Scrapping ehcp 's for children in mainstream school

[elliejjtiny]

I can't do a link on my tablet but contact a family have said on their Facebook page about ehcp's being scrapped for children in mainstream school. Not sure if it happening or just being discussed.

I have 2 dc in mainstream school with an ehcp. Dc4 has learning disabilities and is thriving with support. Dc5 has autism and is emotionally like a toddler at age 11. He wouldn't be safe at school without his ehcp. There are loads of children who are like them in mainstream school who would have been in special needs school when I was young.

@OxfordInkling i think various trends were not taken into account. There are SO many children with SEN in the private sector for a start. Also grandparents and other family often chip into fees. A relatively small group of parents are there paying fees from income. There had already been massive jumps in fees and there had to be a point where it became unsustainable.

Not to mention the SEN children who have had to leave independent schools due to the VAT. It is sickening that so many of these schools are specialist such as Moon Hall or Bruen Abbey or are specialist in all but name full of parents who were desperate as no state school can meet needs.

@User2346 I couldn’t agree more. Please do sign if you haven’t already and share with your networks.

All signed and shared.

Thanks so much @User2346

70,048 signatures so far. A few more needed

@TheBlueUniform thanks for fighting this! It’s nice to see it tick up but if you are reading this please sign as it’s the only real way to try to protect children’s education at this stage.

If the government are genuinely interested in including the majority of children in mainstream, and for mainstream schooling to meet a more diverse group of children’s needs, they need to deliver a systemic overhaul, and change what are education is about. This should be their starting point, and once they have determined how all needs will be met, only then looking at the EHCP system.

"If the government are genuinely interested in including the majority of children in mainstream"

Just like care in the community reflected a genuine interest people could easily get mental health support when the needed it ..

@Walkden exactly.

Also just like the money for the NHS which was going to appear after Brexit, the private school VAT money that was going to pour into state schools.

I agree @Brainworm they should look at EHCPs last.

So removing EHCPs from mainstream kids helps the system how….?

oh yes, by removing any legal redress parents have when their kids are not getting their needs met.

Great, just great.

Without an EHCP my child will sink in mainstream and there’s a high risk she will commit suicide. But she doesn’t have learning difficulties.

My heart is breaking and I’m filled with fear.

It's always about money and funding.

Yep and the VAT on independent schools is pushing up the number of children with SEND in state schools plus pushing up the numbers applying for EHCPs on an already overstretched system.
None of what Labour does is joined up or makes sense.

Absolutely agree.

there's lots of SEN kids with high academic ability who will spiral into chaos if left unsupported in a mainstream comprehensive. The Special Schools for severe learning difficulties aren't the right environment for them either. There isn't a category of schools in existence provided for these children.

Independent schools have been the (still not really appropriate) go-to solution for families who can afford to access a more supportive environment (using the money that would otherwise have funded the cars, holidays and home improvements that families without SEN issues get) but that door is being slammed down on their fingers. This was never the right solution anyway - obviously it's wrong that it wasn't available to those with lower income, but just having smaller class sizes and better-resourced, less-stressed staff isn't enough. I know/know of various academically able neurodiverse kids who have been inadequately supported in the private sector too.