I can't believe I fell for this s**t - advice please?

[BuffySENsational]

It's a bit long and complicated but here goes...
So family relocate to new LA oldest child has a statement after SA for Aspergers,ADHD,Tourette's and others. Placed in a maintained special boarding school life is great again until we move. New LA don't notify me. Bombard me with info so I ask independent advisory service (parent partnership) to advise me and then. Well child is placed from a school for children with Autism and complex learning and emotional needs to a medical alternate provision against my wishes. Told couldn't go back to old school as had to choose a school from local offer. 85 or so weeks later LA decide to do an AR and lo and behold my child should be trailed back into mainstream from this alternate medical provision. School placement has disintegrated and am waiting for the EWO to visit anytime after tomorrow. I have only got through to IPSEA at end of Mar and am now waiting for my proposed amended statement which they will send me "in a few weeks" or so they wrote 4 weeks ago lucky me!!! I can't JR them I don't think until they have actually made a decision and I can't appeal until they amend the statement. I do t qualify for legal aid. I can't work. I don't know what I'm doing and to top it all the nasty feckers have just informed me that they intend to transfer him to ECHP by next July. I have CFS and processing difficulty when stressed so I was a lamb to slaughter until after the AR now I will only communicate through letters or emails. Anyhoo that's the gist of it and my first thread starts breathing and repeats

Buffy have sent you a couple of PM's but couldn't get back online last night, now off to work, keep wrong. X

Augusta - can you pm me the name of the person at the DfE too, please?

Strong, obviously not wrong. X

Were you in the education department, claw?

Hi Augusta I am waiting on la to clarify that they are not intending on doing a needs assessment. if they confirm I will email the SEN Inspector, thank you for that. However I fear that they are planning a defence against any possible legal action I will be making so they may just play ball for now. claw that must be tough with your ds only able to tolerate it if they can meet his needs. As much as I love that my ds1 always wanted (until now) to go to school because of his ASD and completely rigid and inflexible thinking he also just goes "because he has too" and those are the rules, it would never occur to him he could refuse. This was painfully confirmed when he broke down and the relief was almost as painful to witness as the anxiety. If that makes sense.
I too have never cared if I make friends I have just never personally be on the receiving end of such outright shitty behaviour. I am a truthful person by nature and even at my grand old age whilst I understand not everyone has the same moral guidance as me. I still just find it really shocking when people lie to me.
I must learn to pick my battles more carefully I think and not be so quick to leap in...

enter thank yo have pm you
digestive don't suppose this solicitor does pro bono work (if you don't ask) lol!
Also Augusta my la don't claim anything they just do it. I've just read my la stats on conversions and we had 25 statements last year that were not converted to ECHP I'm working behind the scenes locally to try and identity those parents and inform the SEN Inspectors....

Looks like mine won't even get done this year never mind last year!! And sfa happens, pass the buck and move on. The only person who suffers is a child with disabilities.

I wonder how many of those 25 still haven't had their transfers completed so far this year.

Simpson Millar do legal aid. Given the peanuts they pay, I doubt SM can do pro bono work!

Augusta, I'm sure they never used to have an education dept when I worked there. They specialised in UCW work, mind you that was a few years ago now.

Buffy I think most SN kids only tolerate if needs are being met. Ds didn't even realise he was 'refusing' as such, just how it made him feel, which was severely stressed and he couldn't bear to be there.

Buffy have you given them a time limit to confirm a needs assessment?

If you still have statement it's 6 weeks.

I don't think that's correct, claw. As I understand it, if a child has a statement they have to do the transfer within 18 weeks including the needs assessment and transfer meeting. They don't have to confirm that they're going to do it because they don't have a choice unless the parents agree that other reports already in existence are enough. But it appears that a lot of LAs are not bothering to give parents the choice and are just telling them that they don't have to do an assessment, and are getting away with it.

I was referring to this Augusta

Sen cop 8:115
The new authority may, on the transfer of the statement, bring forward the arrangements for the review of the statement, and may conduct a new assessment regardless of when the previous assessment took place. The new authority must tell the parents, within six weeks of the date of transfer, when they will review the statement and whether they propose to make an assessment under section 323. The old authority and the child’s school should alert parents to the educational implications of their proposed move
and both the old authority and the new authority should be ready to discuss those Implications with parents

I could be wrong Augusta, I'm having to do a crash course in the transfer process myself!

My LA are refusing to amend statement with the excuse wait for transfer to EHCP. Then transfer is not forthcoming!

Sorry, claw, I got confused because you talked about a needs assessment in the context of a statement and I tend to associate that with an EHC assessment rather than a statutory reassessment.

But as I understand it the time limit for reviewing Buffy's child's statement expired months ago.

Augusta, I've been reading (for myself) what to do if LA ignore time limits and contacting named officer at LA are also ignored. It's suggested contacting PP and if that doesn't work Secretary of State?

What do you think?

My named officer verbally told me transfer process would start immediately, when I asked her to put that in writing. She replied saying they are waiting for school to start reports to start the process!

I replied a few weeks ago asking either meet legal requirements for starting the process ie inform me in writing or refuse in writing......it's all gone quiet

Augusta did you used to go by a different name? You remind me of another poster from years ago!

Claw, yes I have name changed but I have only been on MN around three or four years, and spasmodically at that.

I can remember being told on an SOS SEN course that the best remedy for an LA ignoring time limits is a quick email mentioning judicial review, followed by an official pre-action letter if that doesn't work. They took the view that LAs react much more quickly to the threat of being in court than they do to a complaint which in effect gives them at least another month to mess around. SOS will apparently do the pre-action letter for parents.

Are you in a year group where transfer to an EHCP is compulsory? Unless that's the case, the LA can start when they like. However, once they start the process they've got to finish it within 18 weeks and to do the job properly with an EHC needs assessment. And it's definitely their job to do the assessments, not the school's!

I've been on MN for about the same, did your previous name with 'w'?

Compulsory year was last year, which should have been ds's transfer to secondary. LA's excuse seen as Ds wouldn't be transferring to secondary school, they wouldn't bother! (Ds attends indie, years nursery to sixth form)

I accepted statement over 3 years ago, Ds was out of school, signed off by CAMHS. SA proved impossible, due to ds's anxiety. LA EP attempted, but failed, CAMHS advised no assessments.

LA named the school I requested, so accepted on proviso they amended in 6 months at early AR (that's written in statement) I've asked for amendments every AR.

Last 2 years been told Ds will be 'prioritised' in writing. Even sent MENCAP rep last year to complete section A of transfer to pacify me

few weeks ago, told on phone transfer will start immediately, following my email requesting reassement under old law. Then back tracked in writing, telling me they will be contacting school, asking for reports and will notify me once reports have been received!

Replied saying oh no! It's not schools responsibility, reminded them of criteria and legal requirements etc. Now silence. Their 6 weeks will be up in about 2 weeks

Nope, never had a name beginning with W.

I have a feeling that last year LAs were allowed to give transfers a miss if they wanted to because it was the first year the system was in place. However, if you asked for reassessment under the old law then they had to issue a decision on that within 6 weeks of your request. But it sounds like the usual sorry tale of chaos in your LA!

Oh you have a similar style and knowledge of SN as a previous poster you reminded me

I haven't got a problem with them not transferring, in fact I'd rather they didn't throw Ds into this chaos! I'd be happy with amended statement! Seems new system is just another excuse not to follow legal requirements.

I'm fully not expecting a reply within 6 week time limit.

Hi claw, August and enter

So to update (sorry if I repeat some of it enter as we have covered a lot in pm) SOSSEN solicitor has written to LA dealing with shoddy way my complaint is being handled, unlawful actions so far ( 95 weeks to ammend statement since taking responsibility, recent AR and intention to just transfer statement to ECHP. It also asks for EOTAS and for ds 1 to be immediately returned to school named on statement ect... It also says if you don't parent (me) will be issuing you (la) with a pre action protocol letter... Nothing will happen of course or they might respond at the last minute with a load of excuses and then a pre action protocol letter will be issued and then it really begins I presume?
I am terrible at just waiting and even though I understand what has happened I still can't articulate it so am really panicking about a JR or appeal. I don't even really understand all that is written in his statement well I sort of do but can't articulate his needs other than he has them. If you understand? Maybe I am just über tired and a bit stressed I can't think why

This might interest you or not it pissed me off but I'm over it now but in 2015 my la didn't do an AR but the pen school did ask me at a 1:1 review. (a ten min opportunity to discuss progress, set targets for term with 1 of 8 teachers who couldn't speak for anyone elses) if I 'would like to transfer over to an ECHP' I said absolutely not because A I don't have too and B I wanted to improve ds1 statement before. When la did do an AR this March the AR report form and EP report stated that 'AR in 2015 didn't take place due to parental concerns ' I threaten the EP with legal action if she didn't remove it from her report after I went through the AR process with my copy of the SEN COP REGS2001 it's still on AR report form though

OK update there is a lot so bear with me.

So SOSSEN wrote on my behalf. They replied and it is quite shocking .

They wrote separately to me with the 95 week late Transfer Notice which says : the LA considered it was no longer practical for ds to continue in the school named in the statement and accordingly arranged for ds to attend the crap school from Sep 15 (it was actually Jan 15)
^
We have carried out an AR and as you have indicated you are not in agreement with what was discussed, your concerns around suitability of school, the accuracy of the most recent EP report and your requests for various assessments. This reassessment will enable us to determine ds additional needs in relation to his anxiety and other relevant aspects of his ASD, ADHD, Tourette's presentation that you have previously mentioned.
^
The LA also wrote an apology for the 95 week delay, AR and ds1 not being in school named in statement we are sorry that you are unhappy with the series of events that occurred after your move into our area. The intention was to identify an appropriate school when you and ds1 moved into our area. In the efforts to identify a school and to ensure that ds1 remained in education, due process was not carried out. We apologise unreservedly for this error.
^
Moving forward we have issued an amendment notice which takes into account the latest AT and reports from EP. You now have 15 days to respond or make representations to the amended statement and following this the LA will finalise ds1 statement. Please see attached letter for further information.

The reassessment will commence once we have issued the final amended statement.
^
They also sent a letter to say the LA propose to amend the statement.

So I want to appeal for ds1 to return to school named on statement which is a maintained special boarding school. LA have placed DS1 in an alternate medical provision and want to name a unit attached to a mainstream school. Medical provision placement has failed ds1 at home not returning. All evidence from SA to put ds1 into a special school is over 6 years old. LA have an updated EP report that I've challenged as her recommendations have no evidence her boss has removed her from case but her report still stands (?)

I have to stop there as my brain is really hurting. I'm right in thinking as I don't want to change the name of the school I don't need to ask for a meeting do I? Shoukd I just ask them to send me the final amended statement so I can appeal. All I'm hoping for is for ds1 to be returned to school named on statement. Then LA can reassess then amend the statement again as it should have been done 95 weeks ago.....

I think I am going to be sick or weep or both

I have just realised I won't get final amended statement until 10 Aug. I won't be able to lodge an appeal until Sep now at the earliest will I?

Is there any point in asking for a meeting? I don't want to change name in part 4 LA do.... I best get my SAR in today and then try and get through to IPSEA or SOSSEN... I definitely feel sick