To be awake and feeling tearful over SEND EHCP disaster

Can you request an early annual review again? It will trigger a new draft plan, during which time you should be able to supply supporting evidence and then it will also open up a new appeals window.

The thing is even if you had appealed in November, the wait for a tribunal date in some areas is still over a year long so this may not even have been resolved by the new school year anyway.

Definitely get the SENCO involved, and you can request in writing and on the EHCP hub that they call you with any new developments on the EHCP hub because you haven't received notifications from the Hub at key points and have missed your legal right to appeal due to technical errors. I've just had to do this for DS, where after a phonecall with an unbothered member of the LEA they said it's a known issue with the Mandrill app they use for their EHCPs. Thanks for letting us know sooner then LEA you sleezy buggers.

Hmm if it's a secure system they will be able to see that you didn't access it. There's no chance that the school they've named has an ARP is there?

Alternatively call another emergency review on the basis the final plan does not include key information and go again.

Local authority
Education Health Care Plan (used to be called a Statememt)

As someone who works in this area, your experience is sadly more common than you think. There are too many children for SEN places.

Ipsea and sendiass are great, but are overwhelmed. Their websites will help, but it'll be hard to talk to an actual person.

You can appeal. You may need to go to tribunal. It's a long draining process, I'll be honest, but if you've got the resilience and are ready to badger the LA, you may be successful.

If you can afford it, I strongly suggest hiring a Sen advocate who can guide you on your journey. SEN ninjas is one around here, PP mentioned Sunshine SEN (or something I can't now find!)

All the best.

Agree an emergency review might be the way forward. Then you need to be checking the online portal regularly. I doubt the above advice about clerical errors will work - it's a formalised system with legal time limits and infuriating as it is, it sounds like they did inform you of the finalised plan.

The school SENCO should also have access to the portal. You need to speak to them to find out what they know of the situation. Getting Y5s and 6s the correct KS3 place has been a huge focus for me as a SENCO.

Again, I'm sorry you're going through this. The system is awful for parents who ar navigating it generally for the first and only time. I hope you can get a placement sorted soon.

Have you just received a transition ehcp? So starting secondary in September. You should be able to appeal that, as the issuing date should be this month. You can also put in a send7 form to bring forward the appeal.

You need to know what school you want, its so much easier when you know what you're fighting for.

I would advise giving sen sos a phonecall and going through everything thats happened.

Good luck! The system is awful and stressful.

Please don't apologise for anything or doubt how good an advocate you are for your son. You are human and facing a woefully inadequate system. Hindsight is all well and good but you can only act on what you know at the time.

You're doing everything you can and you're allowed to feel sad, angry or worried.

u turn coming soon!

Sorry that this is happening to you. Please do not blame yourself- you are doing a terrific job. Your son has an EHCP which is brilliant.

Not sure how it works with Primary to Secondary move but you can call for an early review of the EHCP. That really helped with my son.
Hope it all works out for your son.

Ok, good start. You need to appeal and send the report as evidence. I can't imagine a child who can only attend primary school part time is suddenly going to be able to manage mainstream secondary school without any issues.

Do you have any idea which school you would like ?

Push the LA to send you the EHCP for year 7 and then appeal.

You say they have told you you have been allocated a mainstream secondary school, but the EHCP only refers to the primary school, is that right ? That means the LA should be sending you another final EHCP re secondary school (they should have done this by 15/2) which will give you a new right of appeal. I suggest you go back to the LA and say the final EHCP for yr 7 is overdue and you want it by the end of the week or a formal complaint will be made.

If you want a specialist placement you will need evidence to show why. It sounds like your DS only attends school part time with part time AP. It seems logical to argue that he won't manage in a big secondary school if he can't do so in a primary. However, the LA have probably written the EHCP so on paper at least it could be provided by a mainstream school.

You may need to get a private assessment from a educational psychologist so you have evidence for the changes needed to the EHCP to point away from mainstream.

I would play it as a clerical error on their part. If the description doesn’t match your child it might very well be for a different child

I would send it back saying that you don’t recognise the description as your dc and it is obviously a mix up and could they send the correct one.

Tell them that you only gained access to this in the last few days and whilst it was dated 1st November, you were being told the report hadn’t been finalised so confirming that this isn’t your child’s report.

Then separately go through every single point with a reason this isn’t correct so you can argue it if and when they come back and say the report stands

Do you have any professionals reports that suggest your child needs a specialist setting? This could help your case. Its parental choice where a child learns but it would be wise to have some evidence of why specialist is the best option. SENDiass are usually really supportive and will often attend meetings. SENCo will need to hold an emergency AR (they will need to ask LA), about this.You can request it as the current EHCP does not reflect his needs, you can ask the SENCo from the proposed Secondary school to come, they might then decide they can't meet needs after hearing his actual profile
. It's not too late, there are movement in school places right up to September.

Could you afford a SEND advocate to help you? I have experience with Sunshine Support and I bet they'd support you in this.

Appeal (if you still can) or call an emergency review on the grounds that the EHCP as stands isn't taking into account your child's current challenges around attending primary.

My son moved to specialist in Y6 and is now in Y7 so this KS transfer is fresh in my mind.

Don't panic, don't catastrophize. What is done is done and have faith in yourself being able to advocate from here on in.

One child I knew didnt start his specialist setting until December of Y7...he was kept off school until this point..there is still hope and time.