[senco-forum] the bogey man

Its a relief to hear we are not the only ones having to eat last

Who are Freddie and Saw?  Jill
On 4 Dec 2006, at 19:05, pam wrote:

> Its a relief to hear we are not the only ones having to eat last  
> year's Xmas pudding (turning it into ice cream actually)  -  as  
> this years has just arrived with the mother in law
>
> I too was devasted to hear there is no Jason - I had him dark  
> haired as well as young and good looking, and obviously very talented.
>
> (sorry Brian - I do not mean to make light of your issues!)
>
> Pam
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "brian hepburn"  
> <hepburnbrian at hotmail.com>
> To: <senco-forum at lists.becta.org.uk>
> Sent: Sunday, December 03, 2006 8:52 PM
> Subject: [senco-forum] the bogey man
>
>
>> Team
>>
>> You've all been watching too many horror films, haven't you?  
>> There's somebody waiting inside that dark room to get you. But  
>> it's not Jason, Freddie or Saw, it's the LA!
>>
>> The LA jumps on you just as you're turning your childlike,  
>> innocent faces up to the light of resources,funding, recognition,  
>> appreciation or whatever else you're hoping for. (I know, it's a  
>> preposition at the end of a sentence, sue me!) The only way you  
>> can cater for the little lambs is to get more money from the LA,  
>> but will she co-operate? No, she's going to leap out when you  
>> least expect it and TURN YOU DOWN!
>>
>> Why? Obviously because she enjoys torturing you. The LA hates all  
>> children, schools and especially SENCOs. She will do whatever she  
>> can to destroy you.  She is never happier than when she can suck  
>> all the joy from your lives by saying no. She knows that without  
>> her, you'll never be able to meet the needs of those pathetic  
>> scraps of children. And she laughs her evil laugh every time she  
>> says no, because she gets so much masochistic pleasure from the  
>> your pain.
>>
>> Deep breath, Brian.
>>
>> OK, I've calmed down a bit now.
>>
>> I've worked in SEN depts, I've worked with SENCOs in a LA support  
>> service, I'm now on the dark side working as an SEN officer. I've  
>> seen the SEN process from all sides. (I'm a parent and worked with  
>> parents of kids with SEN)
>>
>> Just like there's no such thing as Jason, there is no such thing  
>> as the LA. It's a bunch of people, who mostly sit in an office and  
>> make decisons based on the paperwork schools send them and balance  
>> that against the Code of Practice and pressure from  
>> government .Believe it or not, they mostly (I don't know them all)  
>> have the children's best interests at heart.
>>
>> It's not their fault your head won't spend the SEN part of the  
>> formula on SEN. It's not their fault that you don't even know what  
>> the SEN budget is. It's not their fault that, particularly in  
>> secondary schools, the kids are taught with no regard to the  
>> statement. It's not their fault that the 10 hrs provision is used  
>> to support whatever size group/class the kid is in, rather than  
>> the kid personally. It's not their fault that advice and support  
>> provided by LA support teams is ignored or not acted upon.
>>
>> You want to listen to the parents who ring them, at their wits end  
>> because the school won't listen to the parents' concerns?  
>> Particularly when they know, since LMS, that the LA has no power  
>> and so can't make schools act on those concerns.
>>
>> Ah, yes, there are always 2 sides to a story. In this case it's at  
>> least 4. Kid, parent, school, LA. And what's the easiest reaction  
>> when everyone's frustrated and tired? Let's get angry. Let's start  
>> blaming someone else.
>>
>> I can see exactly why SEN becomes a battlefield. It's a microcosm  
>> of education. Thatcher and Baker turned education into a  
>> battlefield in the mid 80s. Since then, any tinpot politician or  
>> Daily Mail editor has used education to score cheap points. The  
>> effect has been to create sides, to perpetuate the blame culture  
>> and to stop us all seeking out the real culprits.
>>
>> And we fall for it. We fight amongst ourselves.
>>
>> I give up. I'm going to help finish the bottle of Merlot. I'm  
>> going to eat last year's Xmas pudding (to make room in the  
>> cupboard for this year's lot) and take my last chance to watch I'm  
>> a Celeb for another year. (How do I live without Myleene in her  
>> white bikini?)
>>
>> Have fun with the fighting
>>
>> Brian
>>
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