Schools

Schools get there SEN funding and training from LEA’s. Many schools can not afford to recognise SEN because they know they won’t get funding for a child’s SEN provision from the LEA. Parents report staff assurances, that their child has no Special Educational Needs and just doesn’t try, or concentrate or alternatively is of low cognitive ability to explain their child’s educational failure. This discourages parents from perusing provision, parents who refuse to accept the establishment view of their child are labelled as unrealistic, and trouble makers.

SENCOs, Parent Partnership Offices, LEA Educational Psychologist, and LEA offices are all trained by the LEA and paid out of the LEA’s budget. Parents need to consider the pay master, in evaluating the advice they are given, and also consider in evaluating that advice and what the advice giver’s experience is. Just how many cases has the advice giver has successfully run to SENDIST [Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal] on parent’s behalf, and how long it has taken?

Examples

1. Mrs A has spent 4 years negotiating with her Local Education Authority, she was told because in desperation, she had funded a specialist independent dyslexia placement herself, that she is not entitled to any provision. We obtained a Statement of Special Educational Needs naming Mrs A’s independent specialist placement in Part 4 of the Statement, with all of the therapeutic provision required set out in Part 3 of the Statement in just 8 months. As the LEA has now agreed to everything that Mrs A wanted, they are funding it and not her.

2. Mrs B’s son is severely autistic and has been placed by the LEA in a specialist 38 week residential setting. Her son was not able to cope with the 38 week placement, which made family life extremely difficult. She had been trying to persuade both the LEA and Social Services to fund a 52 week placement for 10 years. From the time SEN Legal became involved it took 4 months to obtain a 52 week placement.

3. Post 16 transfer, the LEA ceased to maintain Mrs C’s son’s Statement asserting that his needs can be meet in a Local FE College [off the LEA’s budget] 6 months later, following the submission of an Appeal to the SEND Tribunal the LEA conceded without a hearing.