SEND parent stuck for next steps with LA / post 16 transition: exhausted and losing the plot.

[FromTheGroundDownwards]

After years of wrangling with the SEND system, I'm finding I have suddenly and unexpectedly ground to an exhausted stand-still.

I'm at a crucial point of transition between phases (secondary to Post 16) and should be going all out to secure the right provision for my child after some quite predictable pushback from the Local Authority about provision -I've been at it for almost a decade so it's not news- but I have just unravelled over the last few days.

I find I'm overwhelmed and can't seem to find my next step. My previous experience feels irrelevant and our EHCP suddenly feels as if it's not quite fit for this next stage, in a couple of ways I hadn't anticipated. I can't seem to see what I need to do next (the thought of re-drafting) makes me feel physically sick) and, weirdly, can't seem to process the reams of information and documentation I need to work with -I'm just staring at my screen and papers in folders, my mind a complete blank, after everyone's gone to bed. Maybe moving a few words here and there. For hours. I'm scared of my inbox.

I'm not able to not think about it either -I've been at the gym for an hour, thinking I should try to carve out some 'me-time' but am not able to switch off, just checking deadlines and emails, trying not to cry. Wtf. I'm usually a very calm, pragmatic, one-step-at-a-time person and don't recognise this at all.

Not even sure what I'm asking (posting in Chat for a bit more passing traffic than on the SEND board), because I know this is a notoriously isolating aspect of some people's parenting journey, and that there are no easy answers. It's just so relentless. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. My very lovely friends' DC are all finishing GCSEs, getting excited about their options for the autumn and trying on prom dresses, so I can't really reach out to anyone in RL without it turning weird.

Maybe I'm asking for a bit of rope, a bit of signposting or next-steps nudging. This feels so totally indulgent at a time when my YP really needs me to be 100% on it. I need to get my act together.

What stage is the plan at? Have you just had the phase transfer plan issued?

@FrothyCothy It's a mess, and it's been messy since the start, with lots of changes of professionals, case holders, SENDCos, so EHCP feels patchy.
Following emergency annual review just before the holiday, I'm not sure what is the right thing to do, so can't submit anything. Colleges can't meet need, LA has requested Section F is rewritten to better suite a college setting. YP has high support needs and has attended school with a great deal of support and adjustment which will not ordinarily be available for an entry level 3 course at college. LA initially proposed EOTIC as it seemed unlikely YP would be able to attend college, but YP mentioned that they might like to try college, so EOTIC proposal has been shelved as college is obviously preferable from LA's perspective. I had hoped for a blended provision / split package to include (at least an attempt at) college as well as a weekly vocational ALP which YP has attended while at school, but LA now say that Section B doesn't support this being continued into Post 16 provision. Section B, which was spot-on when written in 2024, does now feel outdated if I look at it with fresh eyes. So ideally, I ought to be pushing for Section B to be amended but this feels absolutely overwhelming at this stage and I don't know how to begin the process.

Take a breath. You can do this.

The amended EHCP for the phase transfer should have been finalised by now. Has it?

If it hasn’t been finalised, the next step is to chase the LA reminding them they are in breach of the deadline. Email the Director of Children’s Services. Alongside that, start to look for someone with capacity for a pre-action letter. Demand is high so that can take perseverance.

If the phase transfer EHCP has been finalised but isn’t fit for purpose, you need to appeal. You need a mediation certificate then to submit an appeal to SENDIST. The content of EHCPs is taken from the evidence, not written to fit a specific placement, so consider your evidence. What have you already got and what more do you need. Do you need any independent assessments? Think about submitting SARs. Even if you have had an emergency review, you can and should submit an appeal now. Don’t wait. The LA may not amend following the review. Even if they do, it could be 12 weeks before it is finalised and still not satisfactory. You do not want to be submitting a phase transfer appeal in June.

@ChasingMoreSleep Thank you so much.
The emergency annual review was on the 27th of March. Nothing was agreed or finalised in the meeting. It ended with the instruction to go away and strike out Section F provision to make a college placement more feasible.

You said: "If it hasn’t been finalised, the next step is to chase the LA reminding them they are in breach of the deadline."
The problem is with me, I think. I just don't know what to submit in order for something to be finalised. It feels like a huge dilemma and I don't know what to do for the best.

I thought I would be able to do it myself, but am realising that if I strike out certain key aspects of Section F, and college doesn't work (because that was the support that was needed), we'll be left with a failed placement and necessary support removed from the EHCP. Argh. The sticking points are phrases like 'a bespoke and individualised curriculum' and 'X needs somebody to mediate her learning experience', both of which have been crucial.

I had hoped to propose a Post 16 package of blended provision to include college and the vocational ALP, but it was pointed out to me that Section B lacks evidence to support vocational ALP as Section F provision. I can see it isn't straightforward: Section B was great at framing school based needs consistent with a diagnosis of autism and adjacent SpLD, but includes nothing specifically about preparation for adulthood or defining barriers to attaining vocational goals, which could inform Section E and F. I've clearly missed an important trick, being so immersed in making the tiny steps of the day-to-day going. I could kick myself.

Our caseholder clearly felt EOTIC was an obvious path before DD mentioned she'd like to try applying to college. Am I missing something else?

When you suggest looking for someone with capacity for a pre-action letter, does this refer to a SEND advocate or solicitor? I'm literally riddled with this awful second-guessing of things I'd never think twice about not that long ago. I've lost trust in my own capacity and judgement.

Do you have anything like Copilot/ChatGPT or similar? I'm not saying get AI to write it wholesale, but sometimes it helps get me unstuck if I put it all in and say "can you help me reword this so it makes sense/so it is more applicable to a college setting " or something like that.
Even having just a basic outline or a starting point helps me get going iyswim.

The amended phase transfer EHCP should have been finalised by the 31st March. The early review doesn’t change this deadline. It doesn’t excuse the LA breaching the deadline and now frustrating your right of appeal.

I would look for a solicitor with a legal aid contract for a pre-action letter. Legal aid won’t cover the pre-action letter unless you yourself are eligible for legal aid, but if you need to move to JR proceedings themselves, they would be in DD’s name and she can be eligible for legal aid in her own right. Some LAs are now ignoring letters that don’t come via someone with a legal aid contract because they know you will still need to find someone with capacity to take the case further and that kicks the can down the road. Although there are others including advocates who write pre-action letters if you would prefer.

Provision shouldn’t be removed just to force a fit into a specific placement.

To respond to a draft, you need to start by looking at the evidence. Go through all the evidence with highlighters. Highlight all DD’s special educational needs in one colour and all the provision to meet the needs in another colour. Each need should have corresponding provision.

Then go through the draft and make sure all the highlighted needs are in B and the highlighted provision is in F. Make a note of anything the LA have omitted from the draft, any needs without corresponding provision, any woolly and vague wording, and anything the reports have failed to include.

If PfA provision isn’t in F, you should look at the evidence to see if it is a case of the evidence being poor or if the evidence is there, but the EHCP is poor or both. I suspect both. It sounds like you need better and up to date evidence.

When you come across vague and woolly wording, check the reports to see if they are woolly and vague or if the LA has watered down provision. If the reports are vague and woolly, you need improved evidence. Provision in EHCPs is taken from the reports, so if the reports are vague and woolly, the EHCP will be too. If the LA has watered down provision, make sure to request the LA sticks to the wording in the reports.

“X needs somebody to mediate her learning experience” is too vague and woolly. Needs doesn’t mean must receive. Somebody? Who? What does mediate mean? How often? How long for? What ratio?

Then make sure any health or social care provision that educates or trains is in F. For example, LAs like to put therapies like SALT and OT in G (health care provision) when it belongs in F.

Be careful using AI. It makes up legislation, makes up case law, misunderstands case law, invents barristers’ names. To the point it was commented on in an UT judgement last year. The content of EHCPs is based on the evidence. If the reports don’t cover needs and provision accurately &/or are vague and woolly, they need improving, which AI can’t do. Yet AI regularly doesn’t take this into account and tries to amend wording without those amendments being based on the evidence.

Thank you @TheFuturesSoBright and @ChasingMoreSleep .

I'm wary of AI because it tells me what I want to hear. I did run section B through it, asking it to pull out specific Needs which would support the inclusion of the ALP in section F: "This will be easier than you think -the evidence you need is there if you view it through the lens of..., for example...:" etc, but I feel like even I can see they're tenuous links.

Vague and woolly sort of sums it up. I've sat down with some highlighters and the most recent 2024 EP report (the previous reports being from Year 6) like you suggested. At the end of the day, in January 2024, when the EP report was written, we didn't know what provision we'd need it to support in September 2026. There are broad thrusts along the lines of interest-led, experiential learning, incorporating movement and an emphasis on self-actualisation through independent skills development, which, I suppose, could loosely be construed to mean that this is a child who needs this type of ALP, but it's not as if it's there in black and white.

Also, the 2024 EP report is written as a list of bullet points of "recommended provision": the 20 points have all been pasted into Section F (by previous SENDCo); none of them have been put in Section B as needs despite some of the 'recommended provisions' listed in the EP report use the word 'need'. . In fact, there's no reference to Needs in the 2024 EP report at all, only a few observations in a section titled 'current situation'; four broad 'outcomes' and 20 points of 'recommended provision'.

I think I'm going to have to start from the beginning, aren't I? New evidence? It feels way too late to request a new EP report at this stage. Who is best placed to assess / report on PfA Needs related to training and vocational goals for Section B? EP or OT? My mind is spinning. I don't think the programme leader of the ALP counts? Or school staff? Whose voice can actually inform Section B?

I've had some successes along the way; securing an EHCP on my own, resisting off-rolling to maintain a place in mainstream as it was what my child wanted, navigating services and (eventually) securing amazing provision; but as someone who also works in education (teacher, I'm embarrassed to say, as I feel I ought to know this inside out), I really struggle with feeling I need to 'stay in my lane', mustn't tread on colleagues' feet, nor inconvenience or criticise the LA (my employer) and I presume competence, a common purpose and good faith, where perhaps that is a bit too naïve generous.

Thank you again for the really specific pointers, @ChasingMoreSleep , you've been incredibly helpful.

DD went to an Agricultural college.
They have a Foundation Unit that has only a few students who are entry level.
Not sure what they do though.
We found the college very supportive for DD (who got an EHCP in y12).

I concur with ChasingMoreSleep.

I have just started the legal aid process for Judicial Review for a post 19 placement that should have been completed by March 31st.

I rang the Civil Legal Advice service after I checked whether DD could get legal aid in her own right. I’ve been allocated a legal aid solicitors service and am just starting to gather the information required. It has been very easy to do.

SENCOs don’t write EHCPs. For those in schools, they circulate the report within 2 weeks of review meetings, but it is the LA responsible for writing/amending EHCPs.

Reports should cover needs, provision and outcomes.

Just because a report uses the word ‘need’ doesn’t necessarily mean it is a special educational need (section B). It could just be poorly worded special educational provision (section F). For example, X needs a laptop is (poorly worded) special educational provision, not a special educational need.

It sounds like you need new EP, OT and SALT reports. All can cover elements of PfA.

I would look at independent reports. It isn’t too late. If you can’t afford them and you appeal when you get a finalised EHCP, if you aren’t eligible for legal aid, or rather legal help for appeals to SENDIST, which can funded independent assessments if necessary, look at charity funding e.g. Parents in Need. If money doesn’t stretch to more than one report, start with an EP report. If you can afford EP, OT and SALT and have money available, you could look at an ISW assessment, but I appreciate 4 reports would be beyond many families. That can help with PfA.

All evidence, including that from the ALP and school, should be considered when amending the EHCP. If you appeal once you have the right of appeal, SENDIST will consider all evidence, but EP, OT and SALT will be important. If you are going to pursue provision otherwise than at/in school/college, you will need evidence it is inappropriate for provision to be made in school/college.

Before you can even submit an appeal, you need the finalised EHCP. That needs to be the primary focus right now.

You shouldn’t be embarrassed. Equally, I think you have been too trusting of the LA, but this isn’t your fault.

@Quoth good luck! You shouldn’t have to use energy and time to force the LA to do what they should do. Sadly, while there are no serious repercussions, LAs will continue to do as they please. Infuriating.