Read last year's papers once, at your own table, before you ever sit in the meeting room with them. Papers read for the first time across a table full of professionals land like verdicts; papers read at your own kitchen table become what they actually are: one description, written by people who see your child a few hours a week, in one kind of room. Make the two lists: what the file says on the left, what you know on the right. Write three verbs the file has no column for, bring them on paper, and read them aloud at the meeting, early. Send two or three questions ahead so they shape the agenda. Bring a companion whose presence steadies you, and take the night: "Thank you, we'd like to read this at home before signing" is warm, complete, and allowed.