Adjournment - some one help please?

[2boysnamedR]

Tribunal is days away - but not five days! My ep wants me to adjourn as I will have evidence on the day. Also my lea haven't done anything.

I want this hell to be over.

If I adjourn can the lea adjourn next time?

How long would a adjournment be?

My tribunal got 'stayed' so i feel your pain. Adjournment is usually for 4 weeks. The LA could apply for another adjournment but you can contest the adjournment so they might not necessarily get one.
I didn't find out that my tribunal was stayed until the thursday of the week before. The tribunal service hadn't let my solicitor know. I was devastated, it was awful i just wanted it all to end, so i know how you feel.

Luckily the only financial cost if it gets adjourned for me is my ed psych time - but a £80 a hour it's still a ouch.

Ah this is tourture. I'm doing this alone. I'm trying to get hold of the lea. If they tell me they don't plan to adjourn then I will go ahead and try to catch them in their current state of not being ready.

This process is so unfair. Only the strongest bloody minded parents can possibly do this. I feel bad for other parents. I swore to myself to see this through so I have to fight every step until we get thrown out by sendist.

My soul is dead but the body is still going on.

Please, please, please, pleeeeeeeeease back down lea!!!

You know your going to look bad on the day - so spare yourself

oh goodness 2boys - I don't know - what is the evidence you have for on the day? given the LA have nothing/done nothing a delay may give them time to get their house in order. I would also just want it over as well but if your EP wants you to adjourn she must have a reason.

my LA tried about a month before mine to get it adjourned due to the teacher refusing to come. I refused to agree to it - I have to say I think the tribunal would struggle to agree this late to adjourn it but I don't know - maybe speak to them on Monday morning and see what they advise also maybe speak to ipsea or someone.

why o why wont these LA just agree to statement as well - rather than putting us through this over a pigging NIL - the time and effort and delay this has all caused when they could just issue a rubbish statement in the first place!

Ooh yeah bjk makes a good point that's just triggered my memory. There is a rule that if someone concedes or tries to adjourn within a certain amount of days of the tribunal then it has to go ahead anyway (although it can be stopped at judges discretion). I can't remember the exact timescales but i'll try and find the linky.

I think its five day fairgame which is why 2boys I guess is saying hearing more than 5 days away so could technically adjourn but its awfully close to the wire now. Ive realised also that the EP is saying to 2boys that the LA likely to serve additional information on her at the hearing - I would in all honesty just strongly oppose any application the LA make and ask to continue although before you do you will need to see what the LA have - if anything - do you honestly believe there is anything they could serve on you?

I found the SENDIST guide
www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/tribunals/special-educational-needs-and-disability/HowToAppealAgainstSENDdecision_Jan11.pdf

I think rule about the tribunal going ahead anyway is just for those that withdraw the appeal within 10 days of the hearing date so it probably doesn't apply to adjournments. Speak to sendist on monday and make sure they are happy for you to present evidence on the day. Worst case scenario is that they don't allow you to submit on the day and if that's the case then an adjournment would probably be better depending on how important that evidence is to your case.

Sorry bjk i've crossed posts with you (took me ages to type that coz DS was putting me off with his singing)

If the LA are presenting evidence on the day then they can't really object to 2boys presenting on the day either. It's just that thing of not knowing what the LA will pull out of bag on the day.

ah yes fairgame you are right - I was indeed thinking about withdrawal from the hearing

I honestly belive they have nothing. Ds either needs a statement with what's in the table or he doesn't and I think it should fall clearly either way. He's had all assessments that can be done. His last ot assessment hasn't been seen but he's dsypraxic so it's never going to change year on year. I am sure his ot will not be prepaired to down play the fact that he can't sit straight or hold a pen. He can't even dress and she knows that. He's the classic dyspraxic kid you throw a ball at and he's still standing braced with his arm outstretched after the ball has hit him square in the face!

They have no SLT except a SLT TA who has been working with him since the start of this year (good luck to her trying to dispute my qualified indi SLT as she is neither a SLT or teacher!)

School senco refuses to go and all other possible staff (head, duputy and CT) don't know him very well as CT joined the school this term.

My late evidence is a new indi SLT report which has yet to be done. I also have videos of him walking and talking but they can be emailed in now.

Basically if they don't have a case now then they don't have a case. If they ask for extra time he will be SLT assessed and ed psych assessed twice this year already so they would be doing a third pass.

In their case progression checklist they said they would review his indi reports and talk to their own ep about conflicting high scores in areas where he scores 1% in my indi slt report and their own reports instructed by their specialist teachers. They would ask the ep to get his views etc - none if which has happened.

They have sent in their own specialist teachers repeatedly to assess him but even they have scored him at 1% in some areas. They have scored him the same on his last nhs slt report from the year before ie - in a year of intervention ( les use that term loosely - it's not real interventation) his score has stayed the same - so he failing behind in real terms.

All they have is that he is happy and likes school

It's 11 Callander days till hearing now

why does your indie ep want you to adjourn?

Because my lea haven't done anything they won't be able to issue a statement. But this appeal was lodged six months ago. They have had the time.

His nil does not take into account any physical or sensory needs and even if I give them more time up can't see them taking him as a whole person with dyspraxia. They only see him as a child with a mild speech delay.

They don't see my son as a whole person. Unless I force it, they never will

Forgive me if I am being thick but it is only following SA that that LA decide NIL or statement. They don't do any more if they decide to statement. Because of your Indi reports they actually have more information available to them than is generated by normal SA. I don't understand why it would be in your interests to adjourn.

okay - im confused and this is probably something I should have asked a long time ago so bare with me if this is a really stupid question! I thought that you appeal the NIL the tribunal think about it and then 2 weeks later when the decision come the LA are then ordered to issue a statement and have x number of weeks to do so. I didn't think at the appeal you had to basically agree what will or wont go in the statement at the actual hearing - as we know most NIL are absolutely dire and yours I guess is like mine completely and utterly unspecified hence why they issue them in the first place - ive already asked my LA EP to specify his advice and the LA have refused to do so as they have issued a NIL! I will have reports which will specify but what do you do at tribunal with an LA who does nothing - surely that's not reason to adjourn that's reason for the tribunal to throw the book at the LA and if they do have to issue a statement take it from all of your reports as at the end of the day the LA have had as much time as you to get their house in order.

strangely and this is what is worrying me someone else in passing today to mentioned to me about having to be ready for what I wanted in the statement and I just shrugged it off thinking that comes after tribunal not during it but now Im thinking ive got this all wrong

hi keep - glad im not the only one wondering about this.... im sure I read in the guidance which comes when you've lodged an appeal the timelines that follow a successful appeal and im sure they had x number of weeks to issue a statement as I was sat working it out that if I did win and had to appeal again I wouldn't get the next appeal in before next sept

2boys - also surely that is the basis of your appeal as well that the LA failed to properly assess your son in the first place so the NIL does not represent all of his needs so if they don't now all of his needs how can they say his needs can be met by their rubbish NIL? that is the basis my appeal will be on - only after stat assessment are mine now moving to get reports which means the NIL doesn't reflect all of the childs needs so they haven't done a full assessment so cannot be confident that the childs needs can be met under the usual school action stuff. ive asked mine outright if they accept they failed to fully assess her and they wont answer the question because if they do then its game over plus even now I know there is more dx to come as we haven't sent the EP in yet

Yes this why I'm confused too! I'm not expecting to set out and agree a statement in the day. Just a yes or no. I get a shat statement and we fight another day.

I fighting for a yes - not the details? I want a statement with quantified ot aspects, proper qualified slt expert involved ongoing, sensory considerations and element of 1:1 for planning and explaining work.

The judge says yes ds needs a statement and we argue the above at a later date?

I thought this was an appeal with a stated aim that was limited. If issued a statement you can then appeal it's parts. Maybe your EP wanted to get parts 2 and 3 agreed at this stage? Even so, I can't see this would be a reason to adjourn.

this is the hard bit isn't it because I bet not that many NIL appeals go to a full hearing - most get conceded so not that many people have been through the whole process - refusal to assess we know lots about and also the same with fighting part 2 3 and 4 but NIL appeal is more of a grey area it seems which doesn't help really does it! I have a recent case that someone highlighted on here to me and that was an appeal to the upper tier by the LA when the parents won their appeal and that was NIL related so gave the arguments the parents had used. gave an interesting quote about a statement not being all about funding but about the parents having the confidence the child would get what was in the statement - will try and find it.

The fact (judging by posts here) that NILs are now going to tribunal may be a consequence of the new system. If you look at the court stats (sorry on phone so can't link) it appears that the LA used to concede rather than take NIL to tribunal. It may be a significant action that signifies a new attitude to go with the new policy.

maybe keep - most people on here who got NIL in the past didn't seem to make it all the way to tribunal and they were conceded - I know with me personally it will go all the way but that's more to do with the LA and their relationship to me rather than a general pattern.

Let's see if we go all the way. I think it will. Where getting down to the wire now :0/

Are you certain that your EP thinks you should request an adjournment?
Or could the EP be warning you that they are expecting the LA to request an adjournment?
From what I can gather it doesn't seem to be in your interest to request an adjournment at all.
Does the NIL that they have issued contain any recomendations or provision? Are these evidenced from their SA reports?