[senco-forum] Disability Living Allowance

Strangely enough I was telephoned last week by a charitable organisation

> Strangely enough I was telephoned last week by a charitable organisation
> which represents parents of children with SEN and discovered that one of my
> Year 8 pupil's mother is trying to get disability living allowance for her
> daughter who has, what I think is fairly mild, cerebal palsy - she has
> trouble walking and wears splints but I'm not aware that this causes any
> problems in school and she participates fully.

Remember the DLA assessment criteria have nothing at all to do with
what a child is like at school. Its a Disability LIVING allowance they
are applying and not a Disability SCHOOLING Allowance.

The assessment criteria for this allowance are related to the support
needed at home and NOT when a child is at school -- the latter is
meant to be fully covered by our Statementing system and the COP.
Furthermore at school children tend to get lots of additional support
from peers and from adults they simply don't get at home.

Please don't judge this parent without detailed knowledge of how DLA
works. This would be like a parent criticising a teacher who gets lots
of extra money simply for "crossing the threshold" but in essence
doing what they've always done! ...or because "being a SENCO means a
teacher gets extra points on the management pay spine for just a
tinsey bit of trivial extra admin work"! (not)

David Bowles