yet another statement question?

[anonandlikeit]

I'm asking this on behalf of a friend, as although my ds is statemented i'm not sure how to help my friend. anyway her problem is...
She has a ds who is 7 & in yr2. He has Dyspraxia & Aspergers, she is requesting a statement because he needs one to one to help make any academic progress at all. Last yr he has no 1 to 1 & made no progress at all.
However this term the school are providing 1 to 1 every morning & 3 afternoons & he is starting to make progress although significantly behind.
This has proven that with support he can learn, however as he is makeing progress with the existing support the school is providing, how can she prove that his needs are not being met & he needs a statement?

Obviously she needs the statement to have this support guaranteed, but unless the school withdraw support & wait for him to fail to learn again how can she get the statement?

She just needs to know how to play it at the meeting with the school & ed psych etc.

I said you lovely ladies would know!

She is not asking for anything additional to what the school is providing curently, all the profs involved have written supporting reports stating that he needs 1 to1.
But she is concerned that she won't get it on a statement if the school are already providing it.
Really its for the future, to guarantee him the support. If a statemented child joined his class tomorow the LSA would be used to support that child & he would lose his support.

Tis a bloody minefield!

Thanks Starlight, I will check if she has been in touch with them.
I know she has contacted local parent partnership but they are not totaly impartial?

Thanks starlight, she is going to speak to the school again next week to see what the plan is should the TA be off sick etc.

I think she is going to struggle tbh, becuase the school is doing exactly what it should be doing and the LEA won't miss that fact.

Definitely speak to IPSEA and SOS!SEN,also the NAS education line is a call back system but helpful. If the school is backing teh statement can they pull the 1-1 for a day or two and then diarise what happens, (I know- last time that happened to us with a sick day it ended as a nightmarebut you have to balance things)... also look at the whole child approach,is the stability of a 1-1esssentialto maintaining a viable home life?

get school to confirm 1-1 is not a guaranteed provision and twist that round to show that whilst my child is receiving ad hoc support due to the schools willingness yto work with X, they cannot guarantee that is sustainable intol the future, and so a sattement needs to be in palce now to cover the eventuality opf this given the six month minimum statementing period.

Your friend could ask for an assessment as under Section 323 of the Education Act 1996 ? ?It is necessary to make an assessment where the child has special educational needs and it is necessary for the authority to determine the special educational provision which any learning difficulty he may have calls for?

Ah Peachy, your genius!!!
Thats how she needs to play it.... School are providing 1 to 1 as & when avaialble... as long as they don't volunteer the info that at the moment they are able to provide it all the time, then she may have a chance.

Really just careful wording but it may work. all the profs involved are supporting the statement request for 1 to 1.

Thing is next yr the school will change its set up as they are doing away with middle schools so the school will have to cope with 2 extra yr groups & of course no funding for additional staff.
So our lovely little school with classes of 19 will have mixed yr groups of classes up t0 30.
No way they will be able to spare the TA then & he will just be lost poor little thing