Should I appeal refusal to assess for statementing ?

[overthebar]

Hi

Am so confused over this. The LA have refused to access on the basis that his (DS 3.6 ASD)needs are been met in his current nursery and to wait and see (don't you just hate those words) how he gets on when he starts reception in Sept 2010. They say we must see what the school can do via School Action Plus before assessing for statementing. I say (as do all the professionals that have worked with him) that he will need 1:1 for all the time he spends in mainstream. I cannot even imagine him going without 1:1 support. I started this process 6 months ago thinking we would have all this sorted b4 he starts school which would have helped him and the school. Being proactive has not helped me one bit. Am fed up of all the bureacracy.

Yes, if you have evidence in the form of reports from professionals saying that he needs 1:1 then I would definately appeal. You need to get something on paper from the people who have seen him, though.

The "wait and see" attitude drives me spare - LAs should be much more proactive in anticipating problems. And you don't seem to be questioning whether his current needs are being met at nursery, you're identifying future problems the school will have in meeting his needs, which is absolutely fair enough.

They can't always use the argument re current needs - otherwise no children would ever have a statement in place at the start of Reception and that's certainly not the case. The school action plus thing is such a cop-out - it means the financial support needed will come from the school's SEN budget rather than direct from the LA, which is why they're always keen to use SA+ first.

Something like 85% of appeals to assess are successful, which might look like a good chance but in reality you chances of them assessing are even higher

Because:

LA's know that you are likely to successful and so don't want to 'lose' so they just give in the minute the receive your appeal.

No promises, but if you are sure you are right then you probably are.

Hi overthebar,

Oh the usual LEA, "we'll wait and see" type nonsense. Do appeal their crass decision as a matter of course. I tell you now that School Action plus can only offer a limited amount of support and no one to one. Its also not legally binding (unlike a Statement doc).

You can seek independent advice from IPSEA too www.ipsea.org.uk on such matters.

yes - its just a ploy to see if you give up - we had the same DS was 2.5 and not even started Action Plus properly but was obvious to us he would need more than early action plus could provide (which was max 75% 1:1 with untrained TA in nursery + ASD Outreach support which took 5 months to show up and was then very basic) also we needed a statement for special school nursery & / or ABA.

We got a copy of the LEA file under data access and asked them to identify which docs went to panel and proved (as we suspected) some docs had not made it to panel. We also queried a lot of assumptions made eg about IQ. The LEA backed down once we had appealed and got a tribunal date.

We finally saw Ed Psych last week 6 months after starting process and said DS definitely needed a statement which begs the question why they didn't ask him at the start!

Often they try it on and if you actually do the appeal they back down.

Do get their file though as there were a few gems in ours which helped our case.

Also if you have helpful NHS professionals they can't express their view until a stat assessment but then they can write something more useful.

There is a bit in Code of Practice about children whose needs are severe and complex and don't need to go through action plus first. We said we wanted to take an intensive proactive approach and that while the government view was that most children should exhaust Action Plus it was not their intention that children with obvious needs should have to endure months or years of failure when their needs were clearly not going to be met by Action Plus.

If you have support from professionals its very unlikely they will take you to tribunal just over whether to assess. If you have not seen the Ed Psych ask for a referral to be made

Yes. You will win, you just need to persevere. Get everyone involved with your son to write reports now and write your own statement as well. As soon as they see you are not giving up they will do it. Ihad to do it and my son is now being assessed, although he has CP rather than ASD. It was ridiculous - he can't walk or stand unsupported and they were going to leave him on his own in nursery.

Thank you very much for your replies. I feel more confident now of getting what we need. Will keep you posted.

I agree with the others - appeal. The system seems to restart at school with having to prove that action and action + are not meeting the childs needs - which can mean effectively educational neglect for years. School has far less support than nursery, classes are much bigger, staff ratios much poorer, less governed by routine - so appealing now is sensible. ( I wish I had known this when ds was 4). You will need evidence - make a case for needing very high level support ( what happens if dc does not get 1:1 ) and show that this is not available without a statement.Good luck!!

Well. Now I am even more confused. Have paperwork for appeal almost completed. Happened to bump into the EP (did home visit in Sept) at DS nursery yesterday. He was invited to our IEP meeting. He had no idea that we were refused a statutory assessment yet he sits opposite the SEN manager and the Clerk to the panel. I asked him if he was cosulted and he was only asked if we were known to him! How can they make decisions based on q's like that. Anyway he told them he thought they made a mistake and they have agreed to bring all his papers to the next panel mtg on 5th Jan. However I have asked for this in writing so watch this space. Isen't it very worrying how joined up these services are. On the other hand I am glad to have the EP on my side. Phew

thats good news but if you have done the paperwork for appeal i would send it off anyway. Our tribunal date was 5 months in advance but the fact we had triggered the appeal process properly was enough to get them to back down. If you send it off now they will be notified by January and should be enough to ensure that they know you are serious and not going to go away. They are much less likely to turn you down in Jan if they know they will have to reply to the appeal.

Definitaly appeal- also do you have parent partnership service in your area. www.parentpartnership.org.uk - maybe worth contacting them for support