Another statementing question.......

[heartinthecountry]

Hiya. Our EdPsych has finally referred dd to the LEA to request that they statement her. I have received a letter from the LEA telling me they have received the request and asking me a) if there is anyone in addition to the long list of names who I would like them to talk to about dd should they agree and b) if I would like to add my comments/information.

Now - is this the only chance I get to put forward my view about dd? I am not sure if they are asking me for my opinion on whether she should be statemented or my opinion on what her needs are and what I think should be in her statement IYSWIM.

Can anyone shed any light? (Davros??) Sorry if that question is as clear as mud...

Hi HITC,

Hope you do not mind me replying to your message.

When I was going through the assessment process I had to fill in a LEA form called a Parent Report Form (is this what you have?).

If you don't have such a form I would write at great length about your Daughter and her current needs along with what support she has had to date.

BTW if you are turned down for assessment (this is unfortunately not unknown) you can appeal. I would certainly suggest you do this if it comes to this.

I wish you well and that the LEA agree to assess.

Speak to IPSEA as well if you need help; they are good and are worth using as a resource to you as a parent.

Good luck

Meerkats

I thought you got this opportunity to give your input once they had agreed to assess and with having access to all the professionals' reports. Is there a parent liaison type person at your LEA? Surprisingly ours was wonderful and listened to everything we said when we were unhappy with the proposed statement and reported it back faithfully and she was extremely sympathetic and unjudgemental about our views. If there is someone like this you could double check with them. So, I suppose the answer to their question is yes, you do want to give your input.

We are going through this now and LEA asked me if I wanted to write a parental report and I said yes. The first letter I got was to ask for my permission for the assessment to take place and then I got a letter a few days later to say that it would be going ahead. In my report I am going to put all the info that I can about how I see DS and what his problems are. The LEA should provide you with a guide as to what to include. All our reports have to be in by 22nd Feb. I got loads of help and advice from our local parent partnership service.

HITC, just CAT me if you want a copy of mine. amynixmum, did you get my e-mail?

I did, did you not get my reply then? Will try again now.

Well I've sent another one and it seems to have gone ok.

Got it!

Thanks everyone - in the end I decided the most sensible thing to do would be to call the LEA and ask them!

Apparently they are asking at this stage for my input on why they should assess dd. Then if they do decide to assess I will be asked again for my input. She said that in all I will be asked about 3 times... all good I guess! I was only expecting to be asked for my views once everyone had put in their reports, as you say Davros, which is why I was confused to be asked anything at this stage.

JakB - thnks for the offer of your report... might take you up on that once we get to that bit.

I am also starting to go through the statementing process for my youngest DD who has a diagnosis (now confirmed in writing) of Sotos Syndrome.

She is now 3y 4m and has global development delay and overgrowth (due to Sotos Syndrome). She goes to a private nursery twice a week when I work.

We are involved with SALT, Educational Psychologist, Portage Worker, SENCO, etc.

Her Ed. Psych. has said he wanted to start the statementing process now so that when she is due to start mainstream nursery in September (fingers crossed), a statement will already be in place for when she starts.

He sent me a copy of his report that he sent to the Education Board and I have received a reply from them saying they have received the request. They said they would respond in 6 weeks. That same week I got the diagnosis in writing so my Ed. Psych. said to send that to the Education Board as it will work in my favour. Two days later I got a reply from them saying they will carry out the statutory assessment of special needs. I have to fill in the forms they have sent me and return them within 28 days and they will let me know in about 6 months if she has got a statement or not.

I am not sure of the process and anyone that is going through the same thing that can help would be appreciated.

The SENCO is already involved and gives my DD Individual Educational Plans (IEPs) to work towards.

The Education Board have given me a group to contact (Parents in Partnership) and recommend that someone attends the meetings with me who is independent of the panel. I have already been invited to 2 discussions regarding the statementing process.

It seems a very long winded process (and at the end might not even get the statement) but I feel I have to do as much as I can to get my DD the help that she will need at school.

The one thing I am finding hard at the moment is, in the forms I have to fill in, they ask about what I think her educational needs are (but she hasn't started school/nursery yet) so I don't know what her needs will be. It is hard to know what to say as obviously she will need assistance but I am not sure to what extent.

My friend's son gets help in school (after being excluded for behaviour problems and having to go to a special school in the afternoons) and they rushed through an emergency statement (and finaly 18 months later he is now back in school full time but only because they shut the special school at Christmas due to lack of funding) so although my friend's son has got a statement she has not gone through the same process that I am going through.

Although I have the diagnosis of Sotos Syndrome for my DD every child, whether they have a syndrome or not, are individual. Reading about the syndrome, I can see some of what my DD is like (and obviously what she will be like in the future - i.e. she interacts more easily with older children/adults than children her own age, but I think this is because of the size of her).

Perhaps the best thing to do will be to include all the various reports I have received from the SENCO, Ed. Psych. They have said they will be contacting various professionals, but I think these contacts will be the people that I am in contact with anyway.

Bumblelion - see my reply on a separate thread on this.

Hi Bumblelion,

You're right it is a very long winded process.

If the LEA has agreed to assess your DD you should receive a statement. It can take around 26 weeks for a statement to be issued assuming there are no delays re finalising details on either side. They will eventually send you a draft statement leaving Part 4 blank (this is for you to insert name of school).

IPSEA are very good and will help you also with any aspects of the statementing process if you run into any bother with the LEA. Their website address is www.ipsea.org.uk and they also have a helpline.

Parts 2 and 3 of the statement are vitally important. Make sure you are fully happy with both of these sections before agreeing to it with the LEA.

I wish you well