Dyslexia and ECH?

[elfonshelf]

DD (age 7 in Y3) has been recently assessed by an Ed Psych at school due to concerns over literacy.

On the WISC IV, she scored high on both the Verbal Comprehension and Perceptual Reasoning sections (over 125 on both), but only 80 for Working Memory and 100 for Processing Speed.

There were a minimum of 30 points difference between predicted and actual scores on every section of the WIAT test, which ties in with what we are also seeing with her classwork.

The report was about as accurate a picture of DD as I could have hoped for, and the conclusion was a diagnosis of dyslexia.

I've had a meeting with the SENCo, and she has done some partial tests with DD, but only on reading so far which is not the major problem - it's not great, but her writing is dire to say the least.

The school are going to put in a lot of help - in class and also extra 1:1 sessions - but the SENCo said that they wouldn't be putting in for an 'official' plan like the old IEP (is this the same as an ECH?) as she thinks DD doesn't need one.

Should I be worried about this? I want to make sure that DD gets all the help that is available/that she is entitled to, but also that the school can get any extra resources that they may be entitled to as a result.

Given the scores for Working Memory and Processing Speed, I also want to make sure that DD can get things like extra time in exams.

I have a good relationship with the school and staff, and so also don't want to end up causing the staff loads of extra work by insisting on official plans if there is no actual benefit to either DD or the school and she can get the help without one.

[user1476392838]

In order to get an EHCP the school wold have to demonstrate that your child's needs cannot be met within their own resources. From their response it would appear that they do not feel this is the case and they are putting in additional support without the need to access that over and above that which is available at SEN support.

[Ineedmorepatience]

The criteria for an Ehc needs assessment is that the child or young person HAS or MAY have SEN
or
That the child or young person MAY need provision over and above that which is normally available to pupils of their age.

Is your DD making progress? Do you believe her needs are being met? Is this likely to continue? What would happen to your DD if another child with greater needs came to the school? Would your Dd lose her support?

[elfonshelf]

Thank you - that all makes a lot of sense.

The last meeting we had with the class teacher, she was exceeding expectations for maths, meeting expectations for reading and not meeting expectations for writing, so she's making progress in the bits she doesn't have problems with. Now that she has a dx, it will be interesting to see what happens.

I do have a lot of faith in the school - new SENCo seems great, the class TA has a child with severe dyslexia themselves and class teacher has just been on a dyslexia course over the summer. They haven't done the formal 'plan' yet, but all the things that have been mentioned seem great.

The school is in a very deprived area and has VERY high numbers on FSM and SEN plus around 80% EAL. They do get a fair whack of pupil premium money as a result and the staffing ratios are good. I have said to let me know if there are books and things that I can get - if they're having to use money out of their central funding for things for DD, I'm happy to contribute.