"....there remain some issues affecting DS's inclusion...." & "I suggest that DS is kept on 'Open Review' with the educational Psychology Service"

[MissesF]

...according to the report i recieved yesterday from the educational psychologist .

last november, school agrred to MY REQUEST for ds2 to be reffered to Ed Psych.

In FEB she observed him at school and then had disscusions with him,his teacher and myself about 'ways to help'.

He is yr6- and i explained that i am very concerned about his transition to secondary school. so she has refferd him to 'another department' - THE SOCIAL & COMMUNICATION INTERVENTION TEAM- to assist the primary school with preparing him for transfer .

Before i go on further...can any of you 'in the know' about 'ed psych' talk etc...give me any idea of whether i am being too optimistic to think that just because she states she has "concerns for his inclusion" that maybe us applying for a statement is not such a daft idea after all...as up to now all i have had rammed down my neck is teacheres etc telling me that "Oh...he won't get a statement...he's far too able..." etc....so when i got this letter...i expected a bland report, and him being signed off of services....but instead she has stated concerns AND kept him 'on file' to (in her words) be able to 'raise his name at future meetings'

I don't know the answer to your question I am afraid but I have been on another thread about my DS who has AS (in yr3) and although I have been saying that he is fairly mild and that the teachers have said that he too is too able to get a statement, the other MN'ers have been encouraging me to try and get one. It sounds like you have to do a lot of the work yourself. However if you DS is bad enough for the ed psych to want to keep an eye on him I would say go for it. It can't do any harm.

It does seem to be a bit of a postcode lottery about how easy it is to get one. I have a friend who easily got one in Lincolnshire for quite mild difficulties but says she wouldn't have got one here, in Hampshire, or in Yorkshire where they also lived.

I am sure somebody with a better understanding of the system will come along shortly. Just wanted to sympathise.

Good luck.

Hi MissesF
I agree with a lot of what Niecie says about it being easier to get a statement in some places rather than others and that it is always worth a try.

However, in my case (we do have a statement) we did have to have quite a paper trail, which showed that intervention was put in place by the school which did not work/was not enough etc, so you would probably be refused on a first attempt if no intervention has been given at all by the school.

Mind you, I have also found that most people are turned down on the first try, even with the paperwork in place and that it is only when you start to talk about going to tribunal that they take you seriously. But that is probably something to do with my LEA.

Do you have any idea how long it will take for the social communications team to look at him? They may produce more information that would support you with any statement application.

Also is he at SA or SA+ already and do you have an IEP?

MissesF,

Its never too late to apply for a Statement but unfortunately you've been let down over the years by teachers who come out with the same old crappy misinformation i.e "he's too able to have a statement". The decision is not theirs to make in the first place.

I would apply for a Statement (there is nothing to stop you writing to the LEA asking for your son to be assessed) and give the LEA six weeks to reply. You as the parents are in a far better position than school would ever be re a statement application - for a start you can appeal if LEA say no (which they often do). School cannot appeal.

If your son is on school action or school action plus there should be an IEP in place as a matter of course. A parent should be called in regularly to discuss this with school - if this is not done I would ask questions as to why.

thanks all.

yes, he's at SA+...and does have an IEP. The IEP is usually given to me at half term (OCT). his IEP has always been very vague...but i'm determined this time that the EP's recommendations/strategies are part of it- as then if the school don't stick to it...well....then it backs me and what the EP said - in that his maintstream inclusion is not quite right.

I was only thinking about you yesterday and here you are!!! Did you get an e-mail?

at too able.

Statements are for special educational needs, and you can have them however bright you are.

Regarding the IEP, you should be requesting very specific targets, bsed on the EP's advice.

*The targets should be clearly stated and achievable.

*The support given to your DS to help him achieve them should be stated

*The person respnsible for providing it should be specified

*The success critera should be specified (ie how will they know whether or not he has achieved the target. How are they going to measure it?

It is good practice for an IEP to set all of this out, and you need to point this out to the SENCO.

If you go down the statutory assessment route you will need all of this documented.

Good luck, and I hope the transition goes smoothly.

I think you were wise to get the EP in.

If his IEP has always been vague this means they have never done it properly.

I would go down the statement route regardless now. There's nothing to stop you doing this. School Action plus in my experience of it is not worth the paper its written on especially if the IEP is vague. It is also not legally binding (unlike a statement) so the scope for extra support is very limited. If you're also not directly involved in the meeting when the IEP is drawn up (the school should review the IEP termly with you and meet with you to discuss the IEP) this is yet another minus point for the school.

IPSEA are very good at all this if you apply for a statement and I would suggest you have a look at their website which is www.ipsea.org.uk.

attila...i've never had termly meetings ...they just tag the IEP into the general parents evening they hold!

is the termly meeting 'best practice'...ie desirable...or is it mandatory?