My feed
Premium

Please
or
to access all these features

Here are some suggested organisations that offer expert advice on special needs.

SN children

Statemented One to one hours

17 replies

LornieLoola · 03/02/2013 10:39

My 3 year old son has recently received his statement for special needs (just waiting for the final version to come through after accepting the draft) and in it he was given provision for 15 hours a week one to one care. This is what was requested - I work evenings so he goes for his free allocated hours, and he also stays for lunch club 4 days a week to try and help him with his feeding (19 hours a week total, we top up the fees)

However, he goes to preschool 51 weeks of the year, not just term time. This is to give me a break, as he is a difficult child to cope with at times, I have a newborn so to spend time with him, and also as he likes order and routine and can't understand why he wouldn't be attending on the other 13 weeks of the year.

The inclusion officer for the borough visited him on Thursday and told me he can't attend during non term time now, as there is a legal document saying he needs one to one care whilst in the school setting.

Is this correct? Surely its our choice as parents to send him when the provision is not there? What if I worked, would he have got 37 hours a week one to one care? I intensely dislike the inclusion officer, she is patronising and doesn't think there is anything wrong with my son - obviously it's so easy to get a statement when the child is "fine" aren't I lucky.

Any help or advice would be gratefully received. I don't want to take him out at non term time (we pay for this obviously) as he loves going. It's a lot quieter during the holidays and he enjoys the peace and gets a lot of attention anyway.

OP posts:
Report
bjkmummy · 03/02/2013 10:59

i dont really know the answer to this but im guessing its purely down to money - ie the LA will only pay for the term time hours. And i can partly understand this but that doesnt mean that i think they are right. You have my sympthay re sen officer - i have a similar experience.

If you are saying that he needs to attend outside of termtime hours and the nursery state that he needs 1:1 you may have to try and see if social services will pick up the tab for the one to one.

I honestly do not know the answer so I would suggest you take some proper informed advice about it - ie ipsea or sos sen

here in my county the children through aiming high can access 5 hours 1:1 as part of the core offer - maybe your area does something similar??? but i agree its pretty pants for them to put you in this position - its not your fault your son needs this extra support. there is also something as well that states that carers have a right to work and that there should be support for this to happen. my friends son was out of school for nearly a year - he got 15 hours tutuion a week and then got funding for someone to do 1:1 with him for the rest of the day.

Report
LornieLoola · 03/02/2013 11:58

Thanks for your reply - hadn't heard of IPSEA so will contact them tomorrow. We have been very fortunate the way getting help has gone for him, and haven't needed to contact any outside agencies as of yet.

OP posts:
Report
lougle · 03/02/2013 12:16

I think she might be right. The provision is for educational needs. Education is for 39 weeks per year. It's illogical to say that he can cope without 1:1 when it would be your responsibility to provide it, but not when it's there responsibility to provide it. So, your options would be to either not send him in the holidays or to pay for 1:1 care as well as fees (you may be able to get help for this from Tax Credits).

If social services agree that you need the respite in the holidays, you might be able to get respite funding from them.

Report
moondog · 03/02/2013 12:16

I'm sorry your statementing office is not being helpful.
As an aisde do you really think it's a good idea for a three year old to be out of the home for so long, 51 weeks a year?
He can't see much of you especially if you work at night.

There are many other ways to help him cope with the change between school and home-using a visual calendar for a start.

Report
bjkmummy · 03/02/2013 12:50

i guess its the same when children are in school - we only get the one to one for the time they are at school. this is why it is so difficult for a lot of parents to work because they will always have the headache of trying to arrange appropropiate childcare during the school holidays. i dont work becauseo f this and i have 2 children with asd so its just impossible. if my boys when to aholiday scheme they have to have 1:1 and this is funded by me via direct payments that I get from social services. one boy gets 10 hours a month, the other one 15 hours. sometimes i have to top up the money especially over the 6 week summer holidays out of their DLA. i agree it probably at the moment feels very unfair but sadly it is the reality of have a child with special needs - but again i dont think that makes it right but it just a reflection of how hard things are.

Report
2old2beamum · 03/02/2013 12:54

I agree with moondog To be away from his mum 51 weeks a year does seem a long time. Would it be possible to get Direct Payments to have someone in the home to give you a hand. My 2 who have complex needs have 10hrs/week during holidays plus some nursing care.

Probably not much help
Good luck

Report
Veritate · 03/02/2013 14:11

If you haven't had one, ask for a core assessment of his social care needs, and as part of that process ask for one to one care for the nursery during school holidays.

Report
StiffyByng · 03/02/2013 14:16

He's only out of the house for 19 hours a week surely? Not really long enough to miss his mother. My one year old is at her private nursery more hours per week than that year round.

We have also, in a different context, come up against social services setting standards for themselves that we can't meet for care in our home, with consequent funding issues. You are currently being funded from the education budget. I agree with others that you need to approach the other hours from a social care side, as that is where funding will come from. A core assessment would be a great idea.

Report
LornieLoola · 03/02/2013 16:22

Yes, 19 hours a week is an awful long time to be away from me. How on earth do other children cope when their mother works full time. And the hour an evening I'm not there before bedtime two days a week again must cause him such harm.

Thanks for the helpful comments.

OP posts:
Report
Awomansworth · 03/02/2013 16:42

I hope those negative comment were because the first post wasn't read properly... if they weren't then they were very rude, not to mention judgemental.

OP is talking about 19 hours a week for goodness sake!

Would agree that you need to request a core assessment to give you some hours outside of term time. We get 100 hours a year that we use in school holidays.

Report
LornieLoola · 03/02/2013 17:44

Thanks Grin

Where do I request a core assessment? I have a meeting with the Child Development Team this week, where he will be discharged as his statement is done, but good place to start?

I appreciate the one to one is for educational purposes, however during the holiday as its just 'childcare' and not accessing the curriculum as such I didn't realise there would be a problem with him still going. He gets virtually one to one as there's so few children there (two to one usually). We have been lucky with the help we've had so far without having to really fight for things so didn't realise any of this.

OP posts:
Report
2old2beamum · 03/02/2013 17:50

I was not being judgemental, you asked a very valid question. I just tried to look at it from another angle and by having Direct Payments may help you out financially.
Sorry if I offended you

Report
Awomansworth · 03/02/2013 18:11

Your LA website is where you will find the info you're after. Here's the info from my LA...

cms.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/home/social_care/assessingyourneeds/assessmentschildren.htm

Report
bjkmummy · 03/02/2013 18:36

phone your local council and ask for the childrns disability team in social services. tell them you want a core assessment. if the refuse and they often do - complain and come back on here for advice. there is a template on the NAS website - you have the right to have a core assessment and a carers assessment but they will try and fob you off so dig those heels in. in my area it was pretty easy but i know it can be a bit of a postcode lottery

Report
LornieLoola · 03/02/2013 19:48

Thanks all, your help us really appreciated. Will speak to the council tomorrow (or try to anyway!)

OP posts:
Report
AgnesDiPesto · 03/02/2013 20:15

Your council has duties under the Childcare Act to ensure working parents of disabled children have the same opportunity to work as any other parent. Some LAs will have schemes to extend the 1:1 support through holidays. The Act has no teeth however so no penalty if they don't.

Our LA offered 30 hours per week 1:1 but still only term time so not quite got the idea - bizarrely this was only available for children without a statement.

Otherwise you can go to social services disabled childrens team and request a carers assessment and disabled child assessment - Contact a Family website has useful leaflets explaining the process. Also Council for Disabled Children has some legal docs you can download which explain the law. Councils often offer holiday scheme placements but only for over 5s.

My son is 6 and has educational provision 48 weeks a year because he is so behind and would regress if he did not have any intervention for the long summer holidays (won at tribunal) so it is open to your LA under the statement to decide your child needs more than 39 weeks education per year - but as you have probably guessed they usually only reach that decision when forced!

Report
MareeyaDolores · 04/02/2013 00:03

They're just trying it on. Hoping to scare you into saying he doesn't need 1:1 after all. Ring IPSEA and get some professional advice.

Sort of agree with other posters that although 19h/ week isn't loads, 51w may be a bit much for a young child (and you, that's a lot of school runs!) But if nursery is used as respite care, SS should, in theory anyway, chip in towards some of the hours.

Report
Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.