Statements and Special Needs Schools..

Replies

By Tricia

Re: Statements and Special Needs Schools..
Sat 29 Dec 2007 10:10

Hello Marion

First may I say sorry to hear that you are having to fight when you should not have to fight for your daughter's educational needs.

I live in the north east and yes I have experienced excellent service from both social services and the local educational authority. However, I also know of parents who have had to struggle like yourself to get themselves heard.

You should have access to an Independant Parental Supporter (IPS) through a Parent Parnternship Officer. This should of been offered to you as support when you first placed your daughter in the educational system where you live now. However, again this is often overlooked and if you are not aware of it many authorities are willing to oversee this as forgotten to provide information.

You should be able to contact an IPS through your local council or if you contact your Local Educational Authority they should give you the relevant contact details.

Even if you have your daughters needs sorted you can get an IPS to provide support when reviews come up and the more people you have the more voices to be heard on your behalf, also if your Mother is able to come along with you at the same time.

An IPS is a volunteer who is independant from the system. Most cases a volunteer will be someone who has experience through being a parent of the education system along with getting extra training so they are updated on the procedures such as School Action, School Action Plus and then the statement route.

Also for those who find themselves in a similar situation where they have come from a good system. Before moving request that the people who have been involved in your child's life to contact the authorities in the area which you are moving to. Then they will have all the relavant details of your child's needs. As this does not always happen request copies of your Child's records so you are able to take them with you personally

Good luck and take care

By Marion28

Re: Statements and Special Needs Schools..
Sat 29 Dec 2007 10:18

Thanks for your help.

Its good to know there are people out there who are willing to point us in the right direction - I will get onto that as soon as possible.

The special needs school were talking about inclusion but I am not keen on it - I wouldnt put my other children into two seperate schools at the same time so why would I want to do that for my eldest.
Some of the professionals seem to think she is more normal than what she actually is - however they only spend half an hour on one day looking at her - and unluckily if she having a good day they dont get a real account of how demanding she is.
I appreciate they want her to do well - but the attitude down here seem's to be they want to push the children hard to do the very best - and in the north - they just accepted the childs individual capabilities and wanted her to the best she could not push her to do something she couldnt do.

Id rather she was happy and not pressured - as she has enough problems without being expected to do things she cannot do. The mainstream middle school told me - academically there is no way she can achieve what is expected of her.

By Tricia

Re: Statements and Special Needs Schools..
Sat 29 Dec 2007 13:22

I know this is easier said than done but try and keep a diary of your daughter's daliy life. How she reacts to certain situations, how she is able to understand instructions and any other behaviour which you feel may benefit in those assessing your daughter need to know. Also ask those who work with her on a daily basis in an education setting if they will give you a report of her ability in class also if she is involved with any other activities out of school get them to write a report. These reports could also express concerns about as you have previously mentioned in not being able to cope in mainstream education settings in Senior/High school.

A report could be only a paragraph or so just to support how she reacts in certain environments.

Hope this is of help and please my previous post is of some help too. If you need any more help regarding your daughters education please post on here and i will do my best to seek information for you

take care

By tired lady

Re: Statements and Special Needs Schools..
Sun 6 Jan 2008 22:25

ive been through the statement of special needs process twice now for my eldest autistic sons and will be starting the process for my third autistic son this year. Im dreading it. My 2 sons are now in a special school together but it was a fight to get it to happen. I do not agree with inclusion in mainstream. from my experience it does not work. I never wanted any of my children to go into mainstream. My eldest son was put in a autism unit attached to a mainstream school. the unit was good but the mainstream was not. I fought and was refused several times but eventually the education board agreed to transfer him.
My youngest is only three and already it has been suggest he will be put in mainstream. I dont care what i have to do. He is going to a special school.

By Marion28

Re: Statements and Special Needs Schools..
Tue 8 Jan 2008 16:24

Fight for it - it will be worth it and eventually I got them to take my preference into account and when they bothered to investigate more they decided my daughter did need to be in a special needs school. Im sure you will get there eventually.

By tired lady

Re: Statements and Special Needs Schools..
Wed 9 Jan 2008 00:11

its hard to believe that the goverment still believe inclusion is a good idea.
ive met t.a who do not get support from the rest of the school. it seem these schools think that having one staff member with experience in special needs is enough.
ive met teachers who had the attitude that if i wanted to work with special needs i would have done.
my sons old unit had funding of £100 for the year to keep it running. what does that get.
there are even mainstream schools in this area who believe they have no special needs children. Even though it can be clearly seen.
the children get bullied. My son was called a freak in front of me. it was horrible

By Marion28

Re: Statements and Special Needs Schools..
Thu 10 Jan 2008 10:49

I really feel for you - my daughter who is mosaic downs syndrome - was lucky where she is the other children all love her - but I told them I know when she moves onto the older school - if it was mainstream she is definitely going to get bullied - she has a lot of absences throughout the day and is in nappies and cannot dress, she does look different and walk different to children her age and is also very small with the mental age of 4 at 7.... I do not want inclusion although it has been suggested. I wouldnt put my youngest (who is fit and healthy and well) into two different schools so why should I put my disabled child into two different schools. - They say they think inclusion in mainstream will bring her on... I dont think it makes any difference at all.
As for my son who has asperger's and ADD, and epilepsy - he got bullied in his last school so I can sympathise with you - even in his new mainstream school he still gets bullied a little - but his teachers are fantasic and he gets school action plus aswell as play therapy and see's a behavioural specialist at his school.

By wolfman

Re: Statements and Special Needs Schools..
Thu 10 Jan 2008 14:02

For most of my working life, I have worked with children with Special Educational Needs, mainly in special schools, but recently for 7 years in the Special Educational Needs department of a mainstream secondary school.

My experience is that if a child has an almost invisible disability such as autism/aspergers, then that child may be subject to teasing/bullying.

However, those with a more obvious disability such as Downs Syndrome, are taken into the fold and protected and helped by all.

I feel this is "fear of the unknown" by the other pupils - so maybe more education for pupils about disabilities would be beneficial.

By Marion28

Re: Statements and Special Needs Schools..
Thu 10 Jan 2008 16:07

Sophie has Mosaic Downs Syndrome

By lizzie_T

Re: Statements and Special Needs Schools..
Fri 18 Jan 2008 22:22

I write too much I shall try to be brief. The 1971 Education Act declared that children - they were refered to then as ESN SESN - when for the first time they were taken out of hosital accommodation and put into Special Schools. A triumph. I was a County Councillor then. One Education Committee Chairman declared that ''we should not spend money on these children because they cannot give anything back to society'' and I was so horrified you would not believe. The youngest Member, a mother of very small children, I said that that was not the purpose of education and that if children learned nothing more than how to care for themselves they would have some independence and we were there to care for those who could not do so themselves. In 1975 came Local Governmenr Reorganisation, and the beginnings of the Statement System, and here we are thirty years later and you are still suffering. I went to a PH school myself and the teachers there sent me back to primary to take the 11 plus and I passed and went to the Grammar School, though it was not easy, so I took a special interest in special schools and was governor of many and Chairman of a few of them. It is almost impossible to believe that one of my biggest fights was to get seat belts and wheelchair anchor points in the Minibus of the Disabled school. In1979/80 began an experiement to integrate disabled children into main stream schools, because some would benefit from this on both sides. Sometimes other children need to live among children with Special Needs to help them understand in adulthood that when they work, some of their income will be used to help others. The problem then was that only one secondary school would agree, and that meant bussing disabled children long distances and tiring them. I do not know what happens now. I have been out of that since 1982 but am appaulled that the same problems we had then are happening now (except that now we have laws about seatbelts). It was a hard struggle for young mothers who stood for local elections 35 years ago and sad that there are still problems.