Ian although there is not much court cases there still exist judicial
jurisprudence that have developed test of reasonableness that can be
extrapolated. Reasonableness is a prime principle in the British legal
system. Best, Andy
----- Original Message -----
From: "Iain Hood" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, June 08, 2007 10:23 AM
Subject: Re: DSA funding
> Hi Alex
>
> I remember someone sensible and wise (Dave Laycock, perhaps) making one of
> the earliest comments as SENDA came out. The question was "Who will decide
> what is reasonable?" The knee-jerk answer has developed over the years:
> "The
> courts will decide", but with few court judgments to guide us, we, the
> people who are left guessing what such judgments might be like are left to
> develop our own opinions on reasonableness. That's why I agree with some
> of
> what you are saying here, but it may be an oversimplification to say: "It
> also seems to be unfair that a reasonable adjustment is not being made.
> Unfair to the student and the university." The LEA's position, I suspect,
> will be that they are being reasonable and the uni, assessor and student
> are
> not. Who knows, a court might agree with the LEA.
>
> I say this not as criticism of your argument, which I have some time for,
> but to help with the clarification you are seeking (and I am seeking in my
> own head).
>
> Cheers
>
> Iain
>
> Iain Hood
> Senior Student Adviser
> Student Support Services
> Anglia Ruskin University
> East Road
> Cambridge
> CB1 1PT
>
> 0845 196 2316
> [log in to unmask]
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "alex larg" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Thursday, June 07, 2007 4:54 PM
> Subject: DSA funding
>
>
> Dear Colleagues,
>
> perhaps someone could clarify something for me.
>
> LEAs currently pay assessment centres in excess of 400 pounds for
> "professional" opinion in the form of a report on the needs of an
> individual
> student. Assessors work within the guidelines that they have available,
> they
> meet the student and spend some time with them discussing their perceived
> needs and bring their own experience to the table to share with the
> student
> to try and establish what will be the best study strategies to employ at
> that point of the course and hopefully for some time in the future.
> However
> I understand that LEAs sometimes decide that the recommended strategies
> are
> not appropriate.
>
> I accept that LEA officers are experienced individuals and knowledgable
> about the financial side of DSA and support, but what is the point of
> money
> being spent on a needs assessment if the need is then rejected perhaps on
> the grounds of cost?
>
> A hypothetical example of this might be an assessor recommending a note
> taker for a severely dyslexic and dyspraxic student, but the LEA only
> committing to pay for a digital recorder and software such as Dragon so
> that
> the student can somehow transcribe their own notes. This may be
> achieveable
> in theory, but in practise the additional time and energy it would take
> such
> an individual would likely be too much for any but the most remarkable of
> individual.
>
> It also seems to be unfair that a reasonable adjustment is not being made.
> Unfair to the student and the university. The university are at risk of
> legal action because they have the responsibility for making lectures and
> studying accessible, however they don't necessarily have the resources as
> this (note taker support in this instance) should come through the LEA as
> recommened by the needs assessor - we seem to be in a loop somewhere which
> leaves the university at risk and more importantly the student high and
> dry
> and possibly failing.
>
> Does anyboby know if there has been any high quality and appropraite
> training for LEA awards officers to help them fully understand the
> difficultues faced by students with specific learning difficulties or
> mental
> health difficulties for that matter? Has anybody else had any similar
> difficulties with supporting students in terms of funding for
> recommendations, and how can students and disability officers best deal
> with
> these situation in future as they arise?
>
> Alex larg
> Former Disability Officer
>
> _________________________________________________________________
> The next generation of MSN Hotmail has arrived - Windows Live Hotmail
> http://www.newhotmail.co.uk
>
|