apply and he'll spend a lot of time with children with unmanaged behavioural issues.

This isn't news to anyone here I don't suppose, but it helps me to write it down and clarify where we're at.

The issue ATM, is that because Ds hasn't made much academic progress for the last 2 years, that will be taken as evidence that he isn't capable.

But despite all of this, I AM rested. We're settled as a family, we have a life and friends, a house, responsibilities etc. We're not being attacked from every angle and I don't spend every waking minute in adrenaline-filled letter composition.

I don't feel stressed by this new challenge. I have the space to figure it out.

Sorry to hear that Star, seems the 'fight' is never ending, just to a lesser degree

The fight does change. At one time I was fighting for safety, mental well-being and understanding. Now I'm in a position to aim for an education too.

The options are very limited, not helped by the inherent deceit in the system on all sides.

I have an undamaged but uneducated son. I don't want the reverse.

I haven't really seen a school where DS would be made comfortable enough to learn yet feel confident he would learn as his peers do.

This is one of the many reasons why we're so keen on the one we found. It appears to be a bit of a gem. I think its history helps - it was founded, many decades ago, for boys who needed an academic education but couldn't cope with the usual school environment and it has kept that identity, all the way through, incorporating knew knowledge about the neurological reasons behind the boys' difficulties. It's managed not to fall prey to the carbon copy model of specialist provision.

Yep that is what I am experiencing, still a fight, just a different one.

Ourvye - you sound like you have found somewhere very special and I have no doubt these places exist. Just that there is alot of expensive tosh out there too!

That is what I've found, too, IE. New ASD schools are appearing like a rash, but none of them seem to cater for any DCs with any degree of complexity. High ability? You'd be better catered for academically elsewhere? SLD? We don't have the expertise for that. Significant expressive language delays? Probably not the best place for your DC? SEBD? Er, no thanks. We will however take your relatively "unremarkable" child with textbook ASD , teach them to make beans on toast and teach them to catch a bus. We'll show the clever ones how money works. (OK, so I know this is a particularly cynical and jaded view, but it's the impression I get from the various websites - none of them are willing to say that your DC could learn far more than you ever anticipated with them and they're going to have a jolly good time doing so).

The thing is though, ds WOULD learn and be safe in a mainstream school IF the support there was a) appropriate and b) Only for him.

Regardless of what his statements says neither woukd happen and it would take me years to prove it and then no-one woukd care.

www.theriseschool.com/ is one possibility.

That looks very promising, Star, The language is very positive. It would be nice to hope that the implementation matches up to the prospectus.

When I see expensive AS provision and they say not many children take exams because they're anxious. I think what a cop out.

Me too.

When I was looking around at special schools for DS I saw that exact excuse in one Ofsted report. Exams themselves didn't pose a problem for DS - he actually liked them provided he could have his own quiet room, his own invigilator who didn't cough and who had a full complement of fingers. Yes- I know that sounds crazy but he walked out of an exam once because the invigilator coughed and stopped working on his exam paper another time because he noticed the invigilator had a missing finger. You couldn't make it up

Years ago a met a family that had 2 children (very bright and probably ASD) who had had a rough time at school. They had been withdrawn and educated at home. As a result, one of them had a dozen GCSEs at age 16 and the other, who was about 12, had already taken a handful of GCSEs. Those children were so mature compared to their peers in the local comp.

Meant also to say I don't think that the authorities actually believe there is a demand for academic ASD provision.

Academic ability actually masks ASD. The child is doing OK and doesn't have any really noticeable behaviours, no-one at school suspects there is a a problem. Even if there is a ASD dx, if the child is OK otherwise and academic, they are usually just left to get on with it in mainstream.

If the child is not academic and has behaviour problems, then that's usually picked up and that child is more likely to end up in specialist edication MLD/SLD.

It's the academic Aspies with no overwhelming behaviour problems who just get overlooked - hence the lack of provision for the, The LAs would probably argue that autistic bases have been designed to meet that need but the probklem with these is they are usually attached to a mainstream school and it's the proximity to mainstream that usually results in the ASD child being bullied or ridiculed to the point where they give up.