EHCP support thread no. 4

@BrightYellowTrain

Thank you so much. So watered down from the school’s provision map plan when they asked for funding. The SENCO told me this was never achievable - funding wise, even though she wrote it.

Yes. Although I don’t think the person who is doing most of his support is qualified. But I’d rather it was her, as she is gentle and empathetic. Rather than the very qualified SENCO who describes DS as having a ‘tiny, squeaky voice’ or ‘needs encouragement to do every part of the school day otherwise he will just sit there not taking on instruction’. A statement which was not true because, at this stage, he was coming hoe and reciting the register to me in name order and repeating his phonic lessons word for word.

I will think about that working carefully to avoid parent helper.

I don’t know. This is wrong but her recent emails have not included SENCO in email string. I feel I can rewrite as I want as SENCO seems to be fed up with situation. Therefore I can slip some wording back in.

@RibbyJumper the EHCP should not be watered down.

On their own, ‘qualified’ and ‘trained’ are both problematic. Qualified in what? What training?

There isn’t a universal way EHCPs are set out. Some LAs would sometimes use tables. Others wouldn’t.

The LA should have used the SALT’s evidence for SALT content. I would focus on ensuring the EHCP is finalised ASAP, then appealing if necessary. The way to ensure SALT provision is provided is by having it detailed, specified and quantified in F.

If DS requires a consistent 1:1/TA/LSA... [insert required wording here] (or 2 or 3 depending on how many hours it is for) providing the provision, that needs to be included in F. Otherwise, it doesn’t have to be a consistent 1:1/TA/LSA/insert whatever wording here. Even if DS doesn’t need a consistent 1:1/TA/LSA/insert whatever wording here, the provision being provided by a parent helper is why the wording needs to be tighter.

You may feel the caseworker has been more responsive and empathetic, but she has managed to string you along again. Don’t fall for it.

@handmademitlove I formally complained about a head, Sendco and support. But they all ( head teachers etc) stuck together and made me look like a fool. Gas lighted to a point I thought I was going mad. The governors did an investigation which was full of lies.... I was basically told to FO.

@handmademitlove

Head and SENCo are very close. always standing together in playground when children go in - and I have a strange feeling of being watched. Last week the boy who is now doing half days was on the floor/refusing to go in and the head, SENCO, class teacher and poor mum were surrounding the boy. Head and SENCO were - quite aggressively IMO - telling him ‘you need to stay safe today’ (it was Forest school day). Witnessing incidents like this makes me want to avoid too much interaction with SENCO.

@RibbyJumper if the Sendco is not doing their job properly, hold them to account. I used to worry about being "that parent" until someone said to me that I was the only person who could advocate for my child, and if I didn't, who would? If a member of staff makes a mistake, I firstly email them to request they correct the mistake. If they do not do so, I email again and cc in their line manager. Usually with a " can you explain why you said X when clearly that is not the case, as evidenced by Y"... In a less blunt way of course!

I work in my DDs school and was so worried about difficult conversations and how that would affect relationships with staff, but actually we are all really clear that the conversations I have about my child are always in the best interests of my child and they are always kept professional.

But I also don't tolerate people not doing their job properly, even though I understand the why. So I hold them to account. For DDs sake. Even when I submitted formal complaints about members of staff, it has not been an issue because I was justified in doing so. Awkward perhaps, but that went away fairly quickly!

I think I will definitely ask @Phineyj about allocated adults when looking for KS2 place. I work in a school now, and they have allocated adults and advertise vacancies as allocated adults with SEN experience.

@Phineyj

DS is nearly 6. Years ago I taught in Year 1, I had a child with a statement. I’d never had a TA before, but was allocated a TA for the child with the statement.

I always made sure that TA was doing group work with the child and working on his targets.

I remember the school telling me that I should use the TA elsewhere as the child was achieving - but I didn’t agree. I should follow what his statement said.

@handmademitlove

Thank you. That would work, but DS’s SENCO has been telling caseworker that he’s been discharged from SALT when he hasn’t - and therefore not aware? not addressing? his speech targets that are supposed to be part of his daily provision.

@Phineyj

Thank you. I do have an amazing friend who I meet with once a week. DS and her DD are best friends and in the same class. We counsel each other!

DS’s class teacher is great at the normal teaching side I’d say, not the SEN side. She’s also often not in the classroom.

I’m not a fan of the SENCO. Experienced, but seems to make everything about money. One of her first comments to me was ‘you know we can’t afford TA’s for SEND children here’.

I would say - keep it professional, but caseworker has now been far more responsive and sympathetic. I think she’ll just let me write the EHCP.

@RibbyJumper one of the things our EHCP contains is a clear direction that all provision will be overseen by the Sendco. This would help you as you then have a single point of contact if there are any issues, and they are then responsible for liaising with other members of staff.

Oh and one more question. DS has never had an allocated adult. SENCo told me they’d moved away from that model so
all adults will be working with DS.
Problem being - I think - that no one takes responsibility. So if DS misses provision, I’m having to repeat to different adults what that provision is.

Also it means that provision is sometimes given by a parent helper.

Is there anything I can do here?

So caseworker has been on leave, but has sent me a number of quite - almost personal - emails this week explaining some of her pressures. We almost have a rapport going now, which seems to be working in my favour - but I don’t know if that’s particularly professional. She sent another draft version late one evening - still got lots of mistakes - phrases struck through added again, section K which had previously been updated in one of her versions is back to the old version, and provision left off section F that was agreed to.

I offered to just write it as the final should look to save her time, and then she could just check it. All amendments have been agreed to by the SENCO.
But I’ve also had emails from DS’s speech therapist and we both seem baffled as to why the SENCO thought DS has been discharged from SALT services. When his caseworker was removing speech targets from his EHCP and stating ‘we have had confirmation that DS has been discharged
’ - who did that confirmation come from? The SENCO? The SENCO did email me to say DS has been discharged hasn’t he?

He hasn’t!!! And in all my annotations since Jan, I’ve linked the SENCO and included his speech targets and provision. But now - at the beginning of March - SENCO is saying - I thought he’d been discharged.

I was given a school provision map in July24 written by the school outlining how they were going to spend his 29 hours a week funding.
There is no way on Earth he gets that level of provision. The SENCO told me that original map for the 29hours was only ever a plan and never achievable.

This is why I’m so keen
to get Section F right, and I’ve tried to ‘water it down’ to be mindful of funding.

But why, why, why didn’t the school know about his speech targets/that he had not been discharged when the speech therapist was in last term, assessed and had sent the (official sensitive) speech targets??

The SENCO is deputy, non teaching. Another same size school in area has a teaching deputy, a teaching SENCO. I just would have thought no class would give the opportunity to be - more -on top of things.

SENCO tried to state ‘cannot meet needs’ before he started the school - the speech therapist tells me one reason for this is because he used a PECS book.

I did a lot of fundraising for the school last year. The school have turned a shed into an ‘event space’ in the school car park (which is busy, has no gates, and has various drivers entering to do three point turns). Yet they tell me they have no funding for reading books (DS frequently gets repeated reads of the same book), rarely use their lovely looking library, they can afford a non teaching SENCO, but are too financially stretched to give basic EHCP provision.
Any fundraising/compensation money now is going to services that support special needs.

And in reception interactions with the SENCO were minimal and awkward - partly because I felt in fear of ‘cannot meet needs’ if DS wasn’t fitting in. One child in DS’s class has been excluded and another is now on half days.

I’m going to try and write amended EHCP again as final.

Does anyone know if -

1. if inserting a table for provision in Section F is likely to get rejected? I can see examples online that include tables.

2. all my annotations of ‘qualified’ have been replaced by ‘trained’. Is it worth pursuing this?

3. would complaining to the school about confusing the caseworker over SALT provision be pointless? How do I ensure the speech therapist targets are feeding DS’s weekly provision?

And then - DS now goes to Beavers and I’m going to train to become a Beaver leader so I attend every week. Oh my goodness, the beauty of a child teaching environment where money is not a factor. DS is fully included and he loves it. No adult is in the corner on a computer or ‘in a meeting’, everyone is supporting the children and fully focussed on them.

@Namechangeagain80 send the email to everyone in attendance at the meeting.

I am not saying it was, clearly there is no way I could know, but from a disability perspective, taking notes when visiting the family at their home is decidedly different to taking notes at a meeting with multiple attendees.

@BrightYellowTrain Thank you again. Will follow up with an email - do you think to the student and/or SENCO? (Un) surprisingly, the SENCO hasn't replied to my email requesting details of what amendments she had asked for.

Possibly, though we had previously had a meeting at home with the EH practitioner and that time she came alone and took her own notes. She did specifically say that X was there to take minutes so she didn't have to. I just thought it was slightly ironic that there was the school bleating about lack of resources and there was someone from the LA there literally just to take minutes of the (informal) meeting!

@Namechangeagain80 glad to hear the meeting was productive. Follow it up with an email of your own. Particularly mentioning what was said about not having the resources to provide the provision DD needs. You can use emails as evidence. Don’t rely on EH’s minutes.

As an aside, the minute taker may actually have been a note taker via Access to Work.

Unfortunately, some schools either intentionally or through ignorance perpetuate the LA’s unlawful policies. Whether SENCOs understand the law or not, it isn’t them deciding if it is necessary to undertake an EHCNA/issue an EHCP.

The FLO also confirmed that pre-teaching would help DD, but the only time that the teacher could do that was when the doors first open, but because of her EBSA (which has improved, but unlikely we will ever get her to school for 8.40) - this is unlikely to happen.

Can this also be used as evidence?

As an aside, as part of my original evidence, I submitted the school's appendix 2 (which they didn't have chance to submit before the LA declined the assessment) - in this the SENCO had put that she didn't consider higher funding nor an EHCP to be necessary.

However, the SENCO originally quoted me the LA's policy on their criteria for an EHCNA - is that evidence that she doesn't actually have the knowledge to decide whether an EHCP is needed? Is it worth sending in that email?

Thank you again for your guidance on this and for giving me the confidence to advocate.

Actually had a meeting with Early Help at the school today, and the student social worker was present (along with the FLO).

In amongst other things, I raised her report and specifically mentioned the maths recommendation. She basically said that the recommendation was now that DD would have a card to display on her desk if she needed extra help and the teacher would then see it and give her the support. She said that the SENCO had said that they wouldn't be able to take her out for 1:1 maths support. I questioned why that was (knowing full well) and she said lack of staff. The FLO then said they would love to be able to give 1:1 interventions to lots of children, but they didn't have the resources.

I then said that surely her recommendations should be based on her overview and knowledge that she has gathered of DD's needs and not dependent on what the school could offer. She initially tried to argue, but eventually said she fully understood what I was saying and that if I wanted that to be in, she would keep it in.

The Early Help person came with a specific minute-taker (so much for the LA being in financial trouble!) so it should be documented.

The student is quite young and obviously reasonably inexperienced so I was fully expecting her to just do what the SENCO said, so I am pleasantly surprised that she has the integrity to stand by her convictions.

Quite disappointed with the SENCO and the school in general - the more dealings I have with them, the more they just seem to be intent on covering themselves. It makes you realise that however much they do care, their priority is never going to be your individual child. Makes you realise how much you do have to personally advocate because noone else is going to. It feels like a battle when it really shouldn't be that way - everyone should be on the same side.

(And I know I am preaching to the converted here!)

One of my DSs had an initial draft with 3 different names, 2 different ages, in places he became a she and a preschooler could have numbered it better. This was many years ago.

I think it's both, personally. The current costs are totally unsustainable but the impact on children is also (you would hope) unsustainable. I think many of us could think of ways better services could be delivered at some lower cost, although many of them will require upfront expenditure (increasing local specialist provision and therefore saving on school transport and individual adaptations to other settings for example). Others might be lower cost in terms of infrastructure but involve radical change in teaching approaches, which costs in training and staff morale.

I don't know what the appetite is for these sort of changes. I'm keeping a close eye on the Education Select Committee's SEN inquiry: Solving the SEND Crisis - Committees - UK Parliament

The Committee has received a huge amount of evidence and will be hearing from key people in public evidence sessions you can watch online, and will then make recommendations to government that will have to get a response. Even allowing for the inevitable fudging answers, I think this process will give SOME insight into the direction of travel for SEND support.

I think the motivation is entirely financial, because nobody was moving to change anything for kids with SEND until the costs mounted up, so it’s clearly not child focused change they are looking to bring in.