To succeed you have to master the game – but which game?

When you have a child who is struggling at school, you want to be able to rely on the system to provide support. Many of us in this situation find ourselves reading up on what support is available, what the law says and we get really well qualified to advocate for our child or children.

So when we come up against parts of the establishment that seem to have a different understanding of the rules of the system it is emotionally draining.

It’s a bit like turning up to play a game of football, complete with a round ball, and a referee, only to find that as soon as the ball gets into the opponent’s half, one of the players picks it up like a rugby ball, and proceeds to run towards our goal at full pelt. Stunned into inaction we initially stand and watch in dismay, before springing into action to run after the player with the ball. And then the realisation kicks in that we are unable to tackle the runner, as they are holding the ball, and within the rules of football we can only tackle by intercepting the ball with our feet, and we can’t touch the ball with our hands to wrestle it out of our opponent’s hands.

We look at our teammates in disbelief, wondering if we are going mad – surely we are here to play football, not rugby? This isn’t a fair game – we no longer understand the rules or how we can use them to find out which team will win the day. We end up appealing to the referee and asking to see the rule book, all energy that completely detracts from why we are there.

For so many parents it is as if Local Authorities have turned up to a game of football expecting to follow the rules of rugby. It is, therefore, no wonder that parents find themselves bewildered by the prospect of navigating a system that purports to be there to support children and yet appears to do anything but.

Local Authorities and schools can be very compelling in their explanations of why a child is unable to access any more support, and yet, when you look at the legislation and the SEN Code of Practice it is clear that these explanations are no more valid than picking up and running with the ball in a game of football.

The number of appeals to the SEND Tribunal in the 2016-17 academic year was 4,725 vs an average over the last 6 years of 3,800. Appeals are on the increase as parents revert to the referee and the rule book to overcome their bewilderment, and with a staggering 88% of appeal decisions in 2016-17 being decided in the appellant’s favour, it is clear that it parents are not going mad.

Unfortunately, many parents only realise the establishment is playing a different set of rules when they are many months into the process. By this time they are bewildered, drained and often in a state of desperation to support their struggling child. Valuable time has been lost and they feel their only option is to put the case in the hands of expensive solicitors.

If you’re in this situation, stick to your guns, rely on the law and don’t be put off by the prospect of going to appeal, statistically, the odds are in your favour.