[senco-forum] residential

Hello Brendan
  I agree that we should open up the lives of the most difficult children in school and show them what there is beyond the horizon of deprevation and trouble making.  I do this as much as possible.  We send pupils on the same cliff path walks as the others, with pick up points on the way and the possiblity of a lift back if they are too tired, for example.   But our local cliff paths are just not wheelchair accessible so we have to compromise on taking pupils up the road as far as possible then putting them in a car and taking them to the next accessible place.  Not ideal for fieldwork but the only way to manage safely.
  I have sent pupils to excellent wheelchair accessible facilities.  We had a wonderful project called Active 8 at one point.  Anyone know if it still runs?  I've haven't had any pupils who might be appropraite for it for some time.
  To be honest, I worry more about those whose pupils whose behaviour and lack of understanding of danger makes them the pupils staff don't want to risk taking on a trip.

  I know I've had this discussion before about the balance to be made between safety and accessiblity.  As I see it, the trouble with the law as it stands is that you have to be safe at all costs.  An adult can choose to take risks that we daren't take with a child.  And we also have to consider the safety of the group as well.

  Amanda
  Secondary SENCO
  Cornwall
  Ducking again

kngbrndn at aol.com wrote:
    Hi Amanda -- I'm very much aware of a small number of cases where it is virtually impossible to include a disabled child. I am paraplegic and was injured in a rock climbing fall. And my former job included organising many school adventure trips over a 20 year period. So I'm not a theoriatician. In particular I used to include the most dificult children in our school as a way of opening up their lives beyond the horizon of deprivation and trouble making. 

  But there has to be very good, and very exceptional, reasons to come to the conclusion that reasonable adjustments cannot be made to fully include a disabled or difficult to manage child in the full activities of the school. In fact some adventure centres and wild terrain theme parks have their own disabled person rough terrain mobility scooters to enable non ambulant students to take part in rough ground treks. I have an off the road scooter myself and take my 2 dogs walking over hill and dale using it -- with them on leads at the front when they can't be allowed loose.

  I travel on my own in a wheelchair very often on airflights abroad -- and live a very full and active life. It surprises many of my aquaintances as to what I am safely capable of doing. And measured risk is part of liife. It is too easy simply to rule out wheelchair using, or difficult to manage (behaviour wise) children, to save on the extra trouble and / or expense of including such children. 

  And you may not have seen a statement written as I suggest -- but I have -- I've worded them as such for parents going to appeal -- and have always suceeded in getting such justified provision -- wherever professional advice supports the view that this is neccessary to ensure the DDA is not breached. Remember the SENDIST does not only deal with SEN appeals -- but also the DD claims -- and they can combine claims and appeals into one Hearing. The reason you may not have seen such a statement, is that the DDA is still new law -- and LEAs, at the same time, are driving down hard on issuing statements -- or any statements that commit the LEA to any additional funding.

  But I'm saying that this is wrong -- and that parents and schools should not be accepting the demise of effective statemented protection. In fact this protection needs expansion with the advent of the DDA. That you have not seen a statement that effectively ensures all of the required proviison a child requires for academic access and full school inclusion -- proves my point -- that children are being routinely denied their entitlements within the SEN legal framework and DDA legislation -- and that this is a national scandal and should not be accepted by those who claim to advocate on behalf of disabled and SEN chidren.
  Best wishes Brendan KIng   

-----Original Message-----
From: Amanda <amandavh at btinternet.com>
To: kngbrndn at aol.com; BBLANEY at chalvedon-barstable.com; lianetaylor at yahoo.co.uk; senco-forum at lists.becta.org.uk
Sent: Sun, Oct 21 10:57 AM
Subject: RE: [senco-forum] residential

    Hello Brendan
  I completely agree that pupils with SEN should be included in as many school trips as possible and it would be great if Statements did include what you suggest but I've never seen one.
  However, the DDA does allow you to not take a child on a trip if a risk assessment shows it is too dangerous.  See Example 5.17C which is about a child in a wheelchair who cannot go on a 12 mile hike over difficult terrain.  This is, I think, the only time when it would be lawful to exclude a child from a trip.
  However, talking it over with parents is the way I often find a solution to these problems.  
  I also think that we have to all make sure that teachers are going to carry on being willing to take trips.  Union advice is to not do it.  When anything goes wrong, teachers get villified.  The form filling for risk assessments is dreadful.  
  Amanda
  Secondary SENCO
  Cornwall

kngbrndn at aol.com wrote:
  I regret I cannot offer advice that will resolve this child's predicamnet in time for the trip. But this highlights the importance of a statment being provided for such pupils (despite LEAs stating that statements are rarely if ever required now that virtually all funds are devolved / delegated to schools). There is always a Disability Discrimination Act requirement for children with disabilites to be able to take part in all of the school arranged activities. There has to be reasonable adjustments and a principle that no child should be treated less favourably. When the statement is at proposed stage -- parents should insist that provision for trips and residentail / overseas travel is built into the specified wording in Part 3 of the statement -- to ensure the DDA is not breached and that the child is genuinley included within the school in an holistic manner.

For example: "XX will be provided with fulltime (32hrs per week minimum) designated 1:1 TA /LSA support for all curricula and extra curricula activities. Wherever out of school journies, or long stay residential school trips, are available to XX the Authority will arrange full time 1:1 TA, or similar appropriate ancilliary, support to ensure XX can take a full part in these school arranged actiivites and so that the safety and welfare of all those taking part is ensured.". 

Such a high level of LEA supported provision can be well justified since the introduction of the DDA -- which is what it aimed to ensure. I strongly advise that, wherever a child's needs are so high as to require over 10 hrs per week supprt and support for out of school activities -- that parents and school request an assessment and statemented protection for such children -- no matter how the funding is arranged. "Statemented protection" was the phrase used when the legislation was passed -- and it is ever mor relevant today with more severely affected SEN children being placed in under-resourced mainstream schools.   Brendan King 

-----Original Message-----

From: Barbara Blaney 

To: Liane Taylor ; Senco Forum 

Sent: Sun, Oct 21 4:58 AM

Subject: RE: [senco-forum] residential

I understod that you have to factor this likely cost in as you work out the cost per child so it is spread around and you can take the extra support person. It might be that the Governors' have a fund, we recently funded a trip abroad for a pupil who really couldn't afford it - not SEN- and gave it as a bursary which didn't sound like a charity fund to the pupil. Have you spoken to the parents? Proably not a lot of help but the best I can do. Barbara -----Original Message----- From: senco-forum-bounces at lists.becta.org.uk on behalf of Liane Taylor Sent: Sat 10/20/2007 11:12 PM To: Senco Forum Subject: [senco-forum] residential Hi all, Have been off for a while but now I'm back and with a question. What do members suggest about supporting a child with a Statement for Aspergers on a residential abroad when there are no support staff counted in the staff ratio and the cost of adding in someone would be around £700? The child wants to go and school can't afford to fund the extra
 place. Head of Year has appoached me and I'm at a bit of a loss to know how to advise. Anyone else encountered this situation? Thanks, Liane The information transmitted is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain confidential and/or privileged material. If you are not the intended recipient of this message please do not read, copy, use or disclose this communication and notify the sender immediately. You should delete the message and any attachments accompanying it immediately. It should be noted that any review, retransmission, disseminationor other use of, or taking action in reliance upon this information by persons or entities other than the intended recipient is strictly prohibited. Please note that e-mail is not a secure form of communication and where appropriate, you should verify its authenticity by contacting us by telephone or facsimile. Additionally, the recipient is assumed to have full responsibility for the protection
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________________________________________________________________________
Email and AIM finally together. You've gotta check out free AOL Mail! - http://mail.aol.com

Amanda
Secondary SENCO
Cornwall 

---------------------------------
  Email and AIM finally together. You've gotta check out free AOL Mail!

Amanda
Secondary SENCO
Cornwall