LEA confirmed received letters for Stat Asses for both boys - what to expect?

[starfish71]

Hi - following on from my other thread about whether to ask for stat Assessment for my DS'S I have had a call from LEA saying they have received them and they will be sending out an information pack for me and a form giving consent (if it gets through panel) for them to proceed with actually carrying out the assessment. She also said she would send something for me to fill in with background on the both boys.

Having a wee bit of a wobble as I don't know what to expect next and its all gone 'official'.

Had a meeting yest with SENCO and as I knew she would - said it was very unlikely they would agree to assess DS1 11 (Dyspraxia & under assessment for ASD) and unlikely at present to agree to one for DS2 6 (under assessment for ASD and some learning delay).

Just need a bit of advice on what happens next and how to keep my head up and get what my boys need.

Thanks

Hi starfish,

What county/LEA are you in, someone on here may have prior experience of them.

Now the first hard bit begins; the waiting for their subsequent decision.

If the LEA say no to statementing (which is looking likely for both your boys, particularly the eldest), you must appeal their crass decision for both your children as a matter of course.

Get independent advice if this happens; IPSEA, ACE and or SOS;SEN to name but three independent organisations can advise you further. You can also ask on here too.
Arm yourself with as much information as possible, knowledge is power!!!.

They all have websites, do read the information on them too. IPSEAs is www.ipsea.org.uk

Read up on the SEN Code of Practice and quote this to the LEA as well.

Thank you Attila and Duchess for the advice. We are in Neath/Port Talbot and I have been told that they don't do statements easily. Any experiences of this Authority would be good to hear your experiences. I will read up on the websites mentioned and get stuck in with my copy of SEN code of practice.

I will def ask when panel meeting is and ask them to contact me with decision afterwards.

Feeling really nervous and came off phone feeling a bit 'oh this is serious stuff now' but am sure will have to get used to this.

Bit of good news today had letter from CAMHS today to send back form to put DS2 on the waiting list (DS1 already being seen by them).

Thanks x

Ok, so you are now in the 'make a case for assessment' phase.

They will send you a pack with information about their obligations, and ask you to give an account of why you think your DSs need assessment.

Note that this is not your 'what do they need and why' (that comes later) - more 'why do we need to do something for them; why can't the school cope? Can you prove it?'

In mine, I gave a background to DD1's situation - basically a synopsis of birth-preschool highlighting concerns and what had/hadn't been done. Leading up to the moment Preschool raised their concerns & we were seen at the hospital.

I then gave an outline of DD1's 'present difficulties', breaking into bullet points for each area of development. So for DD1 that was Gross motor, fine motor, social, sleep, speech/language, attention/concentration, sensory issues, obsessions, behaviour, medical condition.

I then did a section called 'considerations for assessment', which gave my opinion on DD1's SEN and the need for additional support. Basically, making it clear that DD1 was not making sufficient progress, even with the 1:1 provided by preschool, that she would need extensive help at school, that her safety would be compromised without a Statement, etc.

I also sent in 18 reports (basically everything I had) as additional evidence, and listed them at the end of my report, so that even if they lost the reports, they couldn't deny that I had submitted them.

It sounds a lot, but the whole thing was about 5 pages.

Then the wait begins, and around 4 weeks later, they will write to you and let you know if they will assess or not.

Once they decide to assess, you will be asked for a fuller assessment of your DSs needs - mine ran to 17 pages in the end.

They will then look at the evidence and either issue a proposed statement, or a 'note in lieu' (a letter telling you why they aren't statementing).

For DD1, I sent the initial letter on September 1st, and got the Final Statement on January 20th - it was quick because they decided on special school and we agreed, so no need for negotiations and the like.

Great, thanks Lou! That will really help me when I am doing the boy's history. Will try and keep a clear head and go through everything with both forms. I know that DS1 is coping much better with school than DS2 but they do both need extra help and I just want it formalised so they can't swap and change it when they feel like it! Especially with DS1 going to Comp in September..