Can I get some advice about SEN meeting on monday?

[chegirlWILLbeserene]

I would appreciate any tips please.

I have been ranting a bit lately about trying to sort out provision for DS. We have decided that SNS would be best for him. He has been let down very badly by MS and I feel he really needs the more nurturing and close environment of local SN school.

Headmistress has met him and agreed to take him once offical stuff sorted. (Oddly I still expected her to say oh no he doesnt need to come to special school, nothing SN about him. Still comes as a shock when people agree he has significant issues).

Anyway, got draft statement two weeks ago. First half of statement listed his difficulties and was very clear he had significant problems and delays. Reports pointed to moderate to severe LD, 3 year langugage delay (he is 7) and he has auditory processing disorder.

Provision part of statement is total rubbish. No time scales on help, no 1:1 specified, most of help out of class, very weak altogether.

So we refused it, giving reasons and asked for meeting. Meeting on Monday. What I really want out of it is to get DS into school of choice with enough provision to help him thrive. Aware that the statement sort of takes on a new angle now we want him in SNS. We need it strong enought to get him in there but a lot of his needs will be met automatically if he gets in because of set up (small classes, lots of staff, onsite therapy etc), whereas if he had to stay in MS we would have to push for much more.

Sorry if not being clear.

Anyway - anyone been through this? What can we expect from meeting? What should we say?

Couldnt get parent partnership along as noone available.

Would really appreciate some help.

Is it possible that they've not specified because they are thinking of SN school too? I think it was Lou that had this happen to her too - looked like a vague Statement but was actually because LA were thinking of SS. How do you know they're thinking of mainstream? Anyway, if this is the draft Statement, you can ask for SS to be named in Part 4 (which should be blank atm)

Are you absolutely sure that the statement was written with MS in mind? The LA aren't allowed to specify SNS, but I was reading mine and thinking "there's nothing specific", then realised that it was written with SNS in mind. I phoned the LA and spoke to the statementing officer, and she confirmed that she had secured a place at a SNS for DD, and that if we wanted MS education she would rewrite the statement with support for a MS school (but highly recommended that we didn't).

I hadnt thought of that at all, thats a very interesting question give & lou

The cynic in me doesnt think so but of course that could be the case. Its only we hadnt mentioned it before. Its all happened at once, I applied for statement, dx came in, different reports started coming in and it was very clear DS wasnt getting anywhere in his school. I hadnt thought about SNS before.

TBH I feel DS could be educated in MS setting if they did what they should do but I am not prepared to hope for the best anymore. Think inclusion has got too far to go to risk it IYSWIM.

I have named school on last bit of statement and given reasons why we want SNS.

Haha - x post!

So that's the main question for the meeting on Monday, I guess: which school are they thinking of?

just wanted to ask as were in the same position but just at the point of asking for the meeting with the sen officer, please can you update on what they say and how it goes as im well nervous and unsure about ours too!!! only had the propsed statement this week and still very stressed and unsure about it so be a few weeks i imagine before we have this meeting but anything you can tell me to prepare will be great!!!

hop it goes well for you xx

And will they tell me that give? What if they insist on MS?

meekat of course I will but feel free to give me a nudge if I forget. I am due DC5 in 4 weeks (ish) so am easily distracted .

I found IPSEA very helpful and friendly (recommended by posters on mumsnet).

If they insist on MS, you argue for upping the level of support and making it specific.

You can, of course, still argue for special alongside that but probably best to decide which you will push most strongly for (think you have already).

Don't envy you going through this and pregnancy at the same time!

Good luck with Monday

Hi everyone.

Not sure how it went today.

I had asked for time to be properly allocated i.e. the statement not being so vague about how much help DS would get every week.

I had asked for in class provision instead of him being taken out of class all the time.

I had asked for his Auditory Processing Disorder to be given due prominance as it was being treated as a bit of a speech delay.

We asked for DS to be transferred to SNS.

All this seemed to be done fairly easily (which begs the question why did they try it on in the first place?)

I will need to look at the next draft very carefully of course

BUT: I dont know what to make of these things:

SEN worker said she would be 'very suprised' if DS got into SNS we had choosen. I told her that the head had already said she was happy to have him. She said 'thats a shame'.

She then said 'have you thought about the impact of being in special school will have on him? How will he make friends? How will he socialise?' I was shocked at her attitude. We have been round the school, DS already knows several children who attend. They are perfectly nice children who happen to have disabilities and SENs! She appeared to have some sort of idea that SNS was full of kids who were not capable of normal life.

I asked her to clarify what band DS's statment was (how its done in this borough - ABCD - no funding, everything above brings additional funding). I expected a D for DS as anything above is for children with more complex needs and disabilities.

She told me that they dont 'use banding' and hadnt for several years. This puzzled me somewhat as I work in the building for a different team and hear banding used everyday!

A few minutes later she handed me a sheet with all the bands explained on them! She then said DS didnt qualify for 1:1 as he would get a E band - the children who do self harm and soil themselves and its 'a bit grim'

She also gave me an internet print out from TES that showed an article stating that children who have 1:1 support do not do well and its actually bad for them! FFS. One article that is not even about children with specific needs!

Anyway we assured her that we had though very carefully about the implications of SNS. We felt we had given MS a fair chance (DS in year 2) and it was not working. We felt he needed to have the chance in SNS. We assured her that we had no problem that DS could possibly be in the school till he was 16 (she warned us that this could happen - horror) and that if he 'caught up' he could always return to MS.

She thought DS's medical needs were not sufficient to get him into school. This is a fair point but Head seemed to think he would fit even though he 'only has eczema' (bad enough to be on DLA btw).

At least I know that DS has got a D band statement (even thought they wont tell me that) because he has been awarded 15-20 hrs of support a week and I know this falls into D.

I dont know if anyone can make sense of the above but I would like opinions if at all possible as I really dont have anything to compare it with and still dont know how it went.

Thanks.

will need time to break down that horror bit by bit!

not an expert at this, as my DS hasn't got a statement, but sounds like you can't trust this SEN worker as far as you can throw her.

Thanks

Are SEN officers purely clerical workers? This is the impression I got. I didnt feel that the woman was an SEN professional IYSWIM.

She didnt know what APD was and had got her info from the SALT that is was more a language delay than a hearing impairment. I know its not strictly an HI but for want of a better description it is similar.

I also asked for specifics about visual resources to be included in the statement and she seemed a bit confused about this too.

I dont know - I have never done this before so really didnt know what to expect.

At least it gave OH some small insight into the last 7 years of trying to get resources for DS!

I am hoping he can see why I get so stressed about all of this. Its been going on for so long without a break - fighting with SS re fostering DS and then adoption, dealing with hhis potential issues, then DD getting ill and having to deal with all of her stuff plus DS's birth mother causing all kinds of trauma. Arrrrggggh just want my DS in a school that will look after him (oh and to have 5 minutes to have this baby and get to know him a bit!)

Sorry decending into martydom here!

Hi

You're doing it just right so far.

It sounds like the LA are intending mainstream with insufficient suport.

One very important thing you can do is keep a diary of who you spoke to about what, when and what was said. that will assist you greatly should it end up at Tribunal.

You'll now get an Amended Propsed Statement. If you disagree with that one you then have a further 15 days to request another meeting with the LA - just like today's. And so it goes on until LA back down / refuse to concede anything else - after which Tribunal is the only way to improve matters.

LAs will try it on - even when they know they are in the wrong. After all, some parents would just cave in and accept what's on offer. It saves the LA money.

If you think he either needs 1:1 in MS or a SN placement then hold out for it. If you don't already have a copy the SEN COP would be very useful to get.

Best wishes

Hello

Update.

Just got the call to say DS got into SNS that we requested.

Got induction meeting on Thursday so he should be able to start after the holidays.

All moving v. quick now. I got OH to call SEN officer yesterday (not sure we would have heard anything if he hadnt).

Lots on this week. DS has his indepth assessment for ASD tommorow, then first thing Thurs going to school for induction.

Guess that means its his last day at MS school today? That seems a bit sudden but not sure what else to do. Dont really want to send him in tommorow as he has such a potentianlly gruelling appt and then his appt on Thurs at the new school.

Perhaps he should go in after that on Thursday.

Oh and not to mention having to fit in (or out) the small matter of giving birth at any moment (me not DS!).

Feel really pleased but also bit scared about this huge step for DS.

Thanks for your support everyone

good news that the SNS placement is sorted! I wouldn't bother sending him back to old school unless you really want to/he would really want to be in for Easter events etc.

Great news Chegirl.

It just shows that if you stick to your guns you can beat them.

Best wishes and I hope DS settles well at new school.

Thank you! Just got to make his two appointment and then I can have this baby!