How do get them to implement his IEP? (Sorry long ranty post)

[moosemama]

Hi

Had a meeting with ds1's supply teacher (been taking the class since last October as his teacher was on long-term sick) actual teacher (as she was due back any day) and the SENCO on 13th March and felt it went really well. In fact we actually came away feeling like at last things were starting to look up for ds.

Some realistic targets were set regarding handwriting and concentration and others were put on the IEP primarily to raise awareness of his problems with staff other than his class teacher. He has been the victim of some nasty bullying, which the Head sorted out just before Christmas and in order to underpin this, they agreed to arrange a lunchtime dinner-lady buddy and for his supply teacher (who is staying on at the school to teach another class) to act as a sort of safe-adult/mentor for him to go to if he gets stressed, upset or something happens that he can't handle. They also agreed to speak to the head about reinstating the quiet area in the playground and making sure it is properly 'policed'.

We came away feeling quite positive and the IEP arrived as promised two days later.

However since then absolutely nothing has happened. I spoke with ds myself about his targets regarding handwriting and concentration and told him he would be getting a playtime buddy and that Mrs X would be his mentor, but the school hasn't said a word to him about any of it. He hasn't been given a buddy, he says no-one has told him to go to Mrs X and when he asked to see her one playtime the teacher on duty said he couldn't (she isn't teaching his class anymore, but had said she would continue to be his mentor after she left his class).

This morning he sobbed and sobbed before school for the third time this week. I couldn't even persuade him to go in with the group of friends that were all together talking excitedly about his birthday party next weekend. He kept saying ""Bad things always happen to me every day at school, please don't make me go Mummy, I want to stay with you and Lilyboo." (Lilyboo is his nickname for his baby sister.)

I finally managed to get him to go in as I was going to the Easter Service so would see him in the hall. Unfortunately at the end of the service, as soon as he saw me he just crumpled ran over clung to me, started sobbing and got really distressed. All the teachers had gone and his class had filed out of the hall, but a lovely year 6 boy came over and said "Is he ok? Do you want me to go with him and take him to his classroom?". I could see his teacher down the corridor, but am not allowed down there unless I'm signed in, so had no choice but to say yes. Gave him a kiss and hug and the boy took him to his teacher. I then watched as she didn't even acknowledge him and stood there for five minutes talking to a TA without even looking at him then turned, took his hand (still without looking at him) and walked into the class. I wanted to run down the corridor, grab him and take him home there and then. Needless to say I sobbed all the way home.

Sorry for the ramble. I am still quite upset about it all.

So, my question is really, how do I get them to honour the agreements they made at the meeting and implement the IEP.

I don't even know who to approach to be honest. His class teacher had left the meeting when the final action plan was agreed, as she was still on part-time sick leave at the time so wasn't actually in charge of the class and the supply teacher agreed to everything. The SENCO is notoriously difficult to get hold of, no phone number or email address and doesn't work every day. His teacher is now back full time and frankly I feel she is a waste of space as she is 'nice' but always seems spacey and never seems to be listening properly and as a result never acts on anything we agree (I think this may be due to her medication, as she has been off sick on and off for several years with severe depression and she appears to me to be very like I was when I was on anti-d's).

Should I write to the SENCO and copy her in or write to her and copy the SENCO and should I copy the Head in as well? (He is very accessible and hands on with this sort of thing generally speaking.)

I don't want to alienate anyone or come across as pushy as then I will meet with resistance as well, which won't help ds at all.

Unfortunately the best person in all of this was the supply teacher, she was fantastic with ds, really 'got-him' and went out of her way to support him. I can't help thinking that the rest of the year will go downhill now she is teaching another class and while its lovely of her to say he can go to her about anything and she will do her best to help him sort things out, she isn't technically responsible for him anymore, his teacher is and its obvious his teacher just isn't going to be any support at all.

Am I right in thinking that an IEP is not a legally binding agreement, so I don't have a leg to stand on if they don't actually implement it?

I feel like I have been patted on the head to keep me quiet and given a completely worthless piece of paper.

To cap it all, ridiculously ds2 is on School Action since his work fell behind after a serious illness and hospital stay Christmas before last. We went to his IEP review for him recently and the SENCO wanted him taken off the register, but his teacher insisted he was kept on it, despite him exceeding all his targets and being ahead of several other children in his class. She struggled to set targets for him that weren't ahead of the class fgs and despite the SENCO agreeing with me that he didn't need to be on an IEP anymore in the end they decided to keep him on the register and set up some stupid targets which I have since found are commensurate with what the rest of the class is doing anyway. When I asked what additional support he would be getting to make sure he met these so called 'targets' they said they had lost their TA so he wouldn't actually be getting any extra support they would just tailor his work accordingly.

Its a total farce. I have one child on the register that clearly doesn't need to be there and another who despite obviously and desperately needing help and support (currently awaiting dyspraxia and asd assessment, but has verbal dx of aspergers from a paed) they took over a year to get a flippin IEP for in the first place and now they haven't even implemented it anyway.

I feel like just taking him out of school and having done with it, but he is making inroads socially and does enjoy being with his friends and a lot of the work.

I am at a total loss to know what to do next.

Ask for a review meeting to discuss how it is going and too evaluate the monitoring of the IEP. Make it clear in your WRITTEN request the outcome of this meeting will be a) SMART targets with explanation of how they are implemented and monitored

b) a decision about whether you will be applying for a statement.

IEPs aren't called 'Individual Empty Promises' for nothing.

Is there any way you can talk to the supply teacher about your feelings. She might be able to be a bit more proactive in ensuring he knows she is there for him etc etc.?

Moosemama,

Sorry to read of all this Moose, you are up against a useless school and an IEP which is not being implimented. As you are rightly aware the Individual Empty Promise (MN name for IEP) is not legally binding (its tied into School Action) and its really not worth the paper its written on. They won't honor any of it.

DS is on School Action as well?.
At the very least he should be on the next step up from this which is School Action Plus as there has been to date outside involvement from people in a professional capacity (for one the paed who gave you a verbal dx of AS).

Realise that your son likes school but this school are totally inept and will not change their ways for your DS. I would seriously consider changing schools in these particular circumstances; he is being failed here by them.

You would not meet with resistance if they were doing their job properly.

I would also apply for a Statement as well, a legally binding document like this should make a school take proper notice. Nothing else will.

You are your child's best - AND ONLY - advocate. No-one else is better placed than you to fight for his educational rights. Besides which no-one else will fight that battle for you.

Thank you for coming back to me.

I am feeling so hopeless this morning, am sat here in floods of tears, which helps no-one does it.

What are SMART Targets? I did ask at the meeting for them to clarify how the targets would be implemented and monitored, but they said that realistically he isn't expected to meet most of the targets, they are more to 'inform' his teachers of the areas he struggles with. This clearly isn't true for the targets they set for handwriting, spacing and starting tasks as soon as they are set though. As for monitoring, we only had 1 IEP review for the whole of last year for ds2, so I assume the same will be true for ds1.

I have been told that we won't get a statement, as he is not failing educationally, but rather is comfortably in the top groups for everything. It doesn't seem to count that we have a very unhappy little boy who is really struggling to cope with the social/communication pressures of the school environment and fundamentally doesn't feel that school is a safe place to be. They do make lots of sympathetic noises and tell us they understand and want to make it better for him, but nothing is ever done.

I know that that's not supposed to be how it works, but from what I have gleaned it does seem to be the case in this area. A friend of mine told me that her severely dyspraxic and dyslexic daughter who has serious self-image and confidence issues as a result of being highly intelligent, yet severely underachieving in school, can't get a statement as she isn't 4 years or more behind! I told her that they aren't allowed to say that, as that is a blanket policy, but she was told that 'unofficially' so there is nothing she can do about it!

I can't seem to catch the supply teacher now. I did see her this morning in assembly, but she was supervising her new class. Really, it should be down to her anyway, she is still only a supply teacher and has enough to cope with dealing with the transition of the year 6 group she has just taken over. Its so kind of her to still be thinking about ds as she doesn't have to have any involvement at all. I feel awful actually, as we have a card and gift at home for her as no-one told us that she was finishing teaching his class last Friday. She must think we are horribly ungrateful when she has been so lovely with ds.

I have just been sat here trying to draft a letter to the SENCO, but think I am too emotional at the moment and it seems to be coming out too long-winded and emotional. I may have to wait until dh comes home tonight, which is unfortuate as I wanted to drop it into the school office at home time so that it can be dealt with as soon as they start back after easter.

Ah, dh has just called and is going to come home for lunch to try and help me draft a quick letter. So, I will try again and this time just ask for a follow up meeting to evaluate how the implementation of the IEP is going and define how it is going to be implemented and monitored next term.

Hopefully that might spur something or someone into action.

Hi Moosemama,

Who told you that piece of crap re not getting a Statement?. Not your fault btw, many parents also get given that particular line by school staff amongst others. You were lied to.

Statements are also there to address social and communication difficulties as well as learning difficulties. It is down to the LEA to make the call as to whether DS receives a Statement or otherwise and if they say no in the initial stages you as parents can appeal their crass decision.

IEPs are supposed to be monitored termly and with parents present at meeting to discuss findings of IEP.

Would urge you to put in your request for a Statement to your LEA. BTW your friend was also misinformed; the LEA in question cannot refuse to assess in such a manner and infact many LEAs have been carpeted by the Secretary of State for their behaviour. Blanket policy of any sort is illegal in law but many LEAs do try it on.

IPSEA are very good at the whole problems with school/statementing side of things and they would be worth contacting. Their web address is www.ipsea.org.uk.

Another organisation worth contacting too is SOS;SEN. They are very useful to talk to.

Hi Moosemama,

An IEP will usually contain no more than three or four key, individual, short-term targets for the child to focus on (typically these only take up one side of A4). These may relate to aspects of the curriculum (literacy, numeracy etc), or focus on behaviour or social skills. The IEP should specify what should be taught, how it should be taught and how often, and will be based on individual need. Often targets will be set to cover not only a variety of objectives but different situations too, including working with and without support, in and out of class.

Targets should be SMART, that is: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time related.

Usually an IEP will include the teaching objective (what the teacher hopes the child will learn) broken into small manageable chunks linked to a child?s abilities and difficulties, enabling teacher, parent and child to see improvement. For example, the class objective may be to learn the two times tables, but for the individual child this may be simplified to being able (and, crucially, understanding) to count on in twos, to ten.

Targets may be related to activities outside the lesson, perhaps to sit quietly at the dinner table or to play with friends, not to get angry when the lunchtime football team loses a match etc.

Targets should be clearly focused. ?To improve handwriting? is too general for most children, for example, so it may be better to break the task into more manageable chunks, perhaps first adapting to an adjusted pencil grip, or developing ?good sitting?, then moving on from there.

Thanks Attila, they won't put him on SA+ until there is reason to believe that he is not making progress on SA! Ridiculous as they themselves said they don't expect him to meet the targets they have set on the IEP!

I think I keep getting blindsided by how nice they are about it all whenever we meet them. Then we come away and when we have time to refelct, realise nothing tangeable has been agreed.

Unfortuately all the other schools in the area are over-subscribed and have long waiting lists, so I don't know where I could possibly move him to. Also, one of his biggest problems is change, hence the problem with them changing his teacher half way through the year. He can't even cope with the idea of me repainting his bedroom, let alone the thought of going to a new school. He has some lovely friends and a best friend in his class and would be devastated to be moved away from them so I feel like I'm damned if I do and damned if I don't.

We have even considered moving away somewhere rural and home-schooling, but the merest mention of the possibilty of us one-day moving house, even locally and keeping him at the same school, sends him into such a state of distress that its not worth considering.

Sorry, I probably wasn't very clear before as am running on adrenaline this morning. We have decided to apply for a statement ourselves, but are waiting for more input for his initial assessment from the dedicated asd team and haven't had an appointment through yet. We were told it would be within 6 months back in January. Unfortunately the paed that gave us the verbal dx has a bit of a rep for jumping in with a dx before the child has been properly assessed and is therefore not always taking as seriously as he could be.

Moose Sounds like you need to apply for a SA. Once got, you can name any school you like and it doesn't even matter if a school is oversubscribed apparently (just learnt this) as there are resources that can be put in place to enable a school to take 'one more pupil', especially if MS.

The school cannot meet his needs, and that is all there is to having a valid reason for applying. Educational needs are not just academic or measured by attainment.

Hi Moosemama,

re your comment:-

"We have decided to apply for a statement ourselves, but are waiting for more input for his initial assessment from the dedicated asd team and haven't had an appointment through yet"

I don't think you need to wait at all but I will stand corrected.

If the LEA agree to assess for a Statement they will write to these people anyway. Your first task here is to get the LEA to assess. I would therefore start applying for the Statement asap (also SENDIST shut down for the month of August and it can take six months for a Statement to be up and running anyway).

Do talk to IPSEA and or SOS;SEN as they have seen all this before and can advise you further.

moose Have you a copy of the Code of Practice?

If not, get one but don't feel daunted by it. I was at first but it is amazing how much you learn and retain simply by making it your friend.

I think it is the Educational Act 1996 Section 323 and 324 that says Statements should not be refused on the basis of lack of information, - so it will be in their interest to chase these people you are waiting for in order to make their decision iyswim.

And that is something I never expected to know off by heart

Thanks folks.

Well, he has come home from school a happy boy as they could choose what to do with it being half term and he's been on the computer all day. So I've been at home sobbing and he's been having a wail of a time! but

Attila, I have read a lot of the IPSEA website but not been in contact with them as yet. I think I'm just afraid of going through the application for statementing and then being turned down and having to appeal. I thought if we waited for a clearer picture of his dx/needs and more input from professionals we would stand a better chance. You're probably right though, maybe we should just get the ball rolling. I do know enough to apply ourselves rather than getting the school to do it and at our initial meeting the head said he agreed that that was the best course of action in our LEA, as we are more likely to be successful than they are.

Dels, I saved the code onto my laptop a while ago, but will admit to feeling daunted/overwhelmed by it, although I did quote a bit to the SENCO at the last meeting which raised a few eyebrows! I do need to find some time to go through it properly though.

If I'm honest, now I've had time to calm down and think about things, I don't think the school are being deliberately obstructive. It all just got really complicated with his teacher going off sick, the supply not knowing the system at first, a new headmaster just settling in and the SENCO dropping a day just as they had quite a big influx of SEN pupils joining the school. They do seem genuinely keen to help, but not very clued up. So I think we will need to drive the process and be a lot more pushy and proactive.

Dh and I have drafted a letter asking for a meeting to review the IEP and clarify how it will be implemented and monitored. We also think its not clear enough where it attempts to highlight ds's problems when communicating with figures of authority, particularly how literal he is, which has caused no end of problems with certain (ahem, less tolerant) staff members. So will push to get that changed at the same time.

Please excuse my typing by the way, one handed typing as feeding dd at the moment.

SMART targets

specific, measurable, acheivable, realistic, time-based

I hate the acronym myself but anyway.

There is nothing daunting about appealing the refusal to assess. It is a piece of cake. Stages later are more complex but cross that bridge when you get to it.

In the meantime I hope you are making maticulous notes!?

Thanks SMack.

We are documenting and keeping copies of everything. We even write in the family diary every time we have a conversation with the teacher and/or anything happens at school that needs addressing etc.