Ehcp case officers - ever had a good one?

[SageBlossomBunny]

Has anyone had a good case officer?
What made the good?

I'm thinking of applying for the role and just wondering if the system is too broken to try or if I could give it a go and make a difference.

There are lots of great ones they just have big work loads

We've been through a rotation of them with the boys but there is one I do have a lot of time for. She made it clear who she was working for but was always very supportive, kept me in the loop and never talked down to me and seemed genuinely pleased when our case was approved by panel. We've had one who had me instantly plotting a new patio, though.

Yes I'm wary that in our area they have a high turnover of case officers but if they're recruiting more maybe they're addressing that. And they literally don't have enough places...

I groups I'm in everyone is constantly complaining about them and I like to think I normally take pride in doing a good job and would hate to feel I was constantly letting everyone down.

I guess if the workload isn't manageable then that's also an issue.

I think "being kept in the loop" must count for so much, even if the case officer can't make everything happen.

I would also as a person would find it hard to stay within my role I guess as I'd want to offer support and links and more sendiass type advice but I guess that comes with practice.

It would be a lot of talking to unhappy people wouldn't it?

@PickAChew what did the patio person do??

I think what would be difficult would be following your employers' policies even you know full well that they aren't legal, e.g. refusing to specify and detail provision in EHCPs. Mind you, if you insisted on complying with the law it would be interesting over time to see how different your appeal rates would be compared with others.

I'd so want to do it properly and legally. I could do with knowing someone locally couldn't I.

Our children's services failed their ofsted and has hideous rates for ehcps currently, lack of school places etc... Hence recruiting more people.

I guess no job is perfect and I need a new job. It's hard isn't it.

I've often considered this as an inside job, like a whistle-blower. I'd love to know what they're taught in the training for the role....

I don't want to leap into it if it was an impossible job. But I would so love to do it well.

Tried to insist that my severely autistic younger DS would be best off in a mainstream secondary school. I politely told her to give her head a wobble and the conversation was a lot more constructive the next time we met.

Oh dear 😬. I wonder if they have a script and "have" to suggest mainstream first.

I absolutely hate job hunting as I want to know every aspect of the job before I apply. Also currently people like me in my current role - I guess not many would in this one if I have to keep following local policy.

I've spoken to several who are doing their best to be helpful, supportive, and clear, but they are fighting the system that doesn't have the school places needed, and they have to follow the rules and, to some extent 'the script'.

It's not the individuals, it is the fact they can't give you what you need that is the issue.

It’s such a hard job …….
My current caseload sits just below 400 and some days I open my laptop and cry for the first 30 minutes. I regularly get between 50 to 80 emails per day and it’s absolutely impossible to meaningfully respond or remember all of the casework. I also personally find it hard communicating a panel decision I passionately disagree with.
BUT the job satisfaction when things go well is incomparable. The best part of the job is ringing a parent to say panel has approved the specialist placement they desperately want and need, or that their plan has been issued. Ive even had a few happy tears of my own whilst telling good news! Whilst as a CO you will never have enough decision making responsibility to change things, I think parents can tell if you care and that makes a big difference. Sometimes just being a listening ear so they are heard can make a world of difference and I love speaking to parents. When I moved LA’s a parent sent me an email to say that I ‘was one of the good ones’ and it reduced me to tears.
Id say go for it! It’s a huge challenge, but generally the fellow COs are lovely because we are all in the same boat.

Oh yes, you would definitely have to get used to not being liked. I was shouted at down the phone 4 times this week 😬 I think I posted on here on one of those days asking for other job recommendations 🤣

Oh that's really helpful @Mcemmcee . How long have you been a case officer.... And are you looking for another job?? Is there a high turnover where you are (and what do people go on to do?)

Where you a teacher before? How does it compare?

Is there flexibility ie to nip and do the school run/wfh some days?

Don't feel you have to answer all the questions!

Id love to be able to be that kind person in the process and yes I'd think I'd most struggle communicating something I disagreed with or a policy for a child that went against my beliefs around send support.

Do you get on well with your colleagues? Do you have time in your day to catch up with them? Do you feel supported?

This area is offering a training role!/assistant so it wouldn't be a full caseload.

I currently have the best job supporting families but it's a strange zero hour contract role and not sustainable.

You’re so welcome!
I have been a CO for 4.5 years across 2 different LAs. I am not constantly looking for another job but occasionally will have a look, I sometimes say there must be an easier way to earn this wage 🤣 if something matched my wage I’d probably apply.
but I will always go back to the job satisfaction - when things go right its amazing, and you really can make a tangible difference to families. I have gone in person to visit special schools to discuss cases and encourage them to visit children to offer placements, I’ve done a lot of work on cases so panel agree them.

I wasn’t a teacher before, I was a HLTA but I’ve noticed it’s mainly teachers applying now. One thing I will say is that it’s super flexible. When my daughter was in year 5 when I started the role, I could easily do all of my school runs and not take a full lunch break and just arrange my meetings around school runs. The flexibility is amazing. Both teams I’ve worked for WFH almost all the time.

I think an assistant officer is the best way to start! Definitely apply 😃 it’s like a half foot in the door whilst you decide whether to jump in.

My colleagues in both LAs were amazing and always made time to discuss and debrief. Well, fellow COs and Senior COs. I have sometimes found management challenging because I have disagreed with their decisions like saying a child is mainstream purely because they have no specialist places

Sadly, our experience is that they are law breaking liars. And that's only the few that you can actually get hold of- the rest ignore emails, phone calls, or are on indefinite leave

Thankyou so much for replying 😊.
It does sound a hard job and yes we don't have enough specialist places in our area and so many of our local school policies seem to be just asking to make life difficult for kids with certain needs and creating an increase in ebsa...

I'm an ex teacher and love my current role and love making a differnce/have my groups appreciate what I do but it isn't sustainable and it's so hard to know how to jump.

Im quite isolated in my current role too so this sounds good.

I am also desperate for something with some wfh/flexibility.... But I'd also hate letting so many families down 😬😬. But there's also no perfect job. It's so hard isn't it knowing.

Just a practical question are you allowed to signpost to other support or is that not within the role.

And are most officers full time.

I will stop asking questions! And thankyou so so much.

I've heard this so much 😔. Especially the whole "oh my case officer changed and noone told me"

I just don't know if I'd be walking into a looks den. I know Id hate social service work for not being able to provide...

I would definitely say go for it! The workload is completely different to a teacher and the flexibility is great.

yes! You can signpost and I often do 😃

most are full time but I was part time in my previous LA and now I work a condensed week with a Friday off

I couldn't do it. It must be such a tough job. I try to be very kind and patient with ours, after all, I want her to feel supported and appreciated so she is in a good frame of mind for making sound decisions about the children and young people on her caseload.

I work on the assumption that she needs to try to steer families toward cheapest options first, and that the onus, regrettably, is on families to try to evidence need for additional or enhanced resources and provision where required. They are gatekeeping the public purse and this too is important in all public offices. There just needs to be some responsiveness and dynamism in the system to accommodate need.

I occasionally see these jobs pop up in my local authority, and I don't think they're expanding the service; I think people leave as its so draining. It's not particularly well remunerated for what it is. I could never work to rule in this role (as a teacher I find this impossible anyway): having been a family in crisis due to unmet SEN, with all of our lives turned upside down, and coming under immense pressure from all sides, I know that each day for families who are really 'going through it' are sheer hell and I'd feel compelled to work all hours in order to progress everyone's cases as quickly as I humanly could. Caseloads are often in the multiples of 100s so I'd burn out in no time.

Thankyou. Yes I've burnt out in teaching in the past so moving into a other role where you can't physically finish the job may not be a good idea!

Its better paying than most ex-teacher roles I've looked at though and more flexible than teaching.

And someone's got to do it.

I wonder what they leave to go and do. Or do they crash and burn like teachers 😔.

I get the appeal of getting to be the kind, supportive person who crosses all the ts and dots all the is of provision and brings good news to families in need, but the times when I've really appreciated our caseworker has been when she's been a bit of a hard-ass harridan on our behalf and made herself impopular and faced down some tough opposition from other parties when I've been too exhausted and overwhelmed to fight anymore. Granted, it's been when our needs have aligned with LA interests, but she's flexed her in-depth knowledge of SEND law and secured provision DC was entitled to despite opposition from other quarters.

She sound fab!

@EveSix I am glad you are kind and respectful to your case officer they are human beings after all and nearly all I know (I've worked across 2 LAs) sound like the OP who just want to help and support families. But to be clear the case officer won't be making decisions. All decisions go through a multi agency panel.

@SageBlossomBunny if your currently on a 0 hour contract could you maybe apply and start (if successful) and case officer role and if it's not right for you go back to the old work? It really will depend on the LA you apply for I think what state they are in as to whether the role is manageable.

My current LA thankfully shifted from saying no to specialist places (when child clearly needed one) to saying yes specialist places needed but no spaces. This did make the role more easier as at least parents were getting the right decision, just not a place straight away.

But being honest, even if they have enough staff/specialist places (unlikely anywhere!) there will be times you have to communicate decisions that parents/schools may not agree with and I found those the most challenging sometimes. When a parent wants specialist but the panel all agree it's not required and the mainstream schools can meet need. So you do need to prepared that not ever case will be about supporting parents. But there will be a professional and supportive way to help them, I've had to do a few and parents have always left the meeting/call thanking me. But I hated those ones as I felt sorry for the parents that they didn't get the outcome they wanted.