Thursday 22 February 2007

Another crafty day....errrr...NOT!!!

I rang LEA today to check if they had recieved DDs last OT report as they needed to shortly make a decision as whether or not to statement her!!! WELL. the good new is that they have decided "Well of course, you and I both know that X needs a statement!" Waaay hayyy at last, the penny has dropped, someone, somewhere has finally seen sense. BUT and it's a big but, they also have decided that she would be best provided in a specialist educations setting!! OK- let's put this into perspective, we have a 5 year old girl with DS who last year was capable of being thrown into a mainstream school with no statement, no additional classroom support and no staff training or knowledge to meet her needs. Now they are saying that "the powers and knowledge of the LEA" feel a SN School would suit her best. I am not saying DD is some undiscovered genius BUT she is fairly on par with a few other children I know with DS, in MS school, with support (from the start) and who are coping very well at this level of their education. I at least wanted to give her the opportunity to have a fair stab at mainstream, even if it's only for a couple of years- research has shown that this really benefits children with DS as they can copy appropriate role models!!! The LEA then go on to say that she has been given 15 hours a week! ( The other children I know in MS are getting 25-30hours!) I am feeling sooo mixed up. If I accept the 15 hours, the final statement can be approved and "legally" ( for what that's worth?) the school will need to put the provision in place straight away! If I reject it, then it obviously means DD has to continue with no support while I appeal and go to tribunal if necessary!!!! HELP.......why oh why is this happening, they have already wasted so much time she just cannot afford to spare! Sorry for rant, this was supposed to be a "free day" full of lovley relaxing crafty stuff!

No comments: