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At a loss at what to do next (EP assessment).. long post

5 replies

gabbybaby · 25/01/2016 10:50

End of term before xmas we finally got an EP assessment scheduled for my dd (y2), which was originally requested a year earlier, due to "not progressing at the expected rate" at school, as well as other issues. I had a 2 hour productive meeting with the EP mid Dec, with the SENCO present. It lasted too long for her to then meet my dd, so she made arrangements to come back the following week to observe/assess, but in the meantime, came up with a number of recommendations and she suggested we start the process for an EHCP application for classroom support. Suggestions based on feedback from both senco and myself was that we were looking at possible dyslexia, PDA, anxiety issues, and SPD. However, the following week the senco got a call from her saying that she was no longer working with our school, and so she cancelled her follow up session with my dd. She sent me a bullet point report following our conversation, but since then, the LEA has still not named her replacement so we have since been in limbo. I've had numerous conversations with the Senco (who is also extremely annoyed at the situation) but she hasn't got anywhere with the LEA. I don't know what to do! In the meantime, my dd's behaviour is getting worse (mostly at home. She's generally ok-ish at school - she has her moments). The OT has started giving her touch type lessons, as she doesn't think she will ever really be able to co-ordinate writing with another learning objective. I don't know what to do! People are telling me to involve the head, but I don't really know what she can do that the Senco can't do. To make matters more difficult, school is in a different LEA to our home, so I feel I'm limited in being able to chase these things up directly with the LEA myself. What can we do? I'm at a loss

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birdlover1977 · 25/01/2016 14:32

Can you request the EHCP yourself? I have asked my LA to assess my son and the process has just started. The LA will have to get an EP and other relevant professionals to assess your child as part of the EHCP assessment process. I'm not that knowledgeable and I am sure that far more experienced posters will be around soon to provide more help than I can. Good Luck

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Ineedmorepatience · 25/01/2016 20:04

Yep, put the request in yourself if the senco wont do it!

Google IPSEA, everything you need including a helpline number is on their website!

Good luck Flowers

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Schrodingersmum · 26/01/2016 12:33

We have been in a similar situation educating in a different LEA, we applied for the EHCP ourselves and DD was assessed by Ed psych from our home authority which is apparently the practice in our area

Just make sure that any referrals made by school are to your home area as they constantly kept referring us to services in the school LEA which lead to delays when we then had to be passed to home area services

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gabbybaby · 26/01/2016 12:59

Thanks. Our LEA is notoriously bad at providing support or agreeing to assess children for an EHCP. I have the support of the school (it was the SENCO who first suggested we apply for an EHCP), so I'd rather go through the school as I think I have a better chance of success. I wanted the EP assessment first as further back up (even though I know my home LEA will then want to re-assess with their own EP, as the one through the school will use the LEA EP from the school LEA. I think I need (yet another) meeting with the SENCO to decide whether or not to put in an EHCP application before the full EP assessment, as it seems like I could be waiting forever

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GruntledOne · 28/01/2016 09:52

You really don't need an EP report before putting in a request for an EHC needs assessment, in fact the LA should be arranging it as part of the assessment process. Have a look at Regulation 6 of the SEND Regulations 2014 which sets out the fact that the LA should arrange the EP report once it has decided to go ahead with the process.

It sounds as if the school would fully support your application, so I would strongly suggest you talk to the SENCO about getting the application in now. If she won't do it, get your own application lodged anyway.

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