son been 'statemented' now what?

the_missis

After approximately 18 months of sheer hard work my son of 6 (nearly 7) has been statemented. But what happens now?

Initially, I raised concerns about how 'far' behind he was compared to other children. Later the school recognised my opinions and started the process of the IEPs etc. He has seen has seen an educational psychologist and they have said he has difficulties with storing short term memory to long term. He has not long learnt to spell his name and can barely read or write. He has been receiving 1:1 support at school for about a year now on a daily basis.

All this is great but what is the positives of being statemented? The school mentioned being given a laptop which is all good however, how can this sustain his learning? Is all this hard work just so he can have a laptop!? What else can be achieved?

emg

Your child should get some one-to-one adult support to work on their areas of difficulty (e.g. during literacy). It usually says this in the statement (although they are all worded a bit differently depending on where you live).

Have a look at this advice leaflet as you read through the statement and it should help make things clearer.

the_missis

hi thankyou

My son has been receiving one to one support daily for many months now; it originally started as a couple of times a week. He has only (this week) been statemented but i cannot see what else can be done.

Will have a look at your link thanks

Nicki

The statement should spell out in detail the extra help he will be getting from now on. If it isn't in the statement, he can't be guaranteed of getting it.

As for the kind of thing he should be getting, this will have been part of the negotiations of the statementing process. It would have started with recommendations by the EP, then you would have been sent a draft of thr statement to agree, then once you agreed the draft it would have gone to panel to agree the funding. It's a bit late once all this has been done to start thinking about what you wanted included in the statement! The whole point of having a multi stage process is to get parental input throughout. Were you not advised by a parental advice centre how to handle the process and what sorts of things you should be considering before the statement was finalized?

slummymummyof3

He could be entitled to extra time and/or a scribe or reader in his SATS (and future exams in secondary school) Statements also provide the school with extra funding to provide the extra support required for the child.

JC9297

Nicki wrote: »

The statement should spell out in detail the extra help he will be getting from now on. If it isn't in the statement, he can't be guaranteed of getting it.

As for the kind of thing he should be getting, this will have been part of the negotiations of the statementing process. It would have started with recommendations by the EP, then you would have been sent a draft of thr statement to agree, then once you agreed the draft it would have gone to panel to agree the funding. It's a bit late once all this has been done to start thinking about what you wanted included in the statement! The whole point of having a multi stage process is to get parental input throughout. Were you not advised by a parental advice centre how to handle the process and what sorts of things you should be considering before the statement was finalized?

I agree with what you say, although as I'm sure you are aware that unless you really push them to specify exactly what and how much support the child should get, LAs will try to getaway with vague, wishy-washy wording (this is where the support of an organisation like Parent Partnership is invaluable as many parents don't realise the importance of this).

rachbc

The statement should set out exactly what the problems are and how the school plans to adress them, depending on the level of the Statement the school might get extra funding to provide additional support - but this isn't the case with every statement. He should also get an IEP (Individual Education Plan) from the teacher detailing tragets, progress, how and by whom support will be given etc.

caz72me

I am about to go through the process of getting my son statemented as he has ADHD/Autism syndrome mix, the school explained to me that it would not mean anything different in the support he is getting at the moment as he has a dedicated teaching assistant to help him stay on task and keep level headed and this is what he needs, so they are already providing the correct support but if the statement states that this 1:1 support is required as an ongoing thing then the school will be required to carry on providing this and also secondary school when he moves up there in 20 months, I'm personally hoping it will ensure a smoother transition and that I don't have to worry at the end of each summer term whether the school can afford to give him the individual support, which they cannot guarantee at the moment.

soupdragon10

Don't forget that the statement should be reviewed regularly, and if you think there are things which are either not being put in place, or which would help but aren't part of the statement then there is this opportunity to go revisit.

The statement is not set in stone, as the help children and young people need will change over time.

Having a statement also means that transitions both between schools and when children leave school should be well planned and discussed with parents and all the other agencies involved. This is particularly important if young people leaving school (I know this is a way off) are going on to college, as there are systems in place to make sure relevant support needs are outline to the college.

debtfreenewbie

A statement doesnt help you just mainly the school as they get more funding.If you feel he is getting the right help then the school is doing ok. My son has adhd and asd and he is not statemented,the people think he is getting enough support which he is so we are happy.
It is such a fight to get any help and their is not enough support for us or the child available.
Hope the situation improves for you both.