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SN children

Here are some suggested organisations that offer expert advice on special needs.

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Original poster

Giving parental views for SA

19 replies

Skylar123 · 22/04/2014 14:53

I'm about to write out my parental views with respect to the LA carrying out SA for my Ds.
What kinds if things do I need to write, I have a form with lots of headings and it looks like they want the whole life history, is this the way everyone else has done it. I've left it so late as I only have until Thursday to get it to them.
Any advice gratefully received

OP posts:

ToniQueensPark · 22/04/2014 16:30

you need to make the issues sound as serious as you possibly can, mention absolutely everything - this is your one shot - tell it all and make it clear and concise, if its easier, using bullet points to list the issues, the last thing you want is for them to refuse to assess...

KOKOagainandagain · 22/04/2014 16:40

Write your own document and ignore the headings which tend to focus on early years and home with a small space for you to answer leading questions about how helpful the school have been. If you PM your email I can send the the one I did for DS1. I have to do one for DS2 by the end of the month and intend to focus more on what has happened since application for SA. It depends what you were able to submit earlier and what has happened since. The school/LA always focus on the immediate past

Original poster

Skylar123 · 22/04/2014 17:09

THaNkYou toni & keepon
SA has already been agreed they are now making the decision to draft a statement or issue NIL. I will be finding out very soon.
keepon I will gladly message you my email - thank you for such a kind offer. I've left it all a bit late!
I'm going to crack on tonight and finish by tomorrow night.

OP posts:

StarlightMcKenzie · 22/04/2014 23:54

I disagree with Toni. It isn't your one shot. They'll not pay a blind bit of notice and you'll have plenty of opportunity to make yourself clear, and clearer and clearer still and express your confusion as to why public service officers appear to not understand plain English.

StarlightMcKenzie · 22/04/2014 23:56

Ignore their headings. Often they are leading and attempt to get you to write about your parenting/pregnancy/early years fails rather than theirs. I don't think it is sinister but a different belief system that they are using.

Ignore any heading that isn't relevant as you don't want to dilute your message. Make sections that are important as big as you need to.

streakybacon · 23/04/2014 10:01

Take your time with it. I wouldn't aim to have it finished by tomorrow or even this week - take as long as you need till you're satisfied you've covered everything.

I typed mine, which meant I could say as much as I needed to make the points clear. I used the given headings as a guide but didn't allow myself to be driven in the direction they were pointing me. Ds is home educated so a lot of their points weren't relevant to our situation, and I had to make that clear too. It was 25 pages long in the end - the LA said they'd never had such a detailed parental advice and it covered everything they needed to know about ds.

Original poster

Skylar123 · 23/04/2014 10:24

Thank you also to star & streaky
I was just going to ask actually how strict do you think the request for my formal advice by 24th April is. It says that I have already supplied info but if I would like to add to this I need to by 24/4.
The letter also states that they expect the process (decision of nil or statement) to be completed within 12 weeks if date of letter so that would take us to 6th June.
Will it be ignored if I don't get my views in by tomorrow!

OP posts:

Original poster

Skylar123 · 23/04/2014 10:25

Should I ring the SEN officer and ask for an extension?

OP posts:

streakybacon · 23/04/2014 10:38

I would. Use the school's Easter holidays as an excuse - you couldn't possibly have got it done with ds at home . Say you want to be thorough and will need more time to do a proper job on it.

Original poster

Skylar123 · 23/04/2014 10:45

Ok also they didn't enclose the question sheet and I had to request it so the info sheet with all the questions came late

OP posts:

streakybacon · 23/04/2014 12:05

That would add to your argument too. They'd have to be particularly arsey to refuse, I would think.

PassTheProsecco · 23/04/2014 13:56

I submitted mine today a few days late, I rang up before the Easter weekend and said it might be a bit delayed and they were fine about it.

I ignored the headings provided mostly and just picked which ones to use depending on whether I felt they were relevant or not. I ordered the sections I did to put the most important parts across first eg:

Kicked off with 'Main Areas of Concern re XXX's Schooling' (clear summary followed by smaller headings where I elaborated on each concern). Then had a 'Providing for XXX's Difficulties' section where I basically said he needs 1:1, and then bullet pointed all of the specific circumstances he will need 1:1, plus a few other short paragraphs with other provision we want for him. I then rounded off with a 'Background History- The Early Years' section where I talked through how the condition developed and evolved from birth and described the process of diagnosis and so on.

6 typed pages in total, so not a massive amount, didn't want to dilute it where I didn't need to, just said what I wanted to say as clearly and succinctly as I possibly could.

Fingers crossed now.

Best of luck with yours x

Original poster

Skylar123 · 23/04/2014 14:09

Thank you everyone!
Oh this is going to be a long job.
I'm rubbish at stuff like this
Good luck pass love your name

They have agreed another week

OP posts:

PassTheProsecco · 29/04/2014 11:11

How's it going Skylar?

Original poster

Skylar123 · 29/04/2014 11:50

Hi I got an extension to end of this week. Working through it now. It's a horrible job!
I had the ed pysc call me the other day to go through what she had written in her report for Ds statutory assessment she wants to do a plan to give to school and wants me to agree the things she is suggesting which is good but she seems to think Ds is really happy at sch despite his not wanting to go and being late everyday.
I have a feeling a NIL is on it's way . Hey ho I'll fight it all the way till I'm desperate and broke lol

OP posts:

streakybacon · 29/04/2014 15:44

Keep at it!

PassTheProsecco · 29/04/2014 16:00

The good thing about speaking to the Ed Psych before finishing your report is that you can try and put extra emphasis/explanation/justification re any concerns that she didn't seem to take on board enough, and also add extra strength to the things she did seem to take on board :-) That's what I did anyway!

Tomorrow is the deadline for all the professionals to get their reports in for our SA... it's going to be a long 6 week wait :-/

Keep us posted, it's nice to chat to someone going through it at almost exactly the same time as us. We will get there in the end, by hook or by crook!!! xx

SallyBear · 30/04/2014 07:54

I wrote my report from birth to date. I focused on the various diagnosis given, spelling out how it was affecting DS and how his disabilities were preventing him from accessing the curriculum.

Original poster

Skylar123 · 30/04/2014 10:38

Thanks guys. Fingers crossed pass

The ed pysc kept going on about how Ds perception of sch not being how he really feels as when he is there he is 'fine'

She saw a happy boy who loves his friends!

(Banging head on wall)

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