Subtitles

Associated Teachers TV programme

Special Needs: Making a Statement

0001 10:00:00:00 10:00:03:22

It really was not worth the paperit was written on at that time.

0002 10:00:03:22 10:00:09:09

It feels like a matter of luckas to whether you succeed or not.

0003 10:00:09:09 10:00:12:13

It's a lottery,a hit-and-miss game,

0004 10:00:12:13 10:00:15:18

whether you can actuallyget the resources in time.

0005 10:00:26:08 10:00:28:11

A statement is a legal document

0006 10:00:28:11 10:00:31:18

which sets outwhat a child's needs are,

0007 10:00:31:18 10:00:34:02

how they'll be met, and by whom.

0008 10:00:34:02 10:00:36:14

And it's legally bindingon local authorities

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once it's actually up and running.

0010 10:00:38:14 10:00:40:22

Parents like their childrento have them

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because it provides protectionfor the future.

0012 10:00:43:07 10:00:45:17

(teacher) Good morning, Salome.

0013 10:00:45:17 10:00:47:12

Good morning, Nikashun.

0014 10:00:47:12 10:00:49:11

(woman) Hayden's nine years old.

0015 10:00:49:11 10:00:52:11

He was diagnosedwhen he was around two-ish

0016 10:00:52:11 10:00:54:10

with being on the autistic spectrum.

0017 10:00:54:10 10:00:57:09

- (teacher) Good morning, Hayden.- Good morning.

0018 10:00:57:09 10:01:01:06

I was lucky. I managed to get thingsgoing while Hayden was at nursery.

0019 10:01:01:06 10:01:06:06

So it was pretty much beforehe'd even finished his nursery year

0020 10:01:06:06 10:01:10:13

he was fully statementedwith the full amount of hours.

0021 10:01:11:08 10:01:14:01

(teacher) Who can remind mewhat a still life is?

0022 10:01:14:01 10:01:16:09

(Louise) What I foundthe most difficult

0023 10:01:16:09 10:01:19:02

was actuallyenforcing that statement.

0024 10:01:19:02 10:01:22:23

He had a very, very, verydifficult year in reception.

0025 10:01:22:23 10:01:27:23

He did not do one full day at schoolin his whole reception year.

0026 10:01:27:23 10:01:29:17

That was very stressful.

0027 10:01:29:17 10:01:35:07

I was almost made to feelthat his condition was a weapon

0028 10:01:35:07 10:01:37:24

used against himfor excluding him out of school.

0029 10:01:39:07 10:01:40:20

In his statement, it says:

0030 10:01:40:20 10:01:45:22

"Yes, this child will hit, willtantrum, will get very distressed."

0031 10:01:45:22 10:01:49:05

But they were saying it's forexactly those behavioural issues

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that he can't be at school becauseof health and safety of our staff.

0033 10:01:52:22 10:01:56:19

The statement was sayinghe needed the social interaction.

0034 10:01:56:19 10:02:00:00

He needed to be ableto cope with playtime.

0035 10:02:00:00 10:02:03:10

Then, towards the endof that school year,

0036 10:02:03:10 10:02:09:08

it was finally decided that no, thatwasn't the right setting for him.

0037 10:02:09:08 10:02:14:18

It was obvious, I think,to everybody much earlier than that.

0038 10:02:14:18 10:02:19:12

But I think the school were tooscared to say, "We're not coping."

0039 10:02:19:12 10:02:21:24

But at least at his lastreview at that school,

0040 10:02:21:24 10:02:26:09

it was, "It's not working.Need to find him somewhere else."

0041 10:02:26:09 10:02:27:15

And we did.

0042 10:02:27:15 10:02:31:06

(teacher) I want you to start yourpaintings and finish them today.

0043 10:02:31:06 10:02:33:13

Yeah, we had to paint these.

0044 10:02:34:14 10:02:36:06

(teacher) Your turn.

0045 10:02:36:06 10:02:38:11

I think it's two...

0046 10:02:38:11 10:02:39:21

One.

0047 10:02:44:10 10:02:46:12

"In two days' time..."

0048 10:02:46:12 10:02:47:22

"In two days' time."

0049 10:02:47:22 10:02:49:24

Yes. "In two days' time."

0050 10:02:50:11 10:02:54:16

We've been talking aboutapplying for a statement for Naftali

0051 10:02:54:16 10:02:58:13

probably for about the last year,year and a half.

0052 10:02:59:20 10:03:01:22

- Backwards?- What does it say?

0053 10:03:01:22 10:03:04:21

- In two days' time...- Look at the first word.

0054 10:03:04:21 10:03:07:22

- "In... two days' time..."- In...

0055 10:03:07:22 10:03:12:00

(Danielle) What we're waiting for isto get all the pieces of the jigsaw

0056 10:03:12:00 10:03:17:10

into place, really to give usthe best possible chance of success

0057 10:03:17:10 10:03:21:05

either the first time aroundor on appeal.

0058 10:03:21:05 10:03:25:15

(teacher) Can you help me? I don'tthink that one fits on quite yet.

0059 10:03:25:15 10:03:30:00

We started off by thinkingit was largely about his speech,

0060 10:03:30:00 10:03:31:05

which was slow,

0061 10:03:31:05 10:03:33:08

and his abilityto construct sentences.

0062 10:03:33:08 10:03:35:14

And over time it's become clearer

0063 10:03:35:14 10:03:41:02

that his problems are nonverbalrather than language-related.

0064 10:03:41:02 10:03:45:18

- "Two days ago." That's backwards.- You're right.

0065 10:03:45:18 10:03:49:11

(Jonny) He comes acrossas almost precocious, in fact,

0066 10:03:49:11 10:03:53:16

but if you probe a little bit deeperhe often really doesn't understand.

0067 10:03:53:16 10:03:56:24

So you're on Tuesday...

0068 10:03:56:24 10:03:59:24

- and you need to go how many days?- Backwards.

0069 10:03:59:24 10:04:02:04

(Danielle)Over the course of this year

0070 10:04:02:04 10:04:04:18

we've had regular conversationswith the school

0071 10:04:04:18 10:04:07:04

about what is the right timeto go for a statement

0072 10:04:07:04 10:04:09:15

and what do we needin order to go for a statement.

0073 10:04:09:15 10:04:13:12

And we've also tried to progressgetting a medical diagnosis,

0074 10:04:13:12 10:04:17:02

because it's not quite clearwhat the problems are.

0075 10:04:17:02 10:04:22:09

"We went back to... town...

0076 10:04:22:09 10:04:24:04

and looked for my bag."

0077 10:04:24:04 10:04:28:04

(Jonny) His reading is in theacceptable boundaries for his age.

0078 10:04:28:04 10:04:30:16

It's not way down below,like everything else.

0079 10:04:30:16 10:04:34:16

But when you ask, "How did the boyfeel when they took his bike away?"

0080 10:04:34:16 10:04:38:00

or "How do you think he feltwhen he was pushed in the water?"

0081 10:04:38:00 10:04:43:02

those kind of empathy-basedquestions he finds very difficult.

0082 10:04:43:22 10:04:47:12

But unfortunately when you havethis statement process,

0083 10:04:47:12 10:04:50:11

they'll say,"Actually, his reading's OK."

0084 10:04:51:02 10:04:52:11

OK!

0085 10:04:52:11 10:04:56:01

How do you decide...If you lose something...

0086 10:04:56:01 10:04:58:09

(Susanna) School Actionis the first stage,

0087 10:04:58:09 10:05:00:15

when a child hasspecial educational needs,

0088 10:05:00:15 10:05:04:22

where a class teacher might observethat a child has additional needs

0089 10:05:04:22 10:05:09:18

that need additional resourcingand paperwork.

0090 10:05:09:18 10:05:12:23

After that, it may move to

School Action Plus,

0091 10:05:12:23 10:05:15:10

where external professionalsbecome involved.

0092 10:05:15:10 10:05:18:01

For example,the educational psychology service

0093 10:05:18:01 10:05:20:16

or specialist teachersfrom a local authority

0094 10:05:20:16 10:05:22:13

may come inand work with that child.

0095 10:05:22:13 10:05:24:22

Naftali's on School Action Plus.

0096 10:05:24:22 10:05:28:17

And yet, were it notfor us doing our own research

0097 10:05:28:17 10:05:30:15

and the school having mentioned it,

0098 10:05:30:15 10:05:34:13

there's no way that we would knowabout a statementing process.

0099 10:05:34:13 10:05:41:08

At that point - and this can takequite a long time, sometimes years -

0100 10:05:41:08 10:05:45:18

then, at that point, you may apply

for statutory assessment

0101 10:05:45:18 10:05:47:03

of that child's needs.

0102 10:05:47:03 10:05:50:23

And parents can apply for statutoryassessment, or the school.

0103 10:05:50:23 10:05:53:19

Ideally both, at the same time.

0104 10:05:53:19 10:05:56:00

If you don't have your schoolbehind you...

0105 10:05:56:00 10:05:59:23

And I guess we're lucky thatthe school do support the idea

0106 10:05:59:23 10:06:01:23

that we should go for a statement.

0107 10:06:01:23 10:06:03:18

It may be interesting to note

0108 10:06:03:18 10:06:07:18

that parents have more rightsin this regard than schools,

0109 10:06:07:18 10:06:09:18

and it's quicker if parents apply.

0110 10:06:09:18 10:06:13:10

But obviously you wouldn't want todo it without the school's support.

0111 10:06:13:10 10:06:16:10

So hopefully at that pointit would lead on to a statement.

0112 10:06:16:10 10:06:18:14

What shapeare you going to make first?

0113 10:06:18:14 10:06:19:14

- Square.- OK.

0114 10:06:19:14 10:06:22:15

Let's see if this dotis part of the square.

0115 10:06:22:15 10:06:24:24

- So we've got one...- One...

0116 10:06:24:24 10:06:29:20

(Danielle) The school psychologistdirected us to the Hope Centre.

0117 10:06:29:20 10:06:34:21

It specialises in helping childrenwith cognitive difficulties.

0118 10:06:34:21 10:06:38:14

Shall we draw these two in?Want to draw those two in?

0119 10:06:39:11 10:06:42:06

- (Naftali) I'll do this one...- Yeah.

0120 10:06:44:01 10:06:46:11

Naftali, just stop.Remember where we went?

0121 10:06:46:11 10:06:50:17

(woman) Naftali came to usa few months ago.

0122 10:06:50:17 10:06:53:20

The parents were frustratedbecause he had difficulties

0123 10:06:53:20 10:06:55:05

accessing the curriculum.

0124 10:06:55:05 10:06:57:09

They weren't surewhat was the matter.

0125 10:06:57:09 10:07:01:06

The Hope Centre'sa centre for cognitive education.

0126 10:07:01:06 10:07:04:17

We work with childrenaged from three up to 19.

0127 10:07:04:17 10:07:06:06

And we work one-to-one

0128 10:07:06:06 10:07:09:23

with children that really need workon their thinking skills.

0129 10:07:09:23 10:07:11:18

- (Naftali) Uh-oh!- Well done.

0130 10:07:11:18 10:07:15:07

The work with the dots was all aboutplanning what he was doing,

0131 10:07:15:07 10:07:17:04

holding in his headwhat he had to do,

0132 10:07:17:04 10:07:19:24

deciding where to go next,sequencing.

0133 10:07:19:24 10:07:24:24

The school has been quite supportiveand quite good at advising us,

0134 10:07:24:24 10:07:30:16

and their view, like others',is that Naftali needs a statement,

0135 10:07:30:16 10:07:35:05

needs ongoing one-on-one supportin the classroom to progress,

0136 10:07:35:05 10:07:39:15

and that when he has thathe can learn.

0137 10:07:39:15 10:07:42:09

- Four!- How many dots do we need?

0138 10:07:42:09 10:07:47:09

(Danielle) Their advice is also thatit'll be very difficult to get one

0139 10:07:47:09 10:07:49:04

and that we should...

0140 10:07:49:04 10:07:52:04

While they will support

an application from us,

0141 10:07:52:04 10:07:58:06

their advice to us has beento wait and to see what happens.

0142 10:08:05:05 10:08:10:19

Science...is kind of difficult for me.

0143 10:08:10:19 10:08:16:23

You need to do experimentsand explain why this and why that.

0144 10:08:19:02 10:08:23:23

And that's... that's the onlysubject that I don't like.

0145 10:08:23:23 10:08:25:19

He does find sometimes

0146 10:08:25:19 10:08:31:02

articulating what he wants to sayon paper quite difficult.

0147 10:08:31:20 10:08:35:09

Explaining why this and why that.

0148 10:08:36:05 10:08:42:04

And... like, predictingand that stuff.

0149 10:08:43:15 10:08:46:05

(boy) Hayden, get a small brush.Then you can...

0150 10:08:46:05 10:08:50:12

- Take that. Then you can start...

- This is thicker.

0151 10:08:52:21 10:08:55:19

That is so much better.

0152 10:08:56:08 10:08:59:21

(Louise) What was so greatwhen he came here

0153 10:08:59:21 10:09:05:18

was the fact that I was made to feelthat my concerns were important.

0154 10:09:05:18 10:09:08:22

Hey! We made grey water!

0155 10:09:09:21 10:09:14:13

(Louise) There was always the optionthat I could come in for a chat,

0156 10:09:14:13 10:09:18:21

just to discuss what was happeningand for us to work together.

0157 10:09:18:21 10:09:20:21

Is that colour that colour?

0158 10:09:20:21 10:09:22:23

(Hayden) If you want to,use this colour.

0159 10:09:23:23 10:09:30:03

It's really good,and the teachers are really nice.

0160 10:09:30:03 10:09:33:05

And, um...

0161 10:09:33:05 10:09:36:12

the classroom is big, massive.

0162 10:09:37:11 10:09:42:24

And people in the classare kind of nice.

0163 10:09:42:24 10:09:44:12

As a teacher,

0164 10:09:44:12 10:09:49:07

to understand that you never haveall the knowledge about a child.

0165 10:09:49:07 10:09:51:23

Parents and teachersneed to work together

0166 10:09:51:23 10:09:54:00

when you have a childwith any type of need,

0167 10:09:54:00 10:09:56:12

particularly withspecial educational needs.

0168 10:09:56:12 10:10:00:05

Parents may know, for example, thattheir child doesn't like a colour

0169 10:10:00:05 10:10:04:09

or they find eating in a big groupor a level of noise very difficult.

0170 10:10:05:14 10:10:09:14

It's absolutely imperative that youhave that relationship with parents.

0171 10:10:09:14 10:10:12:00

Also the consistencybetween home and school,

0172 10:10:12:00 10:10:14:22

so you're followingthe same types of strategies.

0173 10:10:14:22 10:10:18:12

(Louise) If the support's there,they can access it.

0174 10:10:18:12 10:10:20:04

If the support isn't there,

0175 10:10:20:04 10:10:23:04

then it's stressfulfor the other children in the class

0176 10:10:23:04 10:10:24:18

and for the teacher.

0177 10:10:24:18 10:10:29:12

I'm gonna make this sidelighter than that side.

0178 10:10:29:12 10:10:32:21

(Louise) He is succeedingin every way.

0179 10:10:32:21 10:10:39:11

He's got friends, he lovescoming to school, he's doing great.

0180 10:10:39:11 10:10:42:20

I've only got one best friendin the class,

0181 10:10:42:20 10:10:46:21

and I've got a best friendin another class.

0182 10:10:48:18 10:10:52:08

One of my best friendsis called Corey.

0183 10:10:52:08 10:10:54:15

He's in my class.

0184 10:10:54:15 10:11:00:20

We've been friends like...for two years now.

0185 10:11:00:20 10:11:03:03

I think this is going to bevery interesting,

0186 10:11:03:03 10:11:05:09

what happens next with Hayden.

0187 10:11:05:09 10:11:08:04

He's doing very well at the moment.

0188 10:11:08:04 10:11:11:09

He's coping well at schoolwith the support that he has.

0189 10:11:11:09 10:11:16:06

Soon I'm leaving this school,in year 6.

0190 10:11:16:06 10:11:19:01

I'm gonna be in Queensmead,

0191 10:11:19:01 10:11:22:06

and it's gonna be really scary,

0192 10:11:22:06 10:11:25:09

because it's high school.

0193 10:11:25:09 10:11:27:19

The sort of workthey'll be doing at high school

0194 10:11:27:19 10:11:30:11

will be completely differentto what they do now.

0195 10:11:30:11 10:11:33:11

And I think that's...I'm hoping it won't be the case,

0196 10:11:33:11 10:11:36:01

but I think I'll be havinga battle on my hands

0197 10:11:36:01 10:11:41:17

to justify him having extra hourswhen he goes into high school.

0198 10:11:41:17 10:11:44:21

But I think that's what he's gonnaneed for it to be a success.

0199 10:11:44:21 10:11:49:12

Mm! Let me try and useblue and green.

0200 10:11:50:06 10:11:51:11

Blue...

0201 10:11:51:11 10:11:54:13

(boy) I think I'll make your colour.

0202 10:11:55:13 10:11:56:16

Turquoise.

0203 10:11:56:16 10:12:00:20

I want him to have accessto the best education that he can

0204 10:12:00:20 10:12:02:23

for his ability.

0205 10:12:02:23 10:12:06:23

And yes, in some waysnot to be treated differently

0206 10:12:06:23 10:12:09:23

but to be accepted as an individual.

0207 10:12:09:23 10:12:14:15

He may have a label of a condition,but he's still Hayden.

0208 10:12:14:15 10:12:17:24

He's got a great personality.He's a bubbly little boy.

0209 10:12:17:24 10:12:19:22

Yabba-dabba-doo!

0210 10:12:23:12 10:12:26:05

OK. Let's put lots and lots out.

0211 10:12:27:13 10:12:29:13

Set!

0212 10:12:29:13 10:12:32:02

Hold on a second.

Hold on. Stop, stop, stop.

0213 10:12:32:02 10:12:33:17

Look carefully.

0214 10:12:33:17 10:12:35:08

(Jonny) We want the statement

0215 10:12:35:08 10:12:39:18

because it then at least makes itvery clear what has to be provided.

0216 10:12:39:18 10:12:41:18

Which one should you take away?

0217 10:12:41:18 10:12:43:07

- That.- Very good. That one.

0218 10:12:44:10 10:12:47:07

I think obstaclesare deliberately...

0219 10:12:47:07 10:12:51:00

or appear to be deliberatelyput in your way all the way along,

0220 10:12:51:00 10:12:54:19

and it doesn't seem to have the bestinterests of the child at the heart.

0221 10:12:54:19 10:12:57:12

For a child like Naftali...

0222 10:12:58:10 10:13:02:04

I think one can only befairly pessimistic

0223 10:13:02:04 10:13:06:04

about whether we're gonna succeed ingetting a statement for him or not,

0224 10:13:06:04 10:13:08:09

despite the factit is abundantly clear

0225 10:13:08:09 10:13:12:21

that he will only attainwhat he's capable of educationally

0226 10:13:12:21 10:13:14:17

with additional support.

0227 10:13:14:17 10:13:17:17

If you've got a panelwho are turning things down,

0228 10:13:17:17 10:13:21:02

yet the process isn't transparentto teachers who are applying

0229 10:13:21:02 10:13:22:08

or to parents,

0230 10:13:22:08 10:13:25:10

that makes the processvery frustrating and difficult.

0231 10:13:25:10 10:13:27:19

It seems bizarre.Either provide it or don't.

0232 10:13:27:19 10:13:33:04

But don't provide it and make itincredibly difficult to access.

0233 10:13:33:04 10:13:34:23

You've worked really hard.

0234 10:13:34:23 10:13:38:09

- Is that the end?- Yeah! You did really well.

0235 10:13:44:08 10:13:46:20

Visiontext Subtitles:Doreen Trenerry

0236 10:13:46:20 10:13:48:20

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