[SENco-forum] RE: Support from BECTA

Sadly, there are LEAs/ Children's Services that are poor on delivery.
I have sat in a room full of Headteachers being addressed by the Assistant
Education Officer for their LEA and heard the Asst Director proudly
announce: 

"We have got the SEN budget under control, now when one child receives a
statement another one drops off the list."

I did heckle at that point, as it made my blood boil, that this bureaucrat
was driving a coach and horses through the Legislation and the Code of
Practice but not one Headteacher in the audience had the courage to
challenge him.  So my conclusion is that schools in this particular LEA were
prepared to be complicit in local decisions that were clearly not needs led.

Colin Redman
SEN Marketing

-----Original Message-----
From: senco-forum-bounces at lists.becta.org.uk
[mailto:senco-forum-bounces at lists.becta.org.uk] On Behalf Of
SEN at tringham.net
Sent: 24 October 2006 10:57
To: KngBrndn at aol.com; Becta Senco
Subject: RE: [SENco-forum] RE: Support from BECTA

I knew you would know. It just makes me mad when LEA are complicit in the
first instance of not allocating what a child needs.  After months or years
of fighting parents are just relieved to hear that they have got a statement
and it can make them blind to how little is being offered or accepting it
because it seems so much more that the child has had in the past.

The LEA official asked us point blank why we were so adamant that our child
has a statement and the bottom line is that without one I wouldn't even be
facing an LEA official asking that question.  It does give the child and
parents a modicum of control.  The fact that Statements are costly is as
much due to LEA or other inter agency involvement/mismanagement that mostly
seems to revolve around who shouldn't pay.

I can see why LEA's would like to do away with the process.
I have had a 2 hour transfer meeting involving 12 people (???????) Head, EP,
LEA (2) existing/new LSA's, 2 SENco's, SpLD tutor, class tutor, both parents
(one the SEN Governor) and the child.  It took up the whole music room and
had a meditative moment as the EP turned to my daughter and asked her to
score out of 10 how she felt about her ability to learn, both prior and
after her additional support followed by where she would like to be next
year.  The extremely puzzled child picked the appropriate 2/3, 5/6 & 7/8.
Ommmm! He then pronounce the statement to be working and that we could get
on with transfer arrangements.

I could have managed this perfectly well in 1/2 an hour with the new school
SENco alone.

Thanks
Sharon Tringham

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A statement can be amended at any time at the LAs discretion...