Therapy in Section F of EHCP

[Boolas]

Evening all,

Our adopted children (nearly 7 years old) have EHCPs as they've been really struggling at school due to developmental trauma and attachment difficulties. They have complex issues and require a significant package of therapeutic support. This is not currently in Section F as we decided not to appeal it in the summer. However, their annual reviews are scheduled and we intend to appeal it this time. We are having a monumental battle with our LA every year to get funding for therapy so we decided that the best way to secure it long term is to get it in Section F of the EHCP. Does anyone have experience of an appeal on this basis and do you have any advice for us please? We're going to get professional assistance as we go through the process, but I'd still like to hear about anyone else's stories. Thanks all.

Hi, I am new to these boards but not new to adoption - or the battle for therapy funding and appropriate school provision.

My children have a very specific type of therapy written into their EHCPs - to avoid the Local Authority trying to downgrade or change our therapy package. It was a fight to achieve it; both cases had to go to tribunal separately - but the relief of no longer having the constant worry of therapy being taken away at short notice was (and still is) huge!

We had to prove that therapy was providing education and training - but that was fairly easy really given the level of need my children have.

Our Local Authority were difficult right up to the very last minute for the first tribunal, then caved on many issues as we waited outside the courtroom (and the Judges awarded all the other requests). I thought they would back down more easily for the second one but sadly not and I had to spend another fortune taking it right to tribunal - where the Judges tore strips off them and left everyone in no doubt what the outcome would be. You may have a Local Authority who will back down once they see how far you will push - my solicitor was very surprised at the level of resistance and said it was not her usual experience with Local Authorities.

My main advice would be to get a solicitor involved early on. They pushed when the LA were dragging their heels, they read all the reports from therapists etc and went through the EHCPs to check all advice and recommendations were included in the right sections, they wrote parent letters to the LA for me...

I would also get updated reports from anyone involved with your children, making sure they all include their specific and clear opinions of what provision is needed.

Hope that helps! Good luck

I have 2 DC with multiple therapies in their EHCPs, and have helped many others secure therapies too. The most important thing is to ensure provision is detailed, specified and quantified in F. You need evidence. If you need independent reports but can’t afford them Parents in Need can sometimes help. If you are eligible for legal aid that can fund independent reports too.

If you do seek legal representations pick wisely. You need someone with SENDIST experience. SENDIST gives a certain amount of leeway to unrepresented parents, which isn’t given with representation, so a non-specialist can hinder one’s case. If you use an advocate be careful. It is an unregulated business and some are, frankly, rubbish and cause more harm than good.

It is possible to successfully appeal without spending large amount of legal representation so it isn’t essential and if you need to prioritise where you spend money it should be on reports as it is evidence that wins appeal.

You might get more replies about EHCPs on the SN or SEN boards.

@LeoLeo2 that's really interesting, thanks for sharing. We want a very particular package that the LA don't want to pay for. But it's the best one for our children. Our therapy provider has put us in touch with an independent consultant who their parents often use. So not an actual solicitor but he has a lot of experience and seems very professional and knowledgeable. And he would gather the evidence and represent us at the tribunals etc. Its certainly good to know that it can be achieved! And that's what we want, the security of knowing that our children will have what they need, without the yearly battle that is SO stressful!

@JustKeepBuilding thanks for your input too. I went for the adoption forum as the adoption therapy support is a kind of niche support. So I wasn't sure the SEN forums would have so much knowledge about that. Although I know they deal with EHCPs a lot. I guess I just wanted to know that if we take it to tribunal that we have a decent chance of winning it. As it's a long process with a lot of expense. But if we get what we want it will definitely be worth it!

It’s always worth appealing as the majority are successful.

I suggested the SN or SEN boards because as long as the therapy “educates or trains” it belongs in F and the process of securing it included in there is the same regardless of what type of therapy it actually is.