should I request an ehcp assessment

[noirgel9]

Re posted from sn chat for traffic - hope that's OK :)
My ds is 7 in yr 2. He has hypermobility and a weakness in left side limbs. He has slurred speech and produces a lot of saliva and also in the past had glue ear.
He is not making progress at school. In the words of his teacher 'he can't keep up with his peers'.
He has been signed off by slt as they said his speech would improve with time. He has been assessed for dyspraxia but told he doesn't have that and it's just his fine motor skills that are delayed. His paediatrician has diagnosed learning delay.

I am really concerned. He isn't meeting any iep targets and can't write his name. My dd is dyslexic and has spd etc so we do have a family history of sn and I think he needs to be assessed.
Can anyone offer any advice? Should I ask the school to refer to an Ep? Or request an ehcp assessment myself? Class teacher seems good but senco has no concerns.

[BackforGood]

From what you've put, it certainly sounds like you / the school should be applying.
I would formally request a joint meeting with the class teacher and the SENCo and ask the SENCo how she can have no concerns when the class teacher is saying he is not able to keep up with his peers.
How she can have no concerns if he is not meeting his targets.
How she can have no concerns if he has delayed fine motor skills
How she can have no concerns if his Paediatrician has diagnosed learning delay
How she can have no concerns if he is not yet able to write his name.

Go with a long list of questions such as this, and make a point of writing down her answers.
Then say you'd like her to request an EHC Plan.
Come back and tell us what the response is.

[GruntledOne]

I second the idea of having a meeting with the SENCO so as to bring it home to her that there obviously are very valid concerns.

But don't ask her to request the EHC assessment - she'll faff around for ages saying she needs more information, the time isn't right, etc etc. Just go ahead and ask yourself: look at your local offer website which will give details of the process and may well have a form. Add all the evidence you've got, e.g. the IEPs showing targets aren't being met, any assessments showing lack of progress etc, but if you haven't got every bit of paper the form asks for don't worry about it, send the request in anyway. Then make sure the LA sticks to the timetable: they have 6 weeks from the date of receipt of the request to tell you whether they're going to do the assessment, they must tell you within 10 weeks after that if they're going to do an EHCP, and if they are, they must finalise it within 20 weeks of your request.

[AttilaTheMeerkat]

I would request the EHCP assessment myself as you will know its been done then.

Use IPSEA's website as well as there is a lot of information on this whole area //www.ipsea.org.uk

[c4kedout]

what attila said. do it yourself. if school were serious they would have already done it. IPSEA have template letters on their website.

[KOKOagainandagain]

Also, the initial request for assessment is very likely to be refused. This is a 'stage' you have to go through.

Refusal is often because the school could do more. In my LA refusal is followed by a visit from a learning support advisor. Use any meeting to find out what the criteria are and then collect evidence. This can be academic - i.e. how much progress in how much time, I measured ratio gain during Wave 3 intervention for DS1 (you may have to be that specific) - or 'social' - problems with peers/staff resulting from language difficulties which increase vulnerability (DS2).

I would appeal at the same time as collecting the evidence and then submit the evidence - you may find it obviously meets assessment criteria and the LA will concede before hearing.

Short term target = LA assessment