SOS!SEN walk-in advice centres

• THORNTON HEATH
  Normally the first Monday of each month - click HERE for full details
  The Salvation Army, 66 High Street, Thornton Heath, Surrey CR7 8LF
• ALDERSHOT
  Normally the first Tuesday of each month - click HERE for full details
  The Games Shop (opposite Costa Coffee), 6 Wellington Street, Aldershot, Hants GU11 1DZ
• TWICKENHAM
  Normally the third Wednesday of each month - click HERE for full details
  Electroline House, 15 Lion Road, Twickenham, TW1 4JH

SOS!SEN information sheets

• CHOOSING A SCHOOL Finding the right school is not easy, as children’s needs vary enormously. Here are some useful guidelines on the differences between mainstream, special and specialist schools, and on the issues you should consider when searching for the right placement for your child.
• STATUTORY ASSESSMENT About the assessment, who can apply, the process, the criteria for deciding to issue a statement, and what to do if your local authority refuses to assess.
• STATEMENTS The composition and wording of a statement, what should and should not be in it, and advice on how to negotiate with your local authority.
• HOW TO CHECK A STATEMENT. Advice and help on how to go through a proposed or proposed amended statement to challenge the wording, either direct with your LA or using the Tribunal service.
• ANNUAL REVIEWS About the annual review, what it is for, and advice on how to get organized in preparation for it.
• IEPs What are IEPs? Here’s a checklist of what to look out for and a simple explanation of how to get the best out of the system. At the end of the checklist are good and bad examples of an IEP.
• APPEALING TO THE SENDIS TRIBUNAL The procedure of making an appeal, what you need in preparation, and what happens at the Tribunal hearing.
• HOW TO WRITE REASONS FOR APPEAL Advice on how to write your reasons for appeal against an SEN decision.
• JUDICIAL REVIEW How judicial review can be used to force a local authority to comply with the law – for example, in cases of a school not conforming to Part 3 of a statement, failure to provide school transport, unlawful exclusion, refusal to amend a statement after clear recommendations at an annual review, etc.
• LEGAL AID Types of Legal Aid, eligibility and where to find an on-line calculator.
• CHALLENGING A TRIBUNAL DECISION How and why to consider challenging a decision, timescales for appeals, and summaries of some useful case law.

Useful tips for parents

• Local authorities often suggest that parents should be grateful for whatever support their child is receiving. Remember you are not fortunate at all, if your child is not getting what they really need in order to make adequate progress.
• Consider periodically whether your child’s needs have changed and whether the initial assessments are still accurate. Remember that, although statements may be changed by local authorities, the appendices upon which they were originally based may be hopelessly out of date.
• If you have any doubts about your child’s continuing needs or provision for them, seek advice at once.
• Keep copies of all correspondence sent and received.
• Make detailed written notes of all conversations (including telephone ones) with local authority officers and other interested persons, and confirm in writing what has been agreed.
• Do not go to meetings alone. Take a partner or friend to make notes.
• Remember that parents and children have rights under the Data Protection Act 1998 to receive from a school and/or local authority a full set of records concerning their children - including copies of emails, notes of phone calls and meetings, etc. It costs £10 and although there may be up to a 40-day wait it’s worth it. Write to the head teacher and/or the council’s chief executive in the first instance, referring to the Act. The information can be invaluable for someone appealing at Tribunal. It is amazing what can be unearthed and what you might discover is missing!
• When considering a school recommended by your local authority, ask whether it is designated and set up to meet your child’s particular special needs. You may be told that special training programmes are under way. If so, check carefully whether and what they are. You may also be told that the school is a “Centre of Excellence”. Is it? If not, can your child wait for it to become one?
• Above all, be persistent. Don’t take “no” for an answer. And watch out for “weasel words” from local authorities. They are often an attempt to get round the legal position or SEN Code of Practice. Beware of any or all of the following:


• Well, the legislation/the courts/the Code of Practice are all very well, but here in Nutshire we have our own way of doing things.
• That’s nothing to do with us - it’s up to the health authority/the school.
• We don’t put into the statement what the school is going to provide.
• There’s no point in putting it in Part 3 because the NHS can provide it under Part 6.
• We’ve never done/heard/seen that before.
• That can be looked at during the annual review.
• We need to keep some flexibility.
• That can be included in your child’s IEP.
• You know, you really are rather fortunate to get so much help. You wouldn’t get that amount in another local authority.
• That would be a very suitable school for your child.
• We must tell you about all the exciting work and training programmes in place in the school.
• With all the investment we are making, it will become a ‘Centre of Excellence’.

How to obtain...

How to appeal against a SEN decision
The Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal Service (SEND, formally SENDIST) produces a guide for parents and carers. It describes the appeal process and includes an appeal form.
Click on the picture to download a PDF version.

Home to School Travel and Transport Guidance
Find out what travel arrangements to and from school local authorities are obliged to provide, and whether or not your child is eligible for travel assistance.
Click on the picture to download a PDF version

You can download a free copy of Acrobat Reader from the Adobe Website

Adoption allowances

Parents of adopted children with special needs can sometimes be awarded an adoption allowance from their local authority. The rules about these allowances are complex. But if you adopted a child some time ago and it later turned out that the child has an illness, disability, or emotional or behavioural difficulties, resulting in greater expense for the family, you might be able to claim. Local authorities don’t like paying adoption allowances – and try all sorts of tricks to get out of paying them.
The allowance can be worth up to about £125 per week, depending on the age of the child and the family’s financial circumstances. As the family income increases, the value of the allowance reduces (a bit like tax credits) – but some families on moderate/average incomes might find they still qualify for something. The rules about adoption allowances are complex, and local authorities like to keep quiet about the fact that this allowance even exists.
For more information and advice, email marions@sossen.org.uk