Panel said no!

[StarlightMcKingsThree]

I think de-registering in the current environment is very, very tricky. Even switching schools could be a bit hairy unless the new one is definitely classified as proper 'special' provision. It may be groundless, but I worry that even Units might get difficult if the total cost of a place could be brought in (on paper) at £9,995 per annum.

You really don't want to be fighting a cease-to-maintain tribunal, or a let's-try-him-in-mainstream-cos-we-can part 4 when the law is changing in September.

which I now see is what lougle said

though imho she's always right so that probably means I'm right too

I really do think that we would all fare better if we could detach our emotions and see the situation from the professionals' side, then compare it to our side, before deciding what to do next.

Maria has given a really good summary of how the professionals will see it. They've put in loads of hard work for a child with ASD, whose spiky profile means that they have some good skills in areas, but their language deficit prevents them from usefully communicating those skills to a wider audience.

They've spent their time building the social skills and language skills of this child, then the parent has asked to remove him because she thinks he's smarter than their giving him credit for and their not meeting his academic need.

They're thinking of the situation much like Maslow's hierachy of need - A triangle with those soft skills at the base, and higher mathematical abilities way up towards the top. In their view, the academic skills come after the social interaction skills.

If we can view it from the profs' side, then we can see how to present our views in a way that is palatable for them. If we can do that, then we'll get less resistance.

I'm thinking of something that happened yesterday:

I went to the teacher and said 'I've noticed that DD2's pen grip is wrong and I wonder if it's contributing to her lack of writing.'

Me: 'Oh...is it still quite common at this age then? Will it just correct in time.'

Teacher: 'Well...to be honest if it isn't corrected by this age, it won't be.'

Teacher: 'I'll have a look at it. Sometimes pen grips can help.'

This morning, DD2's teacher said "I'm thinking of using a pen grip with DD2'.

I said 'Oh what a good idea, thank you!'.

I suppose that what I mean is that sometimes professionals can need a bit of time to digest information and come up with a solution, and if we push too hard it can be a battle of wills.

I know Lougle, but I started the same conversation in the same way with DS's school and they said 'It can't be corrected until he has had loads of OT, and then it may just sort itself out. It might not if his sensory issues are too severe'.

So I did handwriting practice 10 minutes a day over half term, as you know and now he holds the pencil correctly and has lovely cursive writing which he saves for 'best' which includes when he writes with me but 'sometimes' now in school too, which the school think came from his efforts alone (even though I told them what I did. I think it goes in one ear and out of the other).

that's so frustrating, Star.

Nothing to say, but very wise posts from Maria and Lougle.

I suppose my concerns are that a) Ds could learn the soft stuff faster at home and b) reading and writing ARE life skills.

I know am talking about academics. But I think I mean academics to address his difficulties iyswim. How better to teach 'language' visually than with actual words? How better to teach social skills than through observation and analysis and problem solving?

The school does well to teach the soft skills but I am comparing it to mainstream alternatives, not with Ds' capabilities iyswim when I say that.

I desperately need help.

DS is gong great guns with online school - how do I get this named as part 4 of his statement? We fell into it by accident as a result of relocating but it's WORKING. I have my child back after years of being too stressed in school to learn a darn thing.

How do I get online school named on his statement in part 4? I want his statement maintained so that he can access OT & SALT once a term. Last year it was me not school that followed all their rec's at home so he made progress with language and motor issues. I'm happy to continue that.

We now have a decent quality of family life and I'm able to consider working from home etc, things I couldn't do when he was in school. I really, really don't want to waste any more time watching my poor boy fail miserably in the school environment, while he slips further and further behind academically. Not now I've seen that he can catch up & be happy!

How do I say/email this to the LA EP now they've finally noticed we exist? (moved in Sept). I really,really don't want to deal with any more toxic politics. I don't think the new LA is inherently evil like the old one, just set in their ways iykwim, online schooling is still a new concept in the UK. There is no way he'll cope in a comprehensive environment, and SS's are too limited curriculum and academic aspiration wise.

I don't want to officially declare us to be electively home edding as his statement will cease to be maintained, and this carries huge risks long term I think with the new changes coming in September. (He'll need exam adjustments for public exams, help to go to college etc, etc).

Your statement won't cease to be maintained unless you request it.My son came out of school while his statement was being amended (post AR) and I informed them we are now home-schooling and they have now just put in part 4 that ' 'The authority is of the opinion that DS's needs can be met at a maintained school but parents are making their own arrangements'.

Boc I was reading NEW LA BUDGET GUIDANCE 2014-15: 1.2.5 SEN support services "Include any costs of providing these services to home educated children". 1.2.7 Other alternative provision services "This may include funding for home educating parents." (s251 budget 2014 to 2015: instructions p.25) Published December 2013, deadline 31st March 2014

The High Needs Funding Block can be used for home educated children. Where home educated children have a statement of SEN, the local authority can support parents financially under s.19 or s.319 of the Education Act 1996. Examination fees for home educated children can be paid under s.19.

I'd like to add that for our dd the lack of focus on a academics within her special school has caused major issues and contributed to her feeling isolated. She became bored, frustrated and subsequently depressed and has heavily contributed towards her being unable to attend school!

DD's school weren't meeting her social/independence/emotional needs either but the low focus on academics had a much bigger impact then we ever could have anticipated!

Thank you sazale for your post. That's very interesting.

Boch you understand your battle for that will be similar to asking for ABA right, unless you are planning to make it clear you aren't asking for money? LAs don't want to give the control of a single penny to any parent, nor to an education outside of anything they control.

Your research, case law and strategy should follow the same path as a request for ABA if you do want a bit of funding.

You may prove Ds shines at home, but unless his educational needs can't be met in maintained or even indi, and you can prove that, you will struggle.

What claw says is right, but that won't change carrotude!

That's true Star, nothing seems available without a fight!

Boch How will you be asking for OT and SALT?

You can request it from your GP (anyone's guess what they say to that but it is how some HE families get it).

Or, if your LA is a pathfinder you can request it in Direct Payments. Otherwise you might have to wait until September for that. And then it looks like it is all going to be tied up in some bureaucratic process with brokers and parent supporters taking their cut of your child's provision.

Right. Now I've put in a proper formal request for HE now and ignored the EWO and gone directly to the boss.

The HT of the school has been promising to phone me since the beginning of term but is 'getting around to it' because she's very busy. I suppose to be fair we're only half way through week 2 but still, ds doesn't seem much of a priority and I left my patience in some previous home.

Though I HAVE been patient. We had meetings last term about it, an annual review, I wrote documents etc etc. Prior to that I attended a week long HE festival and sacrificed my suntan to attend EVERY workshop available on both HE and the law and DH did lots too. That was way back in July.

So we'll see what happens now. I probably should make the curriculum more concrete for inspection but I don't want to emotionally invest in something that might not happen.

You ask for 'Education Otherwise than at school under s.319 Education Act' to be named as his placement. This is a valid placement for Part 4. It's what DS ABA is named as. You then set out in Part 3b the provision eg internet school, SLT, OT. You don't want help with costs to HE as that is voluntary and you are legally / financially responsible. You don't have to get direct payments. LA can pay internet school fees direct or you can pay and it will reimburse you (you need to agree payment terms eg 7 days of submitting invoice). For ABA we get ABA invoice, we have to do an invoice for LA in our name and attach ABA one and LA pay us within 7 days. We have 28 days to pay ABA invoice. We now have private SLT under pathfinder DP but as they have not set up DP arrangements yet we pay SLT and reclaim from LA. we have a letter agreeing hourly rate and hours with max annual budget for slt. We tried to get it in statement but they haven't put it in. But no doubt they will have to when we move to EHC plan.

It should be straightforward as internet school is vastly cheaper than alternatives right? And LAs can fund it direct if they don't want to give you control.

The decision LA need to make is whether some or all of his needs cannot be met in a school and need to be met otherwise than at school. Look at David Wolfe barrister's noddy guide to SEN for cases and Education Act.

Boch is new LA doing reassessment? Are you expecting an amended statement? If so you just name Ed Owise s.319 when they leave part 4 blank. But no harm giving EP heads up.

Annual review was due at the end of November. The new authority have done NOTHING about getting him him into a school, bar one very brief informal meeting at the town hall where I was told they'd shove him in the nearest mainstream with 20 hours TA support to start - I argued his statement was actually for 28.5 and that 3 mainstream school placements had already failed him. This was at the start of November. Heard nothing since till this letter from the Ed pysch this week.

If I wasn't home edding he'd have missed a full term of education while my new LA sat on their hands - hence why I just got on with it. However a term is long enough to say - yeah I can see this working from year 5-11 (no need for a big secondary transistion being just one bonus given he only has 18 months left at primary anyways).

He's a bolter so if they want to play the "prove the standard route fails the child" game then they will HAVE to up his TA hours from 28.5 to a full 6 hour day inc playtimes simply to keep him in the building. I'd have to stand just outside the school gates for the first few weeks till they sussed that out.

Does the efficient use of funds argument ever work?
A full time/near full time TA costs money + laptop, writing slope, cushion, workstation etc for him to be in school costs over £20K a year.

online school will cost them £2500 a year for secondary (higher figure than his current primary). I'm making that to be a 10-15K difference in their favour, with the benefit of a rare decent outcome for the child concerned.

Salt & OT costs I'm assuming are the same in either scenario as I have no problems visiting a clinic (cheaper than a home visit).

ABA programmes are usually VERY expensive. So this isn't quite the same, given cost is often a huge factor in those cases.

Asked for GP referral back in Oct to SALT & OT star - not holding my breath.

generally I get the impression the authorities would like to forget we exist really here. I'd be happy to let them if I wasn't concerned about unforeseen outcomes of the gubberment policy change tomfoolery.

More than happy for them to pay fees direct and to use NHS OT & SALT - thanks for the heads up. This is nowhere near as complex as an ABA programme, where the parent often has to recruit staff.

I will reassure them that I don't want to take control of their precious budget pot, before they get a chance to get sweaty about it now you've pointed that out Star.

(Do sen oficers ever remind anyone else of Golom from Lord of the rings?)

My current one case officer is in her first job ever I think. She's not yet been trained to believe all parents are evil and I presume not had evidence of shouty parents to back it up.

The EWO on the other hand.....

I said to case officer that I wanted to dereg. Case officer gave me EWO name and contact details and said it was up to her. Contacted EWO who said it was case officer's decision and that she would say no.

I said she mentioned neither to me and the EWO said that was because I wasn't listening to her .

Anyway, for some reason am dealing with a different EWO who very sensibly is refusing to speak to me at all and do everything by email which is a relief I can't tell you!!!

I probably should make the curriculum more concrete for inspection

Star, when I home ed'd, I wrote an education philosophy document. Amongst other things, it pointed out that the home eding was happening until DS had suitable provision. It got used a lot both by LA and my side when fighting for correct provision.

Happy to send it to you if you pm me your email details.