Child's views for Tribunal

[NoHaudinMaWheest]

I am appealing to tribunal against LA refusal to assess dd's SEN (mobility and hand use difficulties and SpLD).
I received the LA's case paperwork today. I haven't digested it all yet and will probably be posting again once I have.
Amongst it was a (bad) photocopy of a form of pupil's views which dd had filled in at the end of last term. I had no idea that she had been asked to do this. Dd hadn't been told what it was for and assumed that it was a school survey type thing. Her answers were therefore brief and she chose to write it herself using her non-dominant hand which was the one working at the time. She didn't mention it to me at the time because she didn't realise it was important.
As an intellectually able 14yr old dd would have given more thought to her answers if she had realised what it was for. They also did it at lunchtime which annoyed her.

I am furious about the lack of communication about this both to dd and to me. Can I ask for the school to redo it and resubmit it to the LA/ tribunal?

Yes she could. But won't tribunal just see this as more 'parental' evidence?

That is seriously bad no!!

My LA sent there childs view form to our home address and Dd3 filled it in at home! They have never made any reference to it throughout the tribunal or SA process despite me making several references to it in my tribunal!

How about asking someone independent to sit with her to do it again maybe the SENCO or someone else in a senior position at school? And then you can write something about how she wasnt given proper opportunity to do it the first time!

I dont know just a thought!

In my experience the Tribunal panel did value my inout as a parent, way more than my LA do.

I did take an advocate with me but I did 90% of the speaking myself ! And there was lots of opportunity to say what I wanted to say!

I would do it again and get it in your evidence .

Good luck

That should have said input not inout

I got my daughter to write her own views at home and submitted them - the tribunal referred to them a lot and took a lot of notice of them

Tell your daughter what the document is for, and ask her if she would like to do another one.

Submit her response to you telling her what the piece she was kept in at lunch time was for as your explanation of why she did another.

Also, you are allowed to submit video evidence so you can get her to talk if you like. That would show no coaching.

Right I will get her to do it again.

The one she did before was with someone at school who is assistant to the SENCO. I think she is a TA and has been know to be somewhat slapdash before.

You could see if your LA has a contract with an organisation like PoHwer or Youth Advocacy, who provide independent advocates for people with learning difficulties, when their views are needed on what they want.