Dd got her statement

[Hangingbellyofbabylon]

A good day, we've got dd's draft statement through and she has been given 5 hours/day support. We will have to work out a way to make it so she is covered for lunch and playtimes but overall it is really good. The statement itself is very well written and very considerate to all of dd's needs. We have a meeting with the head, senco, class teacher, TA etc in the next few weeks so we can plan for dd starting school in September. Dd is 4 and has cerebral palsy - spastic diplegia.

that great news, good for you.

It's worded that she will get 5 hours 1-1 times with a TA on top of the usual support the school should be providing her. The class TA is very good and so we're going to see if dd's own 1-1 could cover playtime then have her own break after playtime during which time dd would be covered by the class teacher and class TA. All stuff we have to go through at this big meeting next week. Good point about if the 1-1 has to have any level of training etc, I hadn't thought of that so will add it to my list of questions. thanks

I would ask what level of training the TA actually has.

I would also run Parts 2 and 3 past an independent organisation like IPSEA and or SOS;SEN as a matter of course. Never accept such documents at face value; they should always be looked at independently.

All provision should be both specified and quantified; if it is neither then the proposed statement document should be rejected.

You may not get lunchtime cover without a fight as LEA's are loathe often to pay for such things.

don't worry! I know you lot know best and there are lots of things to look again at. On the surface it all looks very clear but I agree that we do need to be clear on TA time. My meeting is 11th June so just after the 15 days I have to sign to agree to the draft.

It says " the school has a responsibility to provide for dd etc etc" then goes on to say that "to assist the local mainstream school in meeting this high level of support,the Authority will contribute a total of 5 hours per day Teaching Assistance when dd attends a local mainstream school on a full-time basis. When dd attends part-time the hours will be pro-rata".

What do you think?

Thank you Starlight - you are absolutely right and reading through it again I totally see it is a wooly pile of shite worded to make us naive parents feel happy. I really appreciate your advice and will be getting this sorted. Thank you.

Sorry Hanging,

As Starlight (hi there) rightly states you need the word "receive" and not "provide". Woolly minded and vague statements are the enemy here. Unless it actually says "1 to 1" in the Statement then it means bugger all. Am sorry that you are yet another parent who has received a subsequently woolly and vague statement.

Do ask organisations like the ones mentioned previously on what Parts 2 and 3 should actually say. I write that as Parts 2 and 3 are the most important bits of this whole document and thus these need to be on the money. Once a statement is finalised it is damn nigh impossible to get these parts reworded so this is why they need to be right in the beginning.

yes, we cannot rely on 'good will' and hope they do the right thing by dd. Dh and I moderately horrified but just really really grateful for all of your advice so we can fight this one before it is 'set in stone' so to speak. It is very cleverly worded to look good but we totally vague and open to interpretation. Bastards.

We've had to fight for every single thing for the last 4 years, don't know why we thought they would suddenly come good now . I've been chatting to my friends dh who is a primary school Head teacher and he has been really useful at letting me know how a school would interpret that statement if the received it as it is.

yes, he said they would probably try to give the hours to dd but would not consider employing someone for that purpose but would make up the hours from existing TAs in the school who wanted more hours so could end up with quite a few different people. To be fair we just had a quick chat but I'm going to drop off a copy to him tomorrow to have a better look at.

We have a meeting with the LEA special needs lot this coming tuesday. We have gone through the statement, made a list of what needs changing and then have gone through all of the reports (Ed psych, physio etc) to highlight their support for the changes we have requested.

For example - statement mentions physio/OT very vaguely "dd will benefit from physio/ot". Physio/OT report states dd needs minimum of 10 mins/day physio and 10 mins/day OT.

I have no idea how they will respond but we are not going to give up that easily.