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SN children

Here are some suggested organisations that offer expert advice on special needs.

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Original poster

So now ss is full....

13 replies

Lesley25 · 01/05/2015 17:23

I've posted on here for a while. My ds has asd and recently dx add. He's not coped welll this term and this one so I called my lea officer who said that the ss placement I wanted last year but they convinced my to give a new ms with new ta a chance is now full.
They want me to consider another ss in the next authority which I don't think is suitable, I've been round.
I did say I would look for an independent ss if that was the case. But can they do that? Make us have to go for the lea ss in the next authority?

OP posts:

Icimoi · 01/05/2015 18:23

They can only nominate any school if it is able to meet your child's needs. You have a right to appeal against that. But is it worth checking whether the school you prefer might be able to squeeze ds in?

Original poster

Lesley25 · 01/05/2015 19:38

I've found out they are full BUT apparently it will go to some sort of panel sounds like bullshit to decide

OP posts:

Ineedmorepatience · 01/05/2015 22:52

All the SS in my area are more than full lesley they have been for years!! Dont give up hope, if that is the right school, fight for it!

Suggesting the indie school might help them find a space for him

Good luck

StarlightMcKenzee · 02/05/2015 13:46

They are always 'full'. What they mean is your child isn't their priority for a place.

StarlightMcKenzee · 02/05/2015 13:50

Panel-smanel. If you want to be difficult ask who exactly is on the panel, where they meet and what time.

Often 'panel' is nothing of the sort, jus the person who you spoke to and a short conversation with the EP at the water-cooler about strategies to convince you of a cheaper placement.

Original poster

Lesley25 · 02/05/2015 14:23

Hmmmm, I thought as much.. Thanks everyone, I'll fight for the place. I'm so cross with myself for not taking it a year ago. Bloody lesson learnt.

OP posts:

Original poster

Lesley25 · 02/05/2015 14:27

Oh they've offered parent partnership "to help". I've told them no thanks. Why hasn't this provision be scrapped yet. They are just the LA in disguise. Well, ours is anyway. Right, time to get looking at independent ss that should scare the shit out of them.

OP posts:

StarlightMcKenzee · 02/05/2015 14:35

As long as you don't actually trust Parent Partnership, they can sometimes be useful as they have the inside contacts and know the LA's policies, if not the law.

Original poster

Lesley25 · 02/05/2015 17:36

Maybe I shouldn't discount them so quickly. I'm just fed up of always having to dig my heels in for everything. Ever since dx-supports shit, paperwork is sky high, and everything's a bloody battle just to get what my ds rightly deserves. Sometimes I wish I lived in America. The provisions sound bloody brilliant, right from the start.

OP posts:

StarlightMcKenzee · 02/05/2015 17:58

And don't have regrets about the decisions you made in the past. You made those decisions with the information available to you at the time which was no doubt full of promises you couldn't possibly know wouldn't be fulfilled.

senvet · 02/05/2015 18:01

the ss placement I wanted last year, but they convinced my to give a new ms with new ta a chance, is now full

If it is maintained by the LA, the Tribunal can always order them to let your dc in. And the LA can always decide to let your dc in.

Independnet schools can say they are full and neither the Tribunal nor the LA can do anything about it.

Also, check how full your preferred school actually is ie how many kids should they have in the school, and how many do they actually have. Also, you can find out how many staff and kids are in the class that dc would join, and also hown many kids and staff are in the other classes in the school. It may turn up

You can find out via freedom of information request into the school.

As a final idea, if you start asking for an expensive independent ss, you may find that a place suddenly turns up at your preferred ss. Definitely worth a try!
Good Luck

EveryPenny1 · 03/05/2015 19:06

Most LAs will do anything to prevent paying for an out of county place which could work for you if the school you want is the local one.

Original poster

Lesley25 · 03/05/2015 19:31

Thanks everyone. I can't help feeling the guilt when I should've gone for the ss a year ago. Now, with the very real prospect of waiting another year before a place does become available for my ds - I risk his mental health and increasing anxiety. I know I couldn't have foreseen this, but I do question whether me going for the Ms option in all honesty was more about my needs then his. I could never admit this publicly, but deep down I know it's true.
I will now do whatever I need to do to try and keep ds calm/reduce anxietys, even if it means HE for a while.
Thank again everyone.
I do think it's a bit rich for the LA to try and suggest a ss in another authority when I wouldn't be able to do the same.

OP posts:

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