We have an actual real statement in our possession!

[Ineedmorepatience]

Well a full 20 months thats 80 weeks and 3 tribunals later xxxxx council have managed to issue a completely unlawful "proposed" statement for Dd3! No hours, only one thing specified and quantified and SALT in part 6!! You would have thought that as this is probably one of the last statements they will ever issue, they would be able to get it right!! Come on xxxxx Council !!! Really!!!

sigh but why am I not surprised - its down right insulting isn't it after everything that you have so far been through - you just think no way they could be so spiteful but yet again they never fail to surprise you

I am in the same position. Draining doesn't even close. My la said that "access to 13 hours of ta" is quantified and specified. Sigh

I will email the statementing officer concerned in the morning and attempt to arrange a meeting with him!

We were out having a nice day wild swimming today so didnt even bother to open it until we came home!

It was much nicer swimming here than reading the tripe the LA sent

Did they have any SALT in part 3? It doesn't matter if it's in part 6 so long as it's in part 3 as well.

Nope ici I dont think so but will check, thanks though

Can't believe they are still playing games with you. Envy you the wild swimming though.

Oh yes one they are clearly not done with us yet!!

And yes the choice between getting in the car for wild swimming or opening the envelope was not a difficult one to make !

I have reference to salt in part three - but he's been observed once - that was it! No therapy arranged, said they meet with me in June, bit late now as it's July...

Makes me wonder why I even bovered

Ok I have looked and SALT is referred to in part 3 it says that the school based SALT will advise school!!

In part 6 it is detailed and actually quite helpful because it says SALT support needs be be embedded across the curriculum and that Dd3 should be supported in her SALT needs by a teacher or TA in all lessons!!

So I will attempt to get what is in part 6 into part 3 because it is clearly educational because it mentions the curriculum and lessons and teachers

Let the next battle commence!

When I got a statement like that, parent partnership told me not to appeal as I was lucky to have a statement at all given that everything written in it could be delivered without a statement.

Missing. The. Point. Entirely.

Virtually everyone in my LA sidesteps PP as they are blinkin useless!! They toe the party line all the way! The only one who didnt got made redundant!!

So many people Miss. The. Point. Entirely. Dont they star

If only everything that is in the statement had been delivered when it was in the NIL Dd3 would not be out of school!

This statement is a yr too late for us whatever it says but that doesnt mean I am going to accept unlawful crap!

Update: Have had the statement looked at today by the advocate we have been using and he agrees that it is utter shite!! Probably one of the worst he has seen issued by my LA in a long time!! Why does it have to be so difficult!!

Anyone know if there is a limit to the number of drafts I can send back!! If Dd3 isnt in school we could carry on paying their game indeifinitely!! [hmm ]

You send them one amended draft, they return it still bollox, you reply saying 'It's still bollox, and you know it, clap your hands - finalise so I can appeal'.

Start filling in your appeal paperwork at that point and the day the final version arrives on your doorstep send it off with appeal documents. If you can do it before summer then though August is allowed to give them more time, - they are lazy, and all it does is make them forget stuff, giving you the advantage.

There's the statutory timeframe. You can keep extending it but it requires you to keep going to meetings.

I think we had three different drafts with a fortnight to respond each time before we agreed to finalise. We had no meetings at this stage but lengthy letters on my part and phone calls on theirs to disagree with my requests. They agreed fairly reasonably to put in omissions from the SALT and EP reports. Playground support they made a bit of a fuss about as apparently it was not normal practice but eventually conceded when it was pointed out that most of the meltdowns had their origins at playtimes. We were less successful at achieving quantitation and I think we should have rewritten the statement to the wording we wanted to achieve this.

I really dont want to go back to tribunal though star I dont mind if I have to keep going to meetings!! We have to apply for Dd3's next step in September 16 so in theory I have a yr to get the statement right!!

I just want the wording legal, some hrs and SALT in part 3 instead of part 6!!

If it goes to appeal they will imediately hand it to the legal team and the man running the show is an utter arse who know less about SEN law than my chair!!

Hmm, dilema!!

'I really dont want to go back to tribunal though star'

I know that. But it seems that the LA do.

Yes they do so that they can hand it straight to the legal team!!

So by not accepting the drafts each time they come back we can at least attempt to avoid tribunal!! Although maybe it would actually be less stressful to just shove an appeal in and sit back and see what happens!

I will test the water on wednesday and see if they are looking like willing to make any of it lawful!

Maybe my LA are unique, but ime nothing happens until you put in an appeal. DS2 started at his new m/s primary in September 2014 with a draft statement that was improved (more hours) before it was finalised. The school did not want the number of hours increased with no extra funding made available to them and refused to implement the final saying that they would use their 'professional judgement' as to whether he actually needed the support in his statement.

Evidence, available for years, from several EPs, previous teachers/school, SALT, OT, comm paed specialist nurse etc all said that he needs a high level of consistent support. The LA knew all this but did nothing until they received the appeal. They are now attending IEP reviews every 2 months, writing targets and forcing the school to do what it ought. They are doing this because I am appealing part 4 (and if I weren't I would have to JR them before they would act).

Also, the initial LA EP accidentally on purpose did no formal assessment and there was no SALT or OT assessment despite his having been a patient for years before our house move the month before he started his new school. The lack of formal assessment was mentioned in appeal reasons and so the LA have now done additional EP assessment. Lo and behold, they have identified more needs. If I hadn't appealed they would not have done further assessment as all his needs were supposedly comprehensively investigated during SA.

Yeah sadly that would not happen in my LA! The SEN team were losing tribunals left right and centre so the new director of chns services decreed that all appeals will now be handled by the legal team!! They are not interested in talking or trying to solve issues they just let ridiculous issues go all the way to tribunal, then bring in a barrister at the last minute to intimidate parents and then lose anyway!!

I want to try to avoid our case being handed back to the legal team, the man in charge is not nice and knows very little about SEN law which makes him dangerous! Ime!!

I know a family locally who have been forced to tribunal very soon over the unlawful wording of a statement and salt in part 6! For a non verbal, 4 yr old with severe and complex needs who on occasions needs 2:1 support!!

Only just seen this (busy week).

With my LA, they were keen to get it right (both statement and EHCP) no matter how long it took and how many drafts it took. For the EHCP we had five drafts. Each time I sent them an email referencing where something was inaccurate and suggesting different wording, and each time they changed it as I asked. I think you just have to keep pushing them.

I'd have thought that they would have to act on a returned draft asking for edits or clarification, which they clearly haven't, so the ball should be in their court. What would IPSEA have to say about that, I wonder? Have you spoken to them yet (this time, obvs).

Yes I am fairly sure that they will make a few changes, a few at a time and as I say we are not in any hurry!

Maybe when we have met with them we will have more idea of their willingness [or not] to do something!

They are probably expecting me to go straight to appeal as that is what I did when they issued the NIL! But then we were in a hurry and wanted to keep Dd3 in school! Its gone way beyond that now and we have all the time in the world!

I havent spoken to IPSEA for a couple of weeks but that is a job on the "to do" list!

Update!

Went to a meeting with the LA this morning and went through the 20 ammendments that we want made to the crap statement!

There was a new deputy team manager present who actually seemed to be listening to us and who agreed that all the wooly parts should be made specific!

A couple of the ammendens were long winded so I have emailed them and now we wait for draft number 2!!

Oh and apparently they mistakenly sent us the wrong version of draft 1 with no hours on yeah right and it should have had 17.5 hrs per week on it! Again wooly phrasing but can be sorted hopefully!

The maddening part of it is that if they had offered a statement this time last yr with 10 hrs on it I would have accepted it!!

But now we have 17.5 hrs and a child out of school!!

Just keep swimming!