Can anyone please explain to me what a CAF meeting involves?

teabag29

how do i get copies of the reports, do i ask the doctor as i dont have them?

puddy

...................If your child does not make enough progress

If your child does not make enough progress under School Action, their teacher or SEN coordinator (SENCO) should talk to you about asking for advice from other people outside the school. These could include a specialist teacher or a speech and language therapist. This kind of extra help is called School Action Plus.

If the school your child goes to still cannot give your child all the help they need, you or a professional who has been involved with your child can ask for a 'statutory assessment' - a detailed investigation to find out what your child's special educational needs are and what special help your child needs.........................

this is from directgov.uk

how long has she been on SA+? is she making any progress?

travelgran

Does your child show behaviour problems at school? If she doesn't school will not see this as a priority and so will not use their limited EP time. especially if she is already involved with CAHMS. I think that Parent Partnership operates throughout the country. Certainly the workers I was involved with were very persistent, knew all the 'ins and outs' and provided a very supportive service to parents. They also work over the school holiday periods so contact them for help. They should be on your LEA or council website.

teabag29

travelgran wrote: »

Does your child show behaviour problems at school? If she doesn't school will not see this as a priority and so will not use their limited EP time. especially if she is already involved with CAHMS. I think that Parent Partnership operates throughout the country. Certainly the workers I was involved with were very persistent, knew all the 'ins and outs' and provided a very supportive service to parents. They also work over the school holiday periods so contact them for help. They should be on your LEA or council website.

She does seem to be making some progress as she has gone up in her reading. Her behaviour at school is not as bad as at home. She has a jekyl and hyde typr character and changes from mood to mood but when in a nice mood is the most polite helpful girl you could wish to meet. The letter school sent the doctor says she has 72 achievment logs but only 20 behaviour logs.

Allegra

teabag29 wrote: »

If your daughter is self harming (my dd does this but not with knives she headbutts things mostly) and eating issues and you cant dla then theres not much hope for me. Can you not appeal the decision, thats terrible. I hear they are turning down alot of cases though so I dont hold out much hope they will award dd which means I still wont get help with transport. It seems nobody wants to help, they just push it to someone else who then tell me to try someone else who then tell me to try the first person again. By the sounds of others it seems camhs aren't that good either

I don't mean to get you downhearted - I did hear from a lot of parents who applied for DLA on grounds of mental disability that they were turned down in the first instance, but got awarded DLA - sometimes medium of higher - on appeal. It's just that, at the time, I did not have the strength to appeal, and being lucky enough to have a nil hours contract job, I could work only the hours she was at school, meaning that we could manage without the money.

So you could well get it, either straight off, or on appeal

Besides, as things with my DD have changed for the worse since, and I will probably not have a job come September (they are changing contracts to full time shift working, which I can't do), I am seriously considering reapplying myself. Would have done already, probably, if I didn't find the experience so soul-crushing the first time around.... When you set it out on paper, just how bad things are, you tend to lose the will to live !

And then someone goes and says that no, sorry, not disabled enough, you're not getting any help. Argh.

teabag29

Ok could really use some more advice if possible. I wrote quite a strong letter to the senco at dds school today asking why i havent been invited to any reviews and why she doesnt have an IEP. I have since rang the education service for advice and they have informed me that my dd is actually only on school action not school action plus (oooops....it was the head teacher that told me school action plus though). My dd is 12, 13 this year and has a reading age of 7 and is bottom group in all her lessons so surely she should be on school action plus? Anyway the education service said if i'm not happy and i think my dd has special needs i have to put in in writing that i want her statemented. Obviously this would be beneficial for the purpose of getting her transported to school however my question is would this be the best option for her? and also would the education service even consider this as she is making some progress at school?

I also spoke to the school transport dpt who said i'd have to make an application online. I have done this but dont think i'll be successful the questions on it ask
*what level of dla is she on (shes not on any, ive put in an application but been told it will take about 11 weeks for a decision)
*Is she stamented (she isn't)

By the looks of she's not going to be seen as priority. I have also rang parent partnership to see if they can advise me or accompany me to the caf but no reply as of yet.

teabag29

anyone????

jog

Hi Teabag,

I'm not sure what part of the country you are in but I would suggest you talk to a parent support advisor in your local area.

In Wiltshire we have an organisation called ASK Wiltshire and they provide all sorts of info and support for children and families, as part of this they have special advisors who are able to support you with SEN issues and will help when applying for Statements and will help you with filling in all the paperwork / writing the correct letters etc.

When I went through this with my son we had someone who visited me at home and went through all our concerns with us and supported us through the whole process.

They are independent of the local authority and so are there to look at what is in the best interests of the child, rather than the budget or how many Ed Psych referrals have been made this term etc.

If it was suggested that your daughter might have ADHD but was too young to diagnose, then I'd definatly ask for a Community Paediatrician referral for a full assessment to be done to see if you can now get a clearer diagnosis.

Good Luck

Jog

peachyprice

teabag29 wrote: »

Yes she had an IEP at primary but we moved house to be near family (different county) at the end of May last year and the primary school assured me they would pass the paperwork on asap. She was only at the primary school in this county for a few months then secondary school so its only just been established by her teacher shes on the register. I have been badgering them for ages about it though.

It sounds like you and your DD have been let down alot along the way, I suppose it's out of sight, out of mind as far as the primary schools were concerned. Perhaps after the holidays you can contact them and find out exactly what they have done with her files, and phone the senco at her current school to find out exactly what paperwork they do have for her.

peachyprice

teabag29 wrote: »

Ok could really use some more advice if possible. I wrote quite a strong letter to the senco at dds school today asking why i havent been invited to any reviews and why she doesnt have an IEP. I have since rang the education service for advice and they have informed me that my dd is actually only on school action not school action plus (oooops....it was the head teacher that told me school action plus though). My dd is 12, 13 this year and has a reading age of 7 and is bottom group in all her lessons so surely she should be on school action plus? Anyway the education service said if i'm not happy and i think my dd has special needs i have to put in in writing that i want her statemented. Obviously this would be beneficial for the purpose of getting her transported to school however my question is would this be the best option for her? and also would the education service even consider this as she is making some progress at school?

I also spoke to the school transport dpt who said i'd have to make an application online. I have done this but dont think i'll be successful the questions on it ask
*what level of dla is she on (shes not on any, ive put in an application but been told it will take about 11 weeks for a decision)
*Is she stamented (she isn't)

By the looks of she's not going to be seen as priority. I have also rang parent partnership to see if they can advise me or accompany me to the caf but no reply as of yet.

The fact that she is progressing somewhat is not a reason for her not to be on SA+, she's still well below the level she should be at and will need special attention.

There will be times where she should be taken out of the main classes, i.e maths & english to be taught in a small group with other children who are struggling, but without being on SA+ or having a statement this will not happen, if she's on SA targets will only be given to her normal class teachers with no additional support.

The higher up the SA/statement chain she goes the more resources will be allocated to her, so yes, ideally you would want her statemented, it makes the whole thing official and not just down to the school to administer.

Has your GP ever referred her to your Child Development Centre for assessment? If not, ask him to.