'Some SEN pupils denied education' - Ombudman's report

[pannetone]

Reported on the BBC here And then there is a link to the Ombudsman's Report if you go to this page: www.lgo.org.uk/news/2014/mar/ombudsman-calls-fair-treatment-children-sen/ and click to download the pdf.

I'm sure what the report says won't actually be 'news' to many of us... And one of the cases reported about the boy with selective mutism whose statement the LA delayed to finalise is a failure by my LA...

I currently have 2 children with HFA who are not in school because their needs are not being met. They have both been without education (well save for what I've done at home) for more than 6 weeks. I'm not sure who I complain too - have I already got a case for the LGO? In the case of DD I am appealing against refusal to assess, but that is such a slow process (hearing date is June) - who do I contact to get provision in the meantime?? In the case of both DD and DS their absences are authorised as 'medical' BUT is this just a convenient way for the LA to say they don't need provision ATM because they are 'ill'? The reality is that with proper support they could be back at school - though in the case of DS it is also the wait to get CAMHS involvement.

At least it's starting to hit the mainstream. the taxpayer needs to know that universal state education is a myth as a starting point towards the situation standing the slightest chance of improving.

Well my child's experiences are very similar to 2 of the stories in that report however the LGO did not respond in the same way as they did in those cases.
My child was without a full time education many months because of unmet needs, with the school recording the absences as 'educated elsewhere' so it didn't impact on their absence figures . The LA provided no education in the interim but the LGO investigator decided that there was no fault with them not ding so, despite it being their legal duty to provide a full time education. You can try complaining to the LGO but outcomes seem to vary depending on who deals with your case. It also takes many months to even get a judgment from the LGO and, in my experience, once you complain the LA will have nothing more to do with you while the complaint is ongoing.

If the absences are classed as 'medical' who has decided that? Has a medical professional said that they are unfit for education? If not the LA should be complying with their duty, but there seems to be no accountability if they don't. If officially your dc are considered too ill for school I think the LA only has to supply 5 hours per week of educational support.

Oh, another report......

Reports are not outcomes!

By publishing a report indicating failure somewhere, the public is duped into thinking a)it's a new problem and b)something is being done about it.

LA's can now refer to it in their provision. Not make any changes to practice, but simply refer to it implying they give s hit.

Thing is I think we are in danger of returning to the days when the disabled were supposed to be kept out of sight of mainstream society and hidden away.

At least this reminds people that our children exist and that kids might have genuine disability's as opposed to just have bad parents! In recent days I've seen a couple of articles stating that adhd & asd do not exist but are just poor parenting outcomes from the world of education Gove stylee. The bigots seem to be winning the battle for hearts and minds at an ever increasing rate, as we go backwards as a society in terms of social justice.

In terms of outcomes I need to see a few LA's/academies closed or subjected to punative financial sanctions. I also need to see this publicised in the Daily Fail and a political pundit show with people decrying our kid's treatment as a result. However in the real world I think we are a couple of generations away from any chance of that.