We all know about inequalities in Haringey and the council frequently preach about inequalities and yet, here we go again with more discriminatory practice with the Haringey SEND department
- By Brian Leveson
- •
- 04 Sep, 2021
- •
An example of GASLIGHTING : SEND parents and carers in Haringey no longer have named case workers in a decision made without parent involvement, but we are all expected to know about (without being told)Parents are to no longer have caseworkers structural changes of Statutory Assessment Service made after the OFSTED inspection but before the report and findings are issued, instead they are to email (and only email) un-named email boxes.
What the structural changes are:
Local Offer News | Haringey Council There will be less reliance on individual case officers and instead a focus on a whole team approach to ensure that families can be supported regardless of the availability of individual officers.
The larger, better co-ordinated teams will support a multi-agency approach to securing good outcomes and supporting children and young people with SEND.
How to contact the team:
- Up to Year 5:SENDTeam1@haringey.gov.uk
- Years 5-11: SENDTeam2@haringey.gov.uk
- Years 12+: SENDTeam3@haringey.gov.uk
- SEND Transport: School.Transport@haringey.gov.uk
Were these changes designed WITH parents?
No, not that we know of. There has been no mention of these changes in the SEND newsletters and many parents, like us, have been left bewildered by the plethora of departures from the SEND team in a dash for the exit before the OFSTED report is out. You probably got told like this (see picture below).
What are the potential inequalities issues?
You may recall, but it is worth reminding everyone, of the impact of digital poverty through the pandemic. Families on lower incomes struggling to home school and the devastating impact that this had on teaching and learning in state school and schools in less wealthy areas.
By not communicating these changes with parents and not designing them with parents feedback, you have to ask if the department even care about the potential impact on services users. The service seems to be designed by the SEND department to meet the SEND departments needs.
What about people without computers?
What about people whose disabilities prevent or inhibit the use of computers?
What about people for who English is a second language?
People who only have one computer and its from the school for use by the child?
People with limited funds and limited data?
By not communicating these changes with parents and not designing them with parents feedback, you have to ask if the department even care about the potential impact on services users. The service seems to be designed by the SEND department to meet the SEND departments needs.
What about people without computers?
What about people whose disabilities prevent or inhibit the use of computers?
What about people for who English is a second language?
People who only have one computer and its from the school for use by the child?
People with limited funds and limited data?
We all know about inequalities in Haringey and the council frequently pontificate about inequalities - so, HOW ON EARTH WAS THIS ALLOWED TO HAPPEN?!
How will we know if anything is ever being done
One of the most worrying aspects about this for us is the lack of accountability and the potential for people to 'fall through the cracks', with no one taking responsibility. This is exactly what happened when our son's school transport failed 10 times in one year and there was no oversight.
Exacerbating existing imbalances of power between the SEND department and parents
So, we do not like being called by the SEND department. There is no record of what has been said and agreed. And frequently the story changes.
So, you can imagine our annoyance when we were called THREE TIMES last week by SEND staff when
1. We had specifically asked them to email
2. We HAVE to email to make contact with them.
I am greatly concerned that this practice will lead to more misunderstandings and greater unaccountability to the disadvantage of parent carers. And I would not be surprised if this system was designed by staff with those outcomes in mind.
So, you can imagine our annoyance when we were called THREE TIMES last week by SEND staff when
1. We had specifically asked them to email
2. We HAVE to email to make contact with them.
I am greatly concerned that this practice will lead to more misunderstandings and greater unaccountability to the disadvantage of parent carers. And I would not be surprised if this system was designed by staff with those outcomes in mind.
If you have ever wondered what we SEND Parent Carers mean by "Gaslighting", read on...
Gaslighting
The plight of the SEND parent describes #professionalgaslighting in all its forms. However in the case below, it is an example of number 8 on the list Professional Gaslighting? What is it? (theplightofthesendparent.co.uk)
"They are doing things which they shouldn't be doing, yet they are constantly accusing you of the same. This is done so often that you start trying to defend yourself, and you are distracted from the gaslighters behavior. It's classic psychological manipulation. It works as well. Until you call it out #professionalgaslighting"
In the example below, unreasonable or inappropriate communication: in this case not following protocols that have not been shared with parents.
"They are doing things which they shouldn't be doing, yet they are constantly accusing you of the same. This is done so often that you start trying to defend yourself, and you are distracted from the gaslighters behavior. It's classic psychological manipulation. It works as well. Until you call it out #professionalgaslighting"
In the example below, unreasonable or inappropriate communication: in this case not following protocols that have not been shared with parents.
The department will not be fully staffed until NOVEMBER, but if you break the rules of the new 'communications strategy' that no one has told parents about (nor worked with parents to design) you can expect very short shrift from the Assistant Director
We have been told by Haringey that they "are in the process of developing a communications strategy which will outline our communication methods clearly moving forward. I really do appreciate your patience whilst we work through our restructure of services. I anticipate we will be fully staffed by the end of November to allow for new colleagues joining us to service their notice periods".
Email send Friday 3rd September at 10:02am
Email send Friday 3rd September at 10:02am
Three minutes later and in another email the Assistant Director added
A whole THREE MINUTES after sending that email and providing the link at the top of this blog, the Assistant Director followed it up in another email with:
"Can I please ask that you do not email me... ...we have mechanisms in place for families to contact services directly. Whilst I accept that our communication processes require improvement, I really should only be involved when things have escalated beyond use of these mechanisms. I appreciate that your email below indicates that for some of these issues, this may be the case, however the level of correspondence between ourselves is not sustainable moving forward, nor is it a reliable method, as I may not be able to respond in a timely way to any issues raised.
As you are aware, we aware developing a communications strategy which will outline clearly how families can contact our service, be kept up to date and be involved in shaping service delivery. I am confident with clear expectations in place, there will be less need to contact me directly regarding operational matters".
Email send Friday 3rd September at 10:05am
"Can I please ask that you do not email me... ...we have mechanisms in place for families to contact services directly. Whilst I accept that our communication processes require improvement, I really should only be involved when things have escalated beyond use of these mechanisms. I appreciate that your email below indicates that for some of these issues, this may be the case, however the level of correspondence between ourselves is not sustainable moving forward, nor is it a reliable method, as I may not be able to respond in a timely way to any issues raised.
As you are aware, we aware developing a communications strategy which will outline clearly how families can contact our service, be kept up to date and be involved in shaping service delivery. I am confident with clear expectations in place, there will be less need to contact me directly regarding operational matters".
Email send Friday 3rd September at 10:05am
So, that's told you (!) - we were reporting amongst other things multiple data protection breaches - here's what we wrote to the AD:
Multiple data protection breaches: a parent was not given the escort's work mobile number, but a personal mobile number by the Transport Office. Both the parent and the escort are unhappy that personal information was shared. The parent found out that the number was a personal number when they called the escort today, who asked how the parent had got the number. The parent explained that it was the number given to them by the transport office. The parent is also in the position of unwittingly sharing their personal information with the escort's personal mobile. Could I ask, on behalf of the parent, what steps Haringey are going to take to ensure that the parent's personal information is stored securely (in accordance with GDPR) on the escorts personal mobile and will not be share with anybody else, deliberately or otherwise? What steps Haringey will take to ensure that the number is deleted once the escort has been given a pay-as-you-go mobile for work? (I understand from the parent that they was told by the escort that this is expected to happen in mid-October). Could you also arrange for an apology to be made to the parent that the personal information was shared, without consent, and in doing so the parent was unwittingly put into a conflict situation with the escort. Can you also give assurance that this data breach will be raised with Haringey's Data Protection Officer?
And in one of those 'you couldn't make it up moments' - we got all the personal data of the people on our child bus this morning...
Given the AD's comments about staff changes leading to service improvement, you can imagine our shock to today recieve ALL of the personal data of the people on our child's bus:
- Full Name
- Address
- Mobile number (of parent)
- Health needs including details such as communication needs and wheelchair use
- School
If you thought SEND was bad - the NHS is seemingly prepared to throw away money to private companies
About 3 or 4 times a year we get the euphemistic message 'Parents please note we have put a letter in your child's bag' - its a world away from how a child's death was handled in my child's first school
More of a trial by ordeal than a well organised clearly set out administrative process for moving the care of vulnerable young adults from Haringey's Children's Services to Adult Services. We have been failed at every stage of the process.
Never EVER get on the bus without a camera running if you need the priority wheelchair space
The reality of using a London Bus in the teeming rain on a Sunday afternoon is no joke when the parents of a paraplegic person in a wheelchair clash with the self-entitled buggy-pushing parents of toddlers.
At 3pm today I received some barefaced lies from Haringey Council Adult Social Care in response to a photograph I published online yesterday and the media interest it generated
Haringey SEND Transport are insisting that a 17 year old minibus with no air conditioning is a suitable vehicle to transport my paraplegic son in this heatwave. The appalling conditions inside the minibus inside the bus is something they knew about last summer, yet they have to date done nothing whatsoever provide a suitable minibus this year nor appropriately mitigate the temperatures inside the minibus.The conditions inside the minibus are so bad that they triggered multiple seizures during the heatwave as my son has epilepsy, which they SEND transport department know about and they also know that they are triggered by heat.It is not just son who is impacted: last year we know of one child who died on Haringey SEND Transport in the summer heatwave and another who had seizures.
I am simply asking a question - are we all absolutely certain that the road closure / travel restrictions (commonly know as LTNs) placed on some of the most severely disabled people who are wholly reliant on cars are absolutely necessary
Haringey's road closures exemptions policy for disabled people is not fit for purpose, unduly burdensome and intrusive - it's time to stand up against the pro-LTN lycra-clad cycling bullies
Is the argument for and against exemptions for disabled people in Low Traffic Neighbourhoods really a case of GOOD versus EVIL?
