Any tips/advice on my initial application for EHCP please?

[Purplerainbow2]

My almost 10 yr old ds1 is having a very rough time at the moment. I begged since he was in foundation for a statement and was always told by school he 'wasn't bad enough'. Fast forward and now ehcp are in place I had a meeting with head before Xmas and ahe told me ds was not meeting expextacted level, when he had been a year ahead. I said now I was able to apply as a parent I was going to. She said she would do it and put in place testing for dyslexia also. All I have done is filled in a views and aspirations form. Chased them end of January and was told the school had to have x amount of school based plans in place before they could apply and that they were doing this. I chased in February to be told they were 'sorting paperwork'.

Fast forward and trying not to bore you, I read on here I should've had a letter from LA within 6 week to say wether they were or were not going to access. I rang LA yesterday and the school have not applied for it. I queried the school based plan thing (ds has always been on school action plus) and they said it is not a necessity, just something they advise. So I discussed me applying for it. The lady said write a letter and give copies of anything relevant eg school reports, medical assessments etc.

She said yes I will have a letter within 6 weeks as to if they will assess or not. She said they give the school 6 weeks to give te information they may request. So I'm going to spend the weekend trying to sort it. Any tips or ideas bow to word the letter? The sort of terminology etc I should use? What NOT to say?

Tia

[AttilaTheMeerkat]

School have lied to you throughout I am sorry to say. They have really failed you both here.

You're far better off making an EHCP application yourself as you know its been done then.

Have a look at IPSEA's website for more information

www.ipsea.org.uk/home

[Ineedmorepatience]

There is even a template letter for a parental request on the IPSEA page!

[Purplerainbow2]

Template letter? So I can add details where applicable. I know the school are not going to help me here and I want as much information as possible so that I can do him justice. Do you mention your opinions or is that a no go? I want to say things the school have said also. For example he isn't bad enough to get one but that he is actually worse then when he was younger but I don't know what NOT to say as I can imagine the person who reads the initial letter prob just flicks through it hence why so many are appealed?

[knittingwithnettles]

I used bullet points, and each bullet point was linked to some piece of documentary evidence if I could find it.

ie: school refusal due to anxiety : docs 1, 2, 3 [attendance figures, letter from EWO, log of day you tried to get him into school and ESBAS lady [sp?) came round and couldn't get him in]
medical evidence: docs 1 etc [clinic letters, diagnosis, recommendations]
educational progress or lack of it: his reports showing levels over last few years: docs 1 etc
what school are doing to help so far - name of school, address, name of SENCO and head

His date of birth

a short paragraph explaining that he was not making progress, showing challenging behaviour at home, and school were not able to meet his needs with current resources

do please ring Parent Partnership if you have one, if that helps, it is worth waiting another week to get some more information on applying if you feel unsure of way to do it.

Also, hand it in personally, get a receipt, and get them to log it in a book if necessary at the Reception Desk of the LA SEN thingy - cannot remember what the name of the SEN division is off top of my head (may be different in each borough), but your local offer should be able show the details

keep copy of everything you have sent

[knittingwithnettles]

Go to Request an EHC Needs Assessment in the Model Letters bit of Ipsea, then click on Resources and you can download the template letter.

What you are asking for is an EHC Needs Assessment at this stage, rather than an EHCP. It is the first step.

[Purplerainbow2]

Ok fab thank you!

What is a parent partnership?

[AttilaTheMeerkat]

The Information, Advice and Support Services Network (IASS Network) provide training and support to local Information Advice and Support (IAS) Services across England.

The IASS Network was previously known as the National Parent Partnership Network (NPPN), who undertook a similar role with local Parent Partnership Services.

I would use a fully independent organisation like IPSEA or SOSSEN to advise you further rather than use IASS purely because they are not fully independent of their LEA and can tow the party line.

[ElementaryMyDear]

There's also a precedent on the SOS SEN website - www.sossen.org.uk/information_sheets.php

[Purplerainbow2]

Thanks guys. Iv done it. Well Iv got it on a word document (3 pages!) just need to get all reports etc photo copied and send it off. Rang school and ds attendance is 69% (this will keep dropping as he's still at home )