LA visiting my school choice today and just hours left now to the tribunal

[bjkmummy]

I want indie - named the school in march - hearing in 48 hours time, LA want mainstream , 2 school said no so LA naming a dire 3rd one with awful Ofsted - think they know they are in trouble so they are going I think to ask the tribunal rather than rule for a specific school are going to ask for them to agree mainstream generally - all the WD says in part 4 is 'transfer to a mainstream secondary in sept'

I have had the LA current preferred school checked out and it cannot meet her needs - have a lengthy report from my EP.

LA have refused to name my school as boarding (no day school locally at all) the school has a good Ofsted but a recent boarding report said adequate so LA saying they wouldn't place a child there even though they have never viewed it and other LA place kids there.

school phoned late last week to say the LA want to visit today -we have nothing to hide so LA going today which is very late given the hearing is just 48 hours away - part of me thinks maybe if they see it they will concede but this is my LA so I know that they are going on a fishing expedition. school have seen the things the LA wrote about them and have responded (all been placed before the tribunal )

cant believe im here again - the LA have no reports, the EP hasn't seen her for a year, the costs of both placements are neck and neck, LA school is dire and im not sending her there ever, 2 outstanding schools have said no with very valid reasons, every single report we have says she needs a specialist school placement but know they are going to fight it all the way - no news yet on a barrister and I honestly wouldn't be surprised if they turned up on the day with one.

lots of positive vibes needed !

Sending you positive vibes along with honks and flaps!!

Good luck with it all - hoping that the Tribunal reach the right decision but really hoping the LA see sense and concede before that.

Could be interesting to ask why they proclaim the school isn't appropriate but are only interested enough to go and have a look at this incredibly late stage.

I think the tribunal would be incredibly reluctant to name only "a mainstream school" if the LA can't produce a specific school at this stage. They wouldn't be at all happy about leaving your dd high and dry with no school named less than a month before the end of term.

Very best of luck, I really hope this finally resolves things properly for your dd.

Keep going bjk - no, you shouldn't have to be in this position again with the LA defending the indefensible (ie your DD needs a specialist placement.) But you are nearly there and you have done all that you can to make your case. Hold your nerve. The LA visiting the school at the last minute isn't going to impress the panel - if it gets to the hearing.

I'm hoping the LA will concede - they could do an about-face after visiting the school and realising how appropriate it is for your DD! Defies belief that they will go to the Tribunal again after they were clearly told by the judge last time that they had no grounds for not issuing the statement, given clear evidence of your DD's needs - and the LA had to pay your costs didn't they?

Positive vibes headed your way - and that at long last, you'll soon get to a point where this multiple clown car pile-up of an LA will be out of your DD's way.

Don't worry about the residential judgement from Ofsted. My DSs indie placements have the same judgement, and Tribunal are not bothered about it. Parents have fought for placements there and won them since the adequate judgement.

This has happened to a lot of boarding placements recently. Basically, Ofsted moved the goalposts on the residential school inspection framework for about the 200th time, but didn't broadcast it well. So residential provision judged good a few years ago has slipped into the adequate category at a lot of places, despite the fact that nothing's really changed on the ground.

Do you know why the ofsted report of boarding was adequate? ime it was for reasons of record keeping and the use of volunteers (gap year students) who had not been through regular training and vetting. Can you provide evidence of the school response to improve provision?

Legally if the nearest most suitable school is named but it is too far away to be a day pupil, boarding is agreed as a matter of course and not because the DC requires a 'waking curriculum' placement. But, be prepared for the LA to raise the issue of why you would want your 'anxious' DD to board. In my case I could raise the reduction in transitions from home to school, the reduction in number of journeys and time spent travelling per week and the fact that anxiety was secondary to his experiences of m/s school rather than a primary, always there thing (reduction in anxiety during summer hols).

Good luck and let's hope those idiots conceed before the day

Just keep remembering that you have a very well prepared case and the LA don't have any case

The visit to the school will have gone fine - but be prepared for the LA rep to lie about their visit at the hearing. If they do put in a barrister, be confident in your own ability and that you fought off the barrister before (was it twice before?).

Lots of positive vibes passing your way! I will be fighting my own family battles on the day of your hearing (fortunately not DC related) but will be thinking of you all day.

i emailed my indie school first thing this morning and asked if they could feedback to me so at least I know whats going on and so far nothing - its the silence that's the killer, silence from my school, silence from the LA, nothing in the WD is agreed so now im stressing about that as they are going to waste so much time on the day sorting that out - the last thing we need is an adjournment for dd sake and also for our bank account as the witnesses on weds for their attendance is 2k alone!!! I want my life back and so do all the family as well. the LA have spent nothing at all - not a single report - it has cost them for the previous barrister and our costs but that's their own stupid fault. I am actually worried now about them not having a barrister as im guessing they are going to be coming out with all kinds of stupid stuff

Keep going bjk you are nearly there now! Surely part of the point of going back to tribunal is to get a school named!! So why do they think they will get away with just stating a non specified mainstream!! fidiots!!

Oh and am flapping and honking for you

It's got to be a good sign that they are visiting the school I would think. I've had the same problem with Ofsted/boarding, part 4 conceded in May, then as we were going through the working document they suspended all new placements there, bloody glad I kept the Part 4 appeal open. However last week they agreed to lift the suspension, so we're back on, I'm convinced tribunal would have overriden the suspension. Good luck, you're nearly there now.

Have you emailed them again about the working document? Point out that they were directed to engage with you about it and therefore are presumably in breach of the tribunal's order.

I emailed them last wednesday and said that I hoped that we could continue to work on it together. ive added a lot in as its all come from the indie reports - they just refuse to agree it cos they want mainstream. so not a lot more I can do now I think as theres now only tomorrow to go

Were you the last to provide a version of the working document (as you want it to look) with references to reports? Have they actually struck out your amendments? How many versions are there?

My LA actually showed up to hearing with a new paper only version of the WD. Counting the final as the 1st version, there were 2 versions before hearing - the 2nd a rewrite done by me. I don't know whether this is normal but all the usual stuff was missing - all the previous comments that had been agreed or not, references etc and it was really difficult to 'spot the difference' between the version of the WD that the LA presented on the day and the version of the WD that had preceded it. Be prepared.

You can cope with anything so you don't need an extra day. If you have new info just adjourn for as short as possible (in a different space to the other side) and then get back in. Think unflappable. (We'll be doing the flapping - and honking - for you). Focus on what really matters to your case - part 3 and hence part 4. Concede that which does not matter.

final one is version 6 - I did reference all the reports in version 6 - LA were numbering them wrong so were saying there were only 3 WD which is wrong and when I served the last one I wrote a list detailing the 6 versions with dates.

all of what I want to go in is referenced in reports - anything that means she wouldn't be able access mainstream hasn't been agreed so large parts of part 3 - they don't even agree the childs views!!! which came directly out of her last set of views for tribunal.

im going to take full set of all the previous WD with me just in case they try and shenagians.

the LA sent version 5 to me on a Thursday then the following Monday (last week) just served it on the tribunal even though I was still working on !! hence why I then reserved V6 on the LA and tribunal last weds and not heard a peep since.......

feedback from school and sen officer spent 3 and half hours at the indie school today.......

Wow, that's a long time

I know = I don't really know what to make of it all in all honesty - I cant read if its a good or a bad sign. shame the LA slagged the school off before they did the visit. sounds like the LA were impressed with what they saw but then with my LA god knows how they are going to spin this one around

Why did they even visit the school? . 3 hours is stretching it a bit..

bjk stupid question, are you appealing a final statement?
Also, the two new schools that they are proposing, are they special schools or mainstream?

its a part 2 3 and 4 appeal - dd is year 6 so its for secondary placement - we want indie, every report says indie (LA have no reports) LA consulted mainstream at the eleventh hour and 2 schools have said no so they are naming a 3rd school which is miles and miles away and has just had a dire Ofsted, they cannot offer her a full curriculum so god knows why they say they can meet her needs cos they cant

they had to visit the school as they cant sit and slag a school off at the hearing if they have never visited it - bit late really cos they did that in writing beforehand

Well looks like the hearing is going ahead tomorrow and they won't be conceding. Documents the LA served on the tribunal a few weeks ago seemed not to have reached the tribunal. It's late evidence which helps our case. I spoke to the tribun last week and they said they haven't received it which I think is right as there has been no orders issued. Emailed LA and tribunal yesterday to say I want to serve it myself as late evidence tomorrow. LA now in a flap and emailing the tribunal themselves and saying its urgent as hearing tomorrow - so think that's a big sign that they are taking it all the way