Useless EHCPs, lying local authorities and extreme rage

[SinkGirl]

I think I’m honesty on the brink of a complete breakdown. I cannot take this process any more!

In brief, my twins (3.5) both received final EHCPs in mid December. After an epic battle with the LA, they finally agreed specialist placements for both twins, and that these would be decided at a panel on 23rd January (last Thursday).

The plans are essentially useless - I fought hard to get every need documented in section B, but the provisions in section F aren’t worth the paper they’re written on. They’re vague, not quantified and there are giant gaps as many of the needs have no provisions. I pointed out that this was an issue repeatedly. They made a catalogue of errors including forgetting to request several reports for one of the twins, refusing to get the (reasonable and / or mandatory) assessments done that I requested, leaving big chunks of the advice out of the plan.

I took advice from lots of people and it seemed the most important thing was getting them into a specialist setting as soon as possible and trying to improve the detail of the plans at the six month reviews.

The LA had refused to get OT assessments done so I managed to get one of the twins seen myself. She went into nursery and was shocked - they had absolutely no idea what to do, not even the basics, even after multiple visits from different therapists. I spoke to nursery - they hadn’t even been sent a copy of his final plan! They’ve been given a tiny amount of additional funding. They’ve agreed that the provisions in the plan are so vague there’s no way for them to actually follow them effectively and enable the boys to make progress.

I realised then that I have no choice but to go to mediation and / or appeal, no matter the results of last week’s panel. And I’d hoped I would have heard the results by now since it’s decided there and then, but the caseworker was out of the office Thursday and Friday and it said she was back in on Monday. I had sent an email saying we would like to know the decision on Monday as we had a meeting with the nursery but got no response.

So this morning I emailed the case worker to explain that I’m going to contact mediation tomorrow and I’m happy to discuss with her first, plus I want to know the results of the panel ASAP.

I got an auto response saying she’s out of the office all week. No alternative contact details, just the general office number for emergencies.

I’m absolutely furious. How can they make decisions about your child that are so crucial and then just not tell you? When there are tight deadlines for appeal and they insist that you speak to them before appealing, how can there just be no one to contact for at least ten days?

They have been deliberately obstructive, ignored the code of practice, written plans that they know full well don’t comply with the code and there’s plenty of case law to back me up. I am sure it won’t go to tribunal because they don’t have a leg to stand on. I’ve made all these requests via email, as well as raised these concerns via email for months now. I don’t know if they’re just incompetent or deliberately deceptive. The caseworker fought for them to get specialist placements agreed and I think she thinks that if this happens then they don’t need specific provisions. But as the provisions are so vague they can argue that the nursery can meet them until spaces are available rather than being compelled to find them a place sooner. I already suspect they’ll say there are no specialist places available until at least September. Either way I have got the absolute rage that they think they can just not tell us what’s happening for at least a week and half following such an important decision.

I just don’t know how you’re supposed to keep fighting so hard for every tiny crumb - I’ve put so much time and effort into these plans and they are completely worthless. Just feels like a giant waste of everyone’s time.

I am sorry, but this is how SEN is in the experiences of the vast majority of parents, that I have come across. You do have to fight for every last crumb! As for LAs, its a mixture of incompetence and intentions - SEN officers and schools are not taught what the law and CoP says; only what the LA's unlawful policies are, to save money on this year's budget. Nobody cares that it might cost more in the long run - that might be after another election, and a different budget!

Ime, it is a waste of time dealing with SEN officers, because they are just clerks (who only need 5 GCSEs to get the job - no specialist training in SEN) and cannot make decisions. They can only relay what you say to a decision maker. In my LA, the decision makers were the area SEN managers and the layers of management above - but, it depends how big your LA is and how it is organised.

Did you get in writing, that they had agreed to the specialist placements - if so, why did it have to go to panel? As I said, the decision makers don't need a panel to ratify their decision. Their decision goes! Hopefully, this is just a lack of planning by the LA officer, who forgot to tell you the outcome of the panel's decision and went off on leave; but the specialist placements have been agreed!

When the above happened to me, I emailed the head of SEN, to complain, or if you don't know who that is, the CEO of the LA. It will get filtered down to somebody in the SEN division.

All you can do, is adopt tunnel vision and press ahead with seeking a mediation certificate and an appeal to the Tribunal, rather than waste time arguing about what's in the EHC plan, specialist placements, etc. Unfortunately, with mediation, there is no compromise possible between a specialist placement, wanted by the parents and mainstream, named by the LA. Its one or the other.

Did you get in writing, that they had agreed to the specialist placements - if so, why did it have to go to panel?

Yes, I have confirmation in the letter that they have agreed specialist placements - the panel is with the heads of the specialist schools when they decide which child goes where. I know another parent whose child went through the same last term and they’ve been told there are no places until September.

The appeal would be on the basis of section F regardless of placement and this is the crux of the problem. The LA have agreed they need specialist places on the basis of the needs which are covered in great detail in section B. The problem is that specific and quantified provisions haven’t been made, and many needs have no provisions. So the LA have been able to offer the nursery paltry funding in the interim, and the nursery can’t say they can’t meet the provisions thus forcing the LA to sort out specialist placements immediately.

I haven’t encountered this very much from other parents - lots of disagreements about placements or needs not being included but in this case they’ve just completely neglected to complete section F properly (mainly because they’ve accepted really woolly and vague reports from Ed Psychs).

I don’t know effective mediation will be because there’s no way to fix the plans without them agreeing to seek further advice or at least going back to the EPs and insisting they are more specific. It’s not like I can just say I want x and they can agree or not - I don’t know what the provisions need to be, if I knew how to help them learn then we wouldn’t have a problem!