The 'panel' have agreed to assess...

[KOKOagainandagain]

but DS2 already has a statement

AND I DID NOT APPLY

We are supposed to be in the process of Transfer which began in September.

Then at the end of October the LA send letter asking me to formally apply for SA and giving me two weeks to make comments as they had to stick to a six week response to inform me whether or not they will carry out assessment. Now they say that the panel has agreed to assess and and EP will assess DS2 in January as part of SA.

WTF is going on?????

DS2 must be the only DC to be assessed for SA despite no-one requesting it!

What are the chances that the LA would cease the statement and not tell me? Why else would they want to do SA?

Hinder, of course! I know it is nearly Christmas BUT this is the LA

The timescale is different. DS2 starts secondary in September. Their 'preferred' way means that there is not enough time to appeal a final EHCP before September and DS2 will not have a final EHCP by 15th February.

Also, if we pretend that DS2 has not got a statement and this is year 0000 and follow the procedure for DC without a statement, the LA can decide not to issue an EHCP following assessment. We would then be appealing that decision rather than the decision to not transfer a statement (provision increased following tribunal a year ago) to an EHCP or identification of needs/provision/placement.

This is equivalent to ceasing to maintain a statement without right of appeal and then asking for a fresh request for assessment.

I find this hard to get my head around - imagine already being married and being informed that the bans for your forthcoming wedding have been read and approved and that an invitation is in the post or something similar!

This is deliberate action. The LA are acting in this bizarre fashion for a reason (and you can bet your bottom dollar that it is not in DS2's best interests). I just can't work out what it is and it is driving me mad!!

In other news ... DS1's case worker has made a referral to SS because there is evidence of 'social deprivation' re education. They contacted me on the same day that the LA finally issued his final EHCP - only 2 and 11 months from the transfer meeting and a mere 2 years out of school with no educational provision from the LA. It took SOS!SEN to start JR proceedings for them to proceed with the transfer and give us a direct payment so that we can hire our own tutor. Now that education is parental responsibility, they have made a pre-emptive referral before we have even received payment or recruited a suitable tutor. Bastards.

LAs do have to do assessments as part of the transfer process unless you AND they agree that the evidence already in existence is sufficient for transfer process. Bear in mind that they are also supposed to get things like social services evidence to fill in the care element of the EHC Plan, if that is relevant.

However, your LA seems confused because there was no reason why you should request a new assessment when they were already doing a transfer, and obviously there was no decision for the panel to take, they had no choice about doing a full assessment unless you and they agree it isn't necessary - but of course they don't seem to have asked you about that. Have a look at the official guidance on transfer to EHCPs and point it out to the LA, particularly the bit that says they have to do an assessment, and ask why a panel decision was needed. Also point out that they had 18 weeks to finalise the transfer from the date they began it, which means that if they're only going to start assessments in January they will leave themselves with very little time for drafting and finalising a full EHC Plan.

As you say, they must either finalise the new EHCP by 15th February or issue a decision that they are going to cease to maintain the statement. Tell them that you expect them to stick to the statutory timescales and that if you do not have a finalised EHCP by 15th February you will have to move to judicial review to protect your child's legal rights.

Is the "social deprivation" issue to do with socialising with other children? Can you demonstrate that he is socialising by other means, e.g. clubs? You can certainly point out that if that is an issue they need to explain why they didn't deal with it over the last two years when he has been out of school and they did nothing, and ask whether they also propose to investigate their own failures.

Cannot get my head around it!

But I didn't want to ignore your post as I know yoube had a gut full already - so like you I suspect there is some ulterior motive.

Love the bit about not much time!

There was a similar Thread about this last week where the LA (panel?) had decided not to assess. Someone on that thread advised that the OP appeal which would mean her DC's statement would remain in place until things were agreed.

It's different for you because your DS will have an assessment and quite rightly you are concerned that the EHCP will not be in place by the secondary school transfer date..... however doesn't that mean his statement should still be in place while that is resolved? Could you apply to have the setting on the statement changed to your preferred school in parallel with the LA's starting the EHCP transfer? I hope this is incompetence rather than deviousness.... what a lot of stress for you all :(

Thanks all

Tartan - can you link to the thread? Was it on this board or the chat board?

Because of the hassle with DS1's transfer and the LA arguing the toss about whether they had officially started the process or not, I asked the LA to confirm that DS2's transfer had begun in writing. I have quoted the official guidance on transfer to them re assessments. In response, they wrote back and said that 'as I had asked for re-assessment' they then wanted me to officially request SA. I didn't do so as DS2 already has a statement. The LA proceeded as if I have made a request.

I think the LA have already ceased the statement. DS2 is due to start at ms secondary in September 2017 but he is attending internet school for year 6 rather than the ms primary he attended for years 4 and 5. He is doing this because his school placement was not working and they had failed to increase his ability to work independently for longer than 5 minutes. I was told to lower expectations - he might be on the 99th percentile for ability but he is autistic and so teachers will be on his back throughout secondary and he would be lucky to achieve average. His dedicated support at school turned out to be access to the class TA and he was left to his own devices as long as he played with official fiddle toys (they increase engagement apparently) and didn't distract other DC.

He is loving internet school - I act as 1:1, scribe for him, he uses voice to text and types and is making huge progress. He stays on task and completes tasks. He is able to work at his own pace - in maths he works through year 7 and 8 worksheets and homework in the lessons and then moves onto the year 9 worksheets and homework!

We are not 'electively' HE but even if we were, the LA would still need to maintain his statement and transfer it to an EHCP ready for reintegration into secondary but I think the LA took the opportunity to cease his statement and didn't tell parents. The LA are now panicking and trying to get his statement back in place for September - I think they hoped that he was not going to go the ms secondary and we would just go away forever.

They can't cease to maintain the statement without formally writing to you to give notice of their intention to do so, and then writing to you again to tell you they have, also giving notice of their rights of appeal. I think what's happened is that they didn't bother to change the statement when he was taken out of school and have misinterpreted the effect of HE.

It sounds as if your LA has no idea whatsoever what they are doing, and you're right, they hoped the problem would just disappear.

would have - you are exactly right in terms of what should happen.

I think what's happened is that they didn't bother to change the statement when he was taken out of school and have misinterpreted the effect of HE.

Sorry for being dense but could you rephrase and hopefully I will understand?

The LA knew of the problems whilst DS2 was at school and I wrote and explained why he was being withdrawn and for how long. They completely ignored this and wanted to focus on Transfer. They knew that DS2 had been withdrawn for year 6 when they started the Transfer. Whilst we were waiting for assessment for Transfer we received (within a couple of weeks) an email from Children Missing in Education saying that DS2 had been removed from the school roll as we had moved house. This was not true. Then the HE person wrote to say that we had been deemed to be electively HE. No response to the letter withdrawing him from the SNO.

We were given legal advice that DS2's statement would cease to be enforceable if we electively HE and that he had a legal right to remain on the roll of/return to the school named in part 4. When we pointed this out the LA said that he was not on the roll of any school in county and that we had to apply to whichever school we wanted by first contacting the school. Then they said that we had requested that he return to his previous school and that they had begun the admissions process by sending the school a copy of the statement and that they then had 15 days to respond - I know that this is absolute bollocks. On the same day they wrote another letter (sent by post rather than email) asking me to apply for SA. The made-up 15 days came and went.

Now the LA are saying - good news - DS2 can return to his old school in January (he definitely doesn't want to), the panel have agreed assessment and the EP will carry out assessment in January for SA. No more mention of Transfer.

DS2 has never refused so far but will if they try and force him to leave his internet school and go back to his old school.

Polter - he is just as described at his old school - there never was a miracle - and I have to work really hard (using a TRS) to keep him engaged but the longer it goes on the more he seems to forget how he used to be in school and has become a star student. He has got 100% in his maths homework three times in the last 6 weeks! He has never done maths homework (or any other type of homework) before. He has earned 17 achievement badges in the last 6 weeks for history, art, maths, chemistry and biology. He is like a different child. He says that he is learning more and has more free time to do what he wants - which is coding on Scratch atm. But the LA want him to go back to a school that refuses to implement his statement for two terms

Sorry, KeepOn. What I meant by that sentence you queried was that maybe they are just being dim and think that when your son left school the statement lapsed. They're wrong, of course, the statement stayed in place and they should have amended it.

It's correct that if you electively home educate then you become responsible for seeing that the child gets all the provision set out in part 3. As you say, everything the LA is telling you is bollocks and I'd be inclined to put in a formal complaint about their staggering ignorance of matters that are their statutory responsibility.

Did they send you a formal letter in September saying that they were about to start the transfer process? If so, they can't just decide to bring it grinding to a halt, they are bound by the statutory time limits.

Just in case they start getting awkward, can you get a doctor's letter saying he can't return to his old school?

How could things get awkward? I have been advised that if I don't officially say that I am electively HE then I can be prosecuted if DS2 does not reattend his old school in January.

I think that the LA do believe that the statement lapsed in September and so they did not have to inform us that they intended to cease the statement. As it has lapsed (according to them) he does not have a statement (and so Transfer can't take place) and it is necessary to start the process all over again with request for SA.

The LA seem confident that HE, if they deem it to be elective, means that any statement is effectively ceased without any right of appeal.

Yes, the LA sent a formal email at the start of the Transfer and sent an email in October confirming that they would stick to the timeline started in September and that they are in the process of requesting reports from his old school, SALT and autism outreach but there was no planned EP assessment. They said they would complete an initial draft EHCP and that there would be a co-production meeting with parents and relevant professionals in early December. They said that if parents didn't attend the meeting they would issue a formal draft and then meet with parents.

The EHE policy of the LA says that DC with a statement keep their statement and have AR and that before it starts the SEN team need to satisfy themselves that the HE is appropriate and can meet needs (even though permission is not legally needed). We had no discussion or communication with the SEN team but have been deemed to be EHE.

DS2 was removed from the school roll without following the statutory guidelines which was why CME became involved. There is local policy/procedure relating to the removal of DC being EHE from the school roll - they stay on either indefinitely or at least until the SEN team are happy that need is being met.

The LA position appears to be that DS2 ,at present, has no school place in county and has no statement. He seems to be expected to rejoin school without a statement in force and assessment to be carried out when he returns to school.

If I send him back they will continue the assessment (pretending that transfer had to be abandoned when DS2 was withdrawn in September) and I have no doubt that the school will say that no needs exist (already tried and failed to make that argument at tribunal) and the LA will then say that DS2 does not need an EHCP. He would then have no EHCP for the start of secondary - local academy whose website says they will deliver provision in an EHCP if school staff think it necessary and it can be afforded (!).

If I don't deregister but don't send him back, I risk prosecution. DS2 will have to refuse (dangerous precedent to set) and I will need medical support from the GP/paed.

If I deregister, they will go back to a position that the statement is meaningless and so they will not transfer to EHCP and may even stop the assessment process.

Is there a path that I can follow that doesn't lead to a shit outcome

By "getting awkward" I was referring to possible threats of prosecution. One route could be saying that you are electively home educating, but if you can get medical backing for the fact that your son can't return to his old school for medical reasons, that would also be a defence - and would mean the LA should help out with the costs of online learning and/or home tutors, and would have to provide any therapies in the statement.

The LE is of course totally wrong to think that HE means the statement has lapsed.

It sounds to me as if you need someone like SOS SEN to sort out what the hell is going on and write to them spelling out chapter and verse about the LA's legal obligations, possibly threatening judicial review. If you can get medical backing for current arrangements that would definitely be helpful.

Where does internet school fit into the whole thing?

I have spoken to scope local supporter who suggests phoning sendiass and stressing that DS2 is in internet school, following the NC, qualified teachers, live lessons etc. Why move him from a placement that is working and where he is happy and progressing to a school where he does not want to be/is detrimental to his well-being. i.e. this is not EHE with a tutor for the foreseeable future but is internet school until skills allow integration into secondary ms as soon as possible and is a response to previous failure of the named brick school to meet need/statement objectives.

She said ignore the nonsense about him returning to his old school that wasn't working.

She also said that the LA has DC with an EHCP who are electively HE and that she has never heard the like.

If the LA play ball, this can all be sorted out quickly - the Transfer goes ahead, the EP assesses at home, internet school provide academic info etc - apparently the LA has hired extra staff to deal with the backlog and now EPs can visit within 2 weeks and submit their reports within another 2 weeks.

If I have to go to SOS!SEN (again ) I know from experience that the LA will eventually do what they have to do but that this will take months of unnecessary adversarial shite and they will hate me even more - DS2 is only 10 and they are like the baddie that won't stay dead.

I just want schools/LA to do what they are supposed to do so I can put them in a bracket and ignore them apart from AR if everything is OK with my DC.

Has any mum on MN been accused by the LA and social services of fabricated illness in respect of their child/children. If so I should be pleased if you could tell me how you were treated by the SW s.