[senco-forum] Writing to a head about rights to withdraw

Hi Mark -- from Brendan -- you can guess what my advice

Thank you for this Brendan. So just to clarify:

Your advice would be that this parent should write to the
head making a request for statutory assessment. Perhaps she
should also raise concerns about 2 MFLs and suggest that she
would hope that the statement would say 1 MFL.

Then when she is asked for parental advice/contribution she
should bring up all her worries including the MFL issue.

My concerns would be that the LA decide not to make a
statutory assessment (the school may well choose not to make
a very good case for one) and also that the child will have
to cope with the full curriculum (including 2 MFL) during
the 6 month wait for a statement.

----- Original Message -----
From: KngBrndn at aol.com
To: webmaster at aylesburyvale-sec.bucks.sch.uk,
senco-forum at lists.becta.org.uk
Subject: Re: [senco-forum] Writing to a head about rights to
withdraw
Date: 04-Jul-2006 16:56:01 +0100

> Hi Mark  -- from Brendan -- you can guess what my advice
> is -- but  before  that -- I am in the middle of a very
> similar case - Yr 8 in  high performing  voluntary aided
> school -- similar in type of pupil cohort  to that of a
> grammer.  Child is dyslexic -- bright but 4/5 years behind
> in all  literacy and language  skills -- high ability in
> nonverbal / low avarage in  verbal (WISC  abbreviated
> assessment). Parent requested an assessment when child 
> was in Yr 7 -- was  refused -- but LA was persuaded to
> assess once an appeal  was lodged. Child now  has a
> proposed statement and has been offered  substantial
> additional support  and recognition of virtually all needs
> in the  statement. We are still  negotiating for
> specialist tuition and direct ongoing  intervention by a
> SALT.
>  
> Withdrawal from MFL can be specified in the statement --
> and the decision   rests on wider advice than that of the
> Head or school staff -- and parents views 
>  are significantly more influential within an assessment
> and statementing   process. My advice is for the parent to
> act now before it is too late -- get a   good statement
> specifying all needs and provision -- including specialist
>   tuition -- before GCSE's are embarked upon. Parent
> should make an immediate   request in writing to the LA
> for a statutory assessment and use the appeal   process if
> refused an assessment or specific / quantified statemented
>  provision.
>  
> As you will know with your depth of experience -- it is
> more  neccessary to  have statemented protected provision
> in a school lacking  expertise or  understanding of the
> needs of SpLD type children -- than  even in a secondary
> modern  with experience of all types of literacy and
> language  difficulties. Parent can  take this action and
> continue to support  school staff and child's placement 
> -- no need for parents and school to fall out  over a
> statement request -- it  supports the school as well as
> the child. These  types of schools have limited 
> experience and management back up for addressing 
> dyslaexia and literacy  difficulties -- not blaming them
> -- the issues are  complex. But they should  welcome the
> external advice and expertise that can be  triggered by
> having a  statemented dyslexic student in the school. And
> this  child, with the tuition to  match her learning style
> , may well assist them to top  the league tables. Brendan
> 
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> 

--
Mark Norwood
www.avssc.org

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