AIBU to complain? school related

[billiejeanbob]

dd has a very specific statement with weekly 1:1 slt OT and specialist teaching. This has only been in place for about a month due to the LA stalling etc.
dd's class start swimming lessons next week and will be out of school from until 12.15 each day. I've recieved info from the school that dd will now have to miss all of her therapies and specialist teaching for the next 3 weeks due to the swimming lessons.
now I do understand that occasionally a therapist could be ill etc and need to cancel but this has given me the rage! dd will already miss slt next week due to a paed app that cannot be re arranged so that will be 4 weeks without therapy.
I feel that any thing that comes up the school just disregard her therapy.
AIBU to complain to the head and/or the LA about this?

No, you are absolutely entitled to the support BUT I would go in in the spirit of 'what can I do to help you resolve this?'

That way they will be more minded to help, whilst discovering that you will hold them to the Statement as well as to their obligation to provide swimming as part of the National Curriculum.

If DD wants to go swimming, then anything like offering to contact the therapists to sort out alternative times, or allowing the therapists to do after school sessions etc etc. If you can manage to take the faff of the admin out of their hands that may well help.

I know full well that actually you may well be more far more pressed for time than they are, but as you have limited time to get a result, the pragmatic way may be to take it out of their hands.

With a complaint, they will feel attacked and offended and it will be tempting for them to start a formal complaints procedure so that by the time it is resolved the sessions will have been lost

Hoping this helps

Thanks senvet. Good idea about offering to help them resolve the issue.
I think I needed to vent my anger here first! This is not.the forst time ghos jas happened, dd has had to miss out on a class trip once before as the senco wouldnt consider rearranging the therapy.
Dd is not wanting to do the swimming lessons at all. she struggles with coordination and has a mixture of high and low muscle tone, so it won't be easy for her. She also struggles with sequencing her movements and has really poor short term memory, so will need alot of support. she is embarrassed that she can't independently dress herself but is adamant that she doesn't want the TA to help. School are insisting that she has to attend, but I just don't think that it should be at the cost of her support.

gosh sorry about all of the typos I blame auto correct

Well THAT makes life a whole lot easier. Mention her difficulties to the SENCo in the spirit of helpfulness, and ask if they have done a risk assessment and sorted out how they are going to ensure that she doesn't drown herself, or pull another child under in her panic. They would need a good trained 1 to 1 just to keep her and her fellow classmates safe, let alone to teach her,

Or in the spirit of being helpful, you are happy to withdraw her and then that would save them and/or you having to re-arrange the therapy....