About go BALLISTIC at LEA SEN dd had all pre school support pulled as she is in private nursery. Pls help!

[Piffle]

Dd (just turned)4)has Noonan Syndrome and tbh is affected mainly by terrible eyesight and some minor physical difficulties due to her small size and mild hypotonia - she has had development delay but is now age appropropriate.
She ahs been followed by portage then peripatetic visual teacher and the LEA SENCO was working along with the PPVT in getting dd ready for statementing later this year. I moved dd to a Montessori nursery as it met her needs far better than her previous nursery - this is the right move as dd is very very happy there - however it is not funded and I use dd's DLA to fund this.
Today I find out NOT from the PPVT/LEA SEN but from dd's lovely Montessori head that all meetings for key reviews/observations and statementing processes including the Ed Psych have all been shelved as the nursery has not govt funding.

I am livid - firstly it is not about the school but about my daughters needs. I am also livid that non one in the LEA thought fit to call me and discuss or enlighten me.
Where do I go?
What are dd's rights to statementing - her eyesight is shocking and no way can she go into a schoo next year without additional support.
HELP!

A friend had loads of trouble with her DS and school and found that IPSEA were very helpful, I would definitely give them a ring as I'm sure they can help you with how to handle this. I'd be livid too, that is really bad.

How far along...
Well it was agreed by a develpomental paed over 18 mths ago that she would def need statementing as her sight problems are serious and uncorrectable.
She has been assessed and observed in her old nursery for over a year, I have attended progres meetings and objective sets and reviews, quite a lot of input plus the visual impaired teachers doing home and nursery based assessments
We were due to all reconvene next Monday, as dd has had opthalmological review last week so we know where we are with her sight. Also it was to allow dd to change nurseries and settle in before the ed pysch would be involved.
The meeting was to agree the ed psych timing was right basically, then s/he would agree the need for statementing and it would be applied for from that point, so very nearly at the end of the process
Thanks for those links and info, that has enlightened me a lot
xxxxxxxxxxxx

Piffle,
You can apply for a statement, Look at the IPSEA site and its very very useful.

the process takes on average 6 months IF you are sucessful at every hurdle. You have to apply for statutory assessment,which IF the LEA agree to do leads to a statement. Its ot easy, its not fun BUT YOU HAVE TO DO THIS and if YOU do it and tehy refuse to assess you can appeal.

sorry if I sound bolshy, I've got a my LEA guns ablazing right now.

What really pisses me off is that all the ground work has been done.
I am due a callback off the early yrs support service tomorrow and will get their poinion of things first and proceed from there - no doubt they will have their own advice as well.
Quite frankly I am ready to put my hands up and say sod you then. We'll leave it untildd goes to school.

apply now for your dd to be assessed.
We are going through exactly the same thing with our LEA and have just won our tribunal case to get DS assessed.

They will try anything, they use dirty underhand methods and what you have described about them not letting you know doesnt surprise me im sorry to say.

Get in touch with IPSEA, they are wonderful and will put you right with regards to what the LEA can and cannot do, whenever i speak to my LEA now and they tell me something i just say "im going to run that by IPSEA" and LEA,s dont like IPSEA as they know all the inns and outs of the law re SN.

HTH

Not really surprised to see that the LEA in question have pulled the plug at this late stage - typical LEA type behaviour I am sorry to report. BTW the LEA I reside in did not inform me that my DS's support hours on his statement were going to decrease - I sussed that one out myself due to their constant delays and incompetance.

I would concur with the other advice given to now apply to the LEA yourself and ask for your daughter to be assessed with a view to getting a Statement. Do it yourself, do not rely on school or anyone else to write this request. Not that you'd leave this until she starts school but you certainly need the statement in place before that time. As also mentioned as well it can take six months for such a document to be issued.

Early years support if they have any sense will also advise you to apply for a statement yourself. I would be interested to hear what they have to say.

You are your DD's best - and only - advocate.

Piffle, I am sorry to hear this saga but like others I am not surprised. It is pretty typical LEA behaviour ime.
I am afraid that I agree with the others, that you need to apply your energy to this now and probably forever. Sorry to sound so gloomy but there it is.
It is definitely worth getting the headteacher on your side and getting him/her to write a letter in your support but I agree you need to do the legwork yourself and not rely on others. Only you can give it the priority it needs.
try and find yourself a personal contact who you can hassle! find a name you can write to, like the Director of Education. Ring up the switchboard and ask for his/her name. In this game ime the squeaky wheel is the only way to go.
good luck and sorry you are getting so much misery out of this.

HI hc

HI hc

Am gutted that this seems to be a typical tactic of the LEA's
I will be well armed indeed with IPSEA advice when the bird in charge calls me back - assuming she does of course
What a travesty this system is - dd needs bold print in a large specific font type to read properly, we cna only access this with a statement - tih is what the PPVT told me this afternoon. she is happy to continue assessing and can provide info to my own statementing process
She is not bound by the LEA apparently.
Also paed will be very helpful - also dutifully enraged, she said rarely has she seen such a clear cut and dried case for statementing.
Here we go round the mulberry bush...

OK have got to the bottom if this
Spoke to the PPVT who is stil involved - she is also surprised I was not rung and said had she known she would have called me herself.
Anyway she is going to request the ed psych evaluation herself, she will also liaise with community paed (way over on my side ta very much) and keep this process alive.
The EYSS (Early Yrs Support Service) which dd was being sponsored under, does not help children in private education BUT they use a different route via the LEa, so all dd's reviews and stuff will still count.
I have written for statutory assessment BUT PPVT says give her til the end of the week to sort out the process and she says we should avoid the need for that.
Fingers crossed
She also said how settled and how god the activities at Montessori were for dd's sight problems...