Seven days post statement deadline - silence still

[2boysnamedR]

Seriously do I have the worst luck or do I smell?

Nothing ever works for us.

Three seperate formal complaints and not one acknowledgement?

Surrounded by idiots?

Clearly!

Have you asked them where it is (or have you reached the stage where all communication is written)? What is their excuse?

I really feel for you - waiting (even for something crap) is awful and at least right of appeal is a silver lining

I have written to area sen manager - no reply, county complaints team - no reply, head if children's services - no reply, chair of governers at school - all ignored so far

I think this is heading for a JR 2boys

I have absolutely no advice for you 2boys but am flapping and honking

I'd try a telephone campaign to the SEN caseworker (or their direct line manager) before chaining yourself to the railings with petrol as you previously suggested Are the LA offices far away? Could you 'pop' in? After all, written communications don't seem to be getting through.

No the office is only a 15 mile drive. Popping in has crossed my mind a few times...

Not even an acknowledgement that they've received your complaint? Bloody hell. Astoundingly stupid on their part.

I think bjk is right, this will end up with a JR. But there might be a couple of things you can do to make the saner LA players see sense here. The key is getting the LA grown-ups to concentrate and take action, and not let them leave it to the vexatious toddlers who've been handling your business so far.

• I can't remember whether you've already let SENDIST know that the LA isn't complying with their decision notice. If you haven't, then let them know, copied to the LA's pound-shop David Brent that you faced at the hearing, and copied to the LA's legal service division. Sometimes the legal bods have a way of making the others see sense.

• Ofsted inspect both schools and LA children's services. They are drawing up an inspection framework right now to work out how well LA SEN teams are complying with the new legislation. As an organisation, they are hopeless - but bringing them into the mix might spur some action both at school and at LA level.

Send a letter to one of these Ofsted Regional Directors, depending on where you are in the south: Sir Robin Bosher (South East); Debbie Jones (London); or Bradley Simmons (South West). Copy the letter to Charlie Henry HMI (Lead Inspector for SEND). Explain in your letter that you have tried every channel and measure available to you to get the LA and school to provide the education that your DS is legally entitled to - they have all slammed the door in your face, and are defying the law in doing so. This is why you are turning to Ofsted.

• SENDIST don't have any power to enforce their decision. The LGO does. Ring up the LGO - in your case, as the LA is defying a SENDIST decision they should forgo their normal requirement to exhaust the LA complaints procedure. And if the LA is going "la,la, can't hear you" when you complain formally.

This is all insane - fucking ape-bonk-crazy insane. But in acting like this, both the LA and the school are steadily sawing their own legs off - they are making it much, much harder for themselves to fight and win the next battle.

You'd think so right? I'm repeatedly told - it's not personal, they are just plain over streached - but surely no department cold collectively be this stupid. From the head of service down four managerial levels down to our case worker? I don't buy it.

Not sure what I have to loose right now by outing my la

I would do what Ugger says, but also bear in mind that local tv and radio can work wonders.

For my relatives I would like to think they agreed to special school because of my brilliantly worded letter, but the fact that they caved the day the TV cameras rolled was probably more than coincidence.

The TV had to change their story from "bad LA has no school for dc" to "there just aren't enough places to go round, so poor dc has to travel for an hour"

But he got it all the same

BIG NOTE OF CAUTION
I think the rules have changed about TV/radio and and court cases, so check this out before bringing in the publicity if you need a JR

DO just get that threat of JR to them. If you do a complaint, it just signals to them that they've bought themselves an extra 6 weeks or whatever is their standard length of time to go through their complaints process. If they know they risk being taken to court, they'll soon discover that maybe they're not so overstretched after all. See if SOS SEN can help, they sometimes do fund JR letters.

i think today you need to write and warn them you intend to now seek legal advice re JR them and then today get on the phone and get legal advice - they will need you to send them paperwork so they can write the pre action letter - the JR will force their hand but it is absolutely wrong so wrong that you have had to even consider a JR just to get your hands on the statement - all they did with mine was just change the header to read statement rather than NIL and shoved 11 wishy washy hours in part 4 - must have took them 30 seconds to do it.

my friend emailed head of children services the other day re wanting an emergency review after lower end staff just kept ignoring her - he responded in a jiffy but I m not sure even with your council they would respond.

my LA are ignoring me but they are in constant contact with school plotting and scheming so silence to parents doesn't mean that they aren't up to something

I emailed the complaints team and said I'm going to go down jr and LGO last night. I will try to phone them today if no luck by Wednesday I will do the jr as it's been two weeks