Tribunal yesterday - long

[Guest guest]

Hi, sorry see there is a thread referring to me but can't get my head

around ALA right now as has Tribunal yesterday.

Overall - good. Good Panel, which was my biggest worry.

Has been adjourned to 23rd April, after lots of arguing and amazing

stunts from LEA. Best thing is that the Panel hate the LEA

barrister, who is an arrogant pig and was very rude to the Chair.

The Panel I feel have put Adam's interests first and are playing

safe, so as not to give the bloody barrister any technical grounds to

Appeal, which is what he is looking for of course.

They Directed that Camden should immediately implement the 25 hours

per week tuition that they put in the Statement last July. And the

bloody barrister told the Chair " You don't have the power to order us

to provide any provision " , and " you don't have the power to do that " .

To which she said in that case I will word it carefully and said the

same thing and " the last thing we want is to be in the High Court " .

Camden are truly evil. But it comes across. My independent EP said if

her authority behaved like Camden she would resign immediately, and

she is at the top of her profession.

The other thing is that I have to go visit that bloody school, you

know the one. Mr. Berney's place. But the LEA has been forced to

agree to cover all the costs including the cost of my independent EP

visiting with me.

Camden are arguing that Adam does not need waking hours or waking day

curriculum. so Chair went for them over this and said you are asking

for a resildential school to be ordered, we cannot order a

residential placement unless the child needs residential for

educational reasons, is your position that he needs residential?

Camden said " no - he does not need residential, or waking hours but

this is the only school in the uk that can meet his needs, and it

just happens to be residential. If it was in Camden then he would go

as a day pupil, but day attendance is not very practical to

sunderland. " This amazed us all as you can imagine. It's called

having your cake and eat it - if you can get away with it - since

they want him in a residential school but won't want to fund waking

hours home programme, so are saying he doesn't need waking hours.

Anyway Barrister said he would have to take further instructions on

that.

So overall things are going very well, Panel being very careful that

what they order in April will stick and not be overturned in High

Court. The bar is higher for Section 319, education otherwise than

at school, so we have to prove that the bloody school (sorry for

swearing) cannot meet his needs. Then Camnden have left themselves

with no place to go except the home programme - which will also lift

the bar in terms of home programmes !!!

Oh yes, we had fire alarm in middle of morning - had to evacuate the

building to St. s and wait an hour in freezing cold with coats

left in SENDIST. The LEA had a team in a side room advising them,

the Borough Solicitor, the adjournment to a date that they could all

make which was only one date in April. That got ignored by Panel,

who also told the SEN Manager and the LEA EP that they were

unnecessary to the adjourned hearing - what a hoot. My side were all

important they said because they " know Adam " .

Anyway - recovering.

Celia