Helen Posted February 19, 2003 Posted February 19, 2003 We have just gone through the statementing process for a child with Autistic Spectrum Disorder, and our nursery has been named on the statement. Prior to this, we were receiving funding to help pay for a learning support assistant to work with this little boy. I have been told by the early years service that this funding will not now come from them as the child has had a statement issued. The LEA don't seem to be able to respond to my questions about where the funding will now come from. Has anybody been through the statementing process and can shed light on this?
Guest Posted March 21, 2003 Posted March 21, 2003 Helen Why did you not ask me this before?!!! I can probably find info like this out from work and find some names of playgroups who have had statemented children before. Ithink ther's one in Hassocks called an oppurtunity playgroup. Give me a nudge in the week and I'll see what I can find out. Kate (Sally's mum) PS there's a playgroup in Lewes that I'm sure had a statemented child of fa friend of mine.
Helen Posted March 26, 2003 Author Posted March 26, 2003 Thanks Kate Any info. would be very welcome, because the Early Years Service (where the funding used to come from) has now "signed off!"
Guest Posted October 16, 2003 Posted October 16, 2003 Hi there What a difficult situation for you! Surely funding should now come from your LEA and I think you should keep on at them to provide for the child.( Easier said than done!) What about getting help from your pre-school/nursery advisor? My own child was statemented six weeks before starting school and I was told he would have to leave pre-school and go to an LEA approved nursery for that short length of time in order to qualify for the funding - utter madness! After numerous frantic phone calls we found out that in our case the Early Years Service had already budgeted for my son to receive funding from them until he went to school regardless of whether he was statemented. I don't think my situation has shed any light on how to deal with your problem except that things can work out in the end. Best of luck mousebat
Helen Posted October 16, 2003 Author Posted October 16, 2003 Hi Mousebat, Thanks for your support Eventually, the powers that be at County Hall SEN Department did pay up I seem now to be in dispute with certain members of the learning support service who disagree with nursery-aged children going through the statutory assessment process at all. The argument seems to be that if we didn't have all the bureaucracy surrounding the process, getting professionals to fill in assessment forms for the child concerned and so on, the money saved could then be allocated to the child, in the setting itself. A lovely philosophy, but nothing is in place for that to happen, is it? I contacted the two heads of the schools where our statemented children are, to check if I did the right thing getting a statement for these children. They agreed unreservedly, stating that they received more money as a result. I'm therefore going to stick my neck out again, and request a statutory assessment for another little boy who has already been diagnosed by his paediatrician as ASD. I can't see why he shouldn't get extra funding to provide 1-1 support when he starts in reception. Without it, neither he nor his future class teacher could cope. Inclusion is a wonderful thing, but it HAS to be suitably funded. It's unfair and impractical to expect class teachers with occasional ancillary support to cope with such children. Sorry, I do believe this is my first soap-box rant!
Guest Posted October 18, 2003 Posted October 18, 2003 Hi Helen I'm glad everything turned out for the best....in the end! But boy do the authorities make you work hard for something you're entitled to. Don't worry about 'ranting' it was just a case of 'letting off steam' and I hoped it helped. Checking up on the 'special needs' children after they have gone to school is important so you can say to yourself "we did the right thing" and it makes all the hard work worthwhile. This is not how I initially felt after my son started school. He was entitled to 17 hours of 1:1 a week and ended up just sharing the Teaching Assistant with the rest of the class. I spent the whole of the summer term wondering if I'd done the right thing sending him to a mainsream school. Since September he has his own dedicated 1:1 for 21 hours and he is blooming! I think the moral of my story is to fight for what your entitled to, stick your neck out and make a (polite) fuss because no one is going to hand your entitlements to you on a plate! There - thats my rant for the day! ( and I do feel much better for it) mousebat
Guest Jillbetts Posted February 7, 2004 Posted February 7, 2004 within my job I seem to come up with what is needed and what is possible. Why is this so, if a child needs help they need help now and not months down the line. Something is wrong somewhere. I think too many people in too many buildings and not in the workplace
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