FFS - it's start already. EHCP apllication. Wise ones please advise.

[Youarentkiddingme]

So DS started secondary last September. School nothing like it promised to be and DS regressed with regards behaviour and emotional management after school day. Evidence for me that needs not being met.

Previously despite having ''moments' he improved after school and at school due to needs being met.

School not really engaging with me (that's an understatement!) and putting in support minimal support that they feel he needs - when I'm up their arses and kicking hard.

Unfortunately that has damaged my relationship with school who have actively said they have expertise in ASD and I should trust them. the daft sods minuted this

Continous disagreements that DS is happy. I say behaviour and regression shows no, school say he always looks and acts happy. Camhs ADOS report and IPA both state cannot judge how DS feels form outside. DS says he's struggling to keep up, school are lying about him talking to loads of people and he feels extremely lonely at school.

After a particularly long process of nothing changing beyond minimal support, no plans with smart targets being drawn up etc, I did an EHCP application and informed school of my intention to do so. They seemed very keen for him to move on even asking if I've looked at other schools yet it may be me and not DS they want rid of!

Anyway I applied and school got their forms and me mine to be returned a few weeks ago. I emailed my forms and stated further evidence coming through post and apologised it unlikely to arrive until the Monday (deadline was Friday).

I hear nothing from school and was unaware I had to sign their forms so obviously didn't chase up it up. Rightly or wrongly assumed that they'd meet deadline.

They didn't.

I got the forms sent last week and electronically signed the forms with an added bit that I agreed to assessment (I'll explain why in a bit) and stated it was signed electronically. School did not receive form - I did not know this.

Statutory deadline for receiving decision was over the weekend but as I realistically knew it wasn't going to happen, plus was BH weekend, I decided to wait and see if letter came Tues or Weds.

Nothing.

So rang LA earlier who had no idea where paperwork was, ie where in system, and were quite blasé about that being how it is due to staff shortages and mentioning the number of people on AL.

Not my problem - there are statutory deadlines for a reason.

Get an email a bit later on from senco asking for signed forms. I replied saying I'd returned them but unsure why they hadn't been received - resent them - and asked for confirmation she'd received them this time.

Nothing.

So ring la again and say what has happened and they say they've received the form without my signature and confirm that school missed deadline, but that it's a school issue, and they re sent form today prompted by my email.

I sent signed form to LA as I'd made it very clear I agreed to assessment on it. I do not agree with anything school has written and they've blatantly lied on the form and I have emails to prove it.

It's so very clear from form that it's been a rush job, no effort has been put in - they haven't even got my title right FFS (it's on the contact details they'd have got my other info from )

They have copied and pasted/re written information from reports they have not recognised as they haven't put as professionals with input in on that part of form. They have contradicted themselves throughout. They have written about inputs being a length of time they aren't, missed a load of medical information - which they know about because DS has a pass due to them, used words such as "socially immature" and "sulks when doesn't get his own way" (DS has ASD!), put incorrect achievements on it, and even said "mum states ...... but we see no evidence of this" This is something DS is medicated for and been under hospital for.

So now I'm worried and stuck. I'm concerned they'll immediately look at schools lack of input and refuse assessment on basis of that - so where does that leave me? School cannot recognise DS complex needs and therefore can't meet them so so needs a specialist unit.
I have evidence that I do some ELSA, salt, OT stuff at home with him so is this enough to prove DS makes progress with inputs (even if it's not school doing them?) but needs more to make greater progress - eg when only happening at home and not at school he's regressed.

Sorry it's long but I really am pissed off to fucking high heaven annoyed and confused. I just want the best for DS and for him to have support and not have levels inflated to avoid inputs being put in.

Oh god you! Its like our story again!

Did you get assessment despite schools obvious unwillingness to co operate?

We went to tribunal but we won, then they refused to issue a statement because school said "no problems" , so we went back to tribunal and after an adjournment because of secondary transfer we won again. Dd3 now has a statement but is out of school and will never return to a massive mainstream!

Sorry!

No it's fine! I hear lots of differing stories and advice and would rather know what I'm facing and what I may need to fight to prepare myself.

I guess I'm at an advantage that some of the stuff they don't recognise as needs are being medicated and he's under consultants for. So school are saying there's no problems to things - it's more the wording - "mums says DS...... But we see no problems in school" despite the fact they make reasonable adjustments for one of the things.

I'm hoping to say "see DS is far too complex and so needs assessment"

I hate it when they say "Mum says..." They just need to listen and act, then we would stop "Just saying" and go and drink coffee and have our nails done or go and get on with our own jobs!

All I ever asked was for Dd3 to be supported properly!

Good luck

No advice but to hang in there and to know as alarming as it is, you're being treated like many many others so it's not a personal hate campaign against you. One step at a time!!

Thanks

I did say to lovely lady at ipsea I'm scared this is happening all over the country and she replied that the calls she gets are more and more horrifying as the months go on.

I'm currently in training for IPSEA. That doesn't fill me with delight I must say.

I think you'll be great as an IPSea advisor star

She was great with advice and I even conceded that even though la may be running behind it actually isn't their fault school aren't playing ball. She advised id ring on Friday and chase up what's happening, get a timescale, and then email to confirm conversation. They would have had 2 days by then to look at information so should know how much longer they need.

She gave great advice re appeal as well and ways to do it. She said my sections of SENDCOP to quote with evidence alongside the Manchester judgement, alongside why assessment is needed and outcomes etc was very well thought through!

iPsea seem to have a massive run on volunteer applicants atm. Unlike other charities.

Although DS2 has a Statement which is properly specified and quantified following tribunal and support should not be complicated, the attitude of the school and the lack of goodwill continue to be a problem. The school take the piss and the LA let them get away with it for as long as possible.

The attitude of the school has remained the same (he only has a statement due to parental pressure and has no needs) from draft statement to final to amended statement following tribunal. They simply will not support him as required but attempt to do other things that are not specified or quantified in his statement to 'use up' the hours.

At the meeting (at which I requested SENDIASS attend) to agree targets, the Provision Map recorded 5 hours for 'support' at lunchtime (but no support during break) which meant that there were not enough hours 'left' to provide in class support during the afternoons. The SENCO 'felt very strongly' that they had to do that because I would complain if they didn't. Emailed the LA and told them to sort it. The school have just sent another provision map but have replaced the 5 hours lunchtime support with 1 hour 15 mins per week for touch typing and an hour for a spelling intervention and an extra hour has been used by exaggerating the length of one lesson per day from one hour to one hour and 15 mins. But of course that has had to be squashed into the morning and comes out of hours meant to support during afternoon lessons. The provision map was not DS2's provision but the class TA's hours of employment. She does not work afternoons. So the new Provision Map will be sent to the LA with a threat of JR. It is never ending.

Don't expect the school to ever see the light. If you can move DS before he gets a plan, I would. Provided the school has a place they cannot say no. Once he has a plan they can (and in my experience all schools did) say 'no' stating that they could meet needs (given they are so low) but that a placement would be detrimental to the education of others. If the LA accept that you cannot challenge the decision until you get to tribunal. This raises the issue of what to do for months prior to the hearing and also, who really wants their child to attend a school that puts in writing that they do not want them?

Feel for you. Keep going. Be realistic about how many hurdles there are left to jump and how long it will take (and then double it) and pace yourself.

I can't move ds - no school locally has space for him. And some schools in the area don't have the student services available which he is using and finding beneficial at current placement.

You probably can't do much about the school reports, though if there is anything you can prove to be incorrect you could point that out to the LA. But make sure you keep the LA to the six week deadline for producing a decision, threatening judicial review if they go past it. And be ready to appeal. Remember that for appeal purposes all you have to show is that your child has SN and that he may need provision to meet those needs over and above what is normally available in a mainstream school, so it's a relatively low hurdle to cross.

LA are past 6 week deadline because the school didn't complete their forms by their deadline. The la chased them up and I received them to sign 10 days after their deadline. There was then the issue that the forms didn't send back when I did it. School did not chase this until I chased la on decision and they chased school agn for the forms.

Best bit is school tried to make it look like my fault - email was along lines of please return forms I sent you to sign re EHCP with Sen officer copied in. I replied - I did return them on X date when you sent them to me - sorry they've not been received and I will resend them.

But that isn't an excuse - the LA should have chased the school up earlier. There isn't any requirement in law that parents sign school forms. That just sounds like an unnecessary piece of internal bureaucracy.

The la did chase school when they missed the deadline. School sent me forms on 21/3 and then didn't chase them up when they weren't returned. I had no idea they'd not received the email back.

La say it's schools fault and they did all they could to get info.

Personally I hold them both responsible - but la have all info now so I'll give them until tomorrow!

UPDATE!

Spoke to la today. The deadline for decision was 27/3 and they got forms from school on 30/3 after them and me chasing it all up.

The application is going to pan all on Tuesday with head nods due to what I'm saying and what school say being different.

I said it just proves they don't have the knowledge, staffing or funding to be able to recognise or meet DS complex needs - because everything I write was and spchildmober be backed up with actual evidence.

She replied with a slight stutter and changed conversation back to when I would hear about decision.

Makes me more confident I'll be able to appeal decision successfully.