To actually expect something from an EHCP?

[Lula63]

I have an almost 4 year old with autism who is quite severely affected. He attends a private nursery for children age 2-5 until he's old enough to start at a specialist school next year. The nursery wanted him to get an EHCP which he now has, I presumed so they could unlock funding to draft in extra support for him / SALT / therapies etc. Basically I assumed he'd be getting more support as that's what it's for, right?

He has had the EHCP for 7ish months now but hasn't actually received any additional support. No feedback from the nursery in terms of what they're doing with him. His days are the same as they have been since he was 2. He's only been on two outings in the almost 2 years he has been there, and they were both before he had an EHCP so the money isn't being spent on educational trips out either.

He doesn't have a 1:1 and has only had one direct SALT session, through his EHCP, outside of nursery. A lady unconnected to the nursery called me and said he was entitled to a session due to having his EHCP so we took him along and that was great.

However the funding awarded to the named provision (his nursery) was quite substantial so WIBU to expect the nursery to actually do something productive with it - because as far as we can see, they're not doing.

They apparently use SALT techniques with all the SN children that are there, but none of that is targeted for DS and he definitely needs alot of support.

Ask for an early annual review of the EHCP as you are concerned about the provision and progress towards his targets. They will need to discuss targets set, those achieved and the provision made to get him there.

An EHCP will not immediately trigger funding in many cases but if it has you should be able to see where that has been spent.

TBF with the SALT provision, I hardly ever see a therapist online or in school- thee seems to be a massive shortage here.

What does the EHCP actually say he should get in terms of support?

The EHCP should detail what specific additional support he should receive. What does it say? You can then ask the nursery specifically if they have put those measures in place.

Unless the additional support is quantified and specified very clearly in the EHCP it’s quite difficult to hold the nursery to account.

I agree with asking for an early review and get the EHCP amended and tightened up before school.

IPSEA is a very useful organisation for info in this

It depends entirely on what the EHCP says, what his targets are etc.

I am in a mainstream school and have a very autistic child with an EHCP plan. It is several pages long and extremely detailed with all the targets and provisions we have to do for him. We basically have to replicate a 'special school' setting in our classroom to accommodate him and it is extremely stressful and the rest of the class are suffering as a result.

Sorry I'm going off on one now but I mean to say, from my experience, an EHCP can mean an awful lot of provisions are put in place.

I would ask the school to see his plan and how they are meeting his needs.

They will be receiving extra funding for him most likely. I would ask to see plan, ask what extra is in place. Can he have a 121 support. If not threaten to move him, the plan and funding go with him so the nursery will loose out.

What does his plan actually say? What was he awarded? What interventions/specific support?

Basically I assumed he'd be getting more support as that's what it's for, right?

There's no need to assume. Specific support, interventions, targets and accommodations should be detailed in the EHCP.

What does his EHCP say?

Thank you for the replies, I've just looked through his EHCP and these are some of the requirements from the provision. There's alot and it's taking me a while to copy and paste, but for example:

• DS requires an individualised therapy programme (for communication) devised by the Speech and Language Therapist in liaison with teaching staff. This programme will be incorporated into his classroom routines and delivered by members of staff that are familiar with him.

He isn't being given an individualized therapy program at nursery.

• DS must be educated by experienced teaching staff with relevant training to meet his needs

I know for a fact they aren't following this as 3/5 of the staff are young apprentices with no prior experience of SEN children.

• DS requires support from an adult who knows him/his needs and who can support him on a 1:1 basis.

He doesn't have a 1:1.

• 1:1 support from an education staff member in order to model communication and be able to be familiar with DS communication in order to interpret his needs effectively

As above, no 1:1.

• DS will require support from a key adult

His named key worker has left unannounced and we haven't been made aware of a replacement, so as it stands he has no key worker we are aware of. There are new staff members but none of which are appointed to work with DS specifically.

• Staff working with DS need an understanding of DS strengths and needs including his significant delay in speech and language. They will also need to have an understanding of the impact of his diagnosis of ASD on his interaction, engagement in tasks, learning style, ability to manage change, difficulties with generalisation and transition and sensory needs.

They aren't acknowledging this as they've been trying to push him into toilet training that he has no concept of / is no way near ready for.

• There will need to be close link between home school and school home to share teaching experiences, concerns and strengths

No feedback whatsoever in terms of what they're doing with him to help him learn or how they're implementing the EHCP.

• A high level of support within the classroom environment will need to be provided

Not happening given the staff/children ratio and the fact he doesn't get 1:1.

With regards to the funding:

DS will be provided with a statutory package of SEN support which is to be used to meet DS SEN needs and achieve the identified and agreed outcomes as defined in his EHC Plan. The first £6,000 of the SEN costs will be funded via the school's devolved budget and the LA will top up with an additional £12,150 The package of support agreed by the LA will be provided in addition to the school's local offer.

So they're getting over £18,000 per year and doing nothing with it.

Sorry, £12,150 from the LA.

My gripe is nothing has changed for him, he essentially spends the day playing as he always has since 2 and isn't receiving any direct 1:1 support with his speech and communication despite that being a requirement of the EHCP.

He had a key worker who has left and he hasn't been assigned a new one, but even when he did have a keyworker she wasn't able to provide 1:1 as she was expected to monitor and support the other children too.

The £6000 figure and devolved budget part refers to the expectations in a school setting - not a private nursery. This is the money that the school have to pay out of their own budget, not that they are given. In nursery settings, the money would usually be different- it depends on your local authority and what hours he does. So I think those numbers are probably wrong.

They plan should be reviewed within 6 months if a child is under 5. It does sound terrible and I agree that ipsea or Sendiass should be able to help you to challenge the support he getting.

@Bobblesock

The £6000 figure and devolved budget part refers to the expectations in a school setting - not a private nursery. This is the money that the school have to pay out of their own budget, not that they are given. In nursery settings, the money would usually be different- it depends on your local authority and what hours he does. So I think those numbers are probably wrong.

They plan should be reviewed within 6 months if a child is under 5. It does sound terrible and I agree that ipsea or Sendiass should be able to help you to challenge the support he getting.

Thank you for clarifying.

I actually emailed Sendiass a few weeks ago but received no response. I'll find a telephone number and call instead.

If you don't think his needs that are stated on his EHCP are being met, you need to speak to the statutory sen department at your local authority. Not good at all if they are not being met. Can also request a review.

My two are primary age, both have EHCP's. Ds gets 1:1 support whereas Dd gets very little provision so it depends what is outlined on their plans. It doesn't automatically entitle a child to full time 1:1. It's a tricky one.

They only have to do what's in the EHCP. The EHCP needs to be specific and quantified, if it's not, it's not worth the paper it's written on. Unless you've been to tribunal, I can almost guarantee it's not worth the paper it's written on.

For example the salt should specify how many sessions a week/month/half term, who with (a qualified salt, key worker, the 1:1), how long for (10 mins, 30 mins), what training/qualifications those working with him will have, time written in for the elegant salt to write a report and attend any annual review.

What is 'relevant training'? It needs to say.

What is a high level of support? It needs to be specific. If he needs full time 1:1 it needs to specify he is to have x hours of 1:1.

Ipsea are a great resource www.ipsea.org.uk/what-should-be-in-the-sections-relating-to-education-sections-b-and-f

@Stormsy you've hit the nail on the head. Am starting mediation and have discovered that my echp's are most definitely not quantified

I would ask the nursery how exactly that extra funding is being spent. We have children on EHCPs at my primary school and, honestly, the extra money more often than not gets spent on things that don't necessarily benefit the children it is meant for. For example, nice new furniture for a room they use maybe once a week for a salt session. Then their '1:1' time is given by an existing member of staff who is not entirely qualified to deliver salt but is already on payroll so not being paid through EHCP funding. Schools and settings can be quite crafty with this funding in my experience.

[quote Stormsy]They only have to do what's in the EHCP. The EHCP needs to be specific and quantified, if it's not, it's not worth the paper it's written on. Unless you've been to tribunal, I can almost guarantee it's not worth the paper it's written on.

For example the salt should specify how many sessions a week/month/half term, who with (a qualified salt, key worker, the 1:1), how long for (10 mins, 30 mins), what training/qualifications those working with him will have, time written in for the elegant salt to write a report and attend any annual review.

What is 'relevant training'? It needs to say.

What is a high level of support? It needs to be specific. If he needs full time 1:1 it needs to specify he is to have x hours of 1:1.

Ipsea are a great resource www.ipsea.org.uk/what-should-be-in-the-sections-relating-to-education-sections-b-and-f[/quote]
I agree. The EHCP you have seem very vague.

DS must be educated by experienced teaching staff with relevant training to meet his needs - What training? Who determines what's relevant, and what needs?

DS requires support from an adult who knows him/his needs and who can support him on a 1:1 basis - What kind of support? How long does he require a 1-1, and what for?

DS will require support from a key adult - Again what sort of support, how much and what classifies as a key adult?

There will need to be close link between home school and school home to share teaching experiences, concerns and strengths - What form will this take? Who is responsible for providing this information?

A high level of support within the classroom environment will need to be provided - Again what support is required? Who will be providing it? What do they mean by a high level?

They won't be getting the first £6k. It's not additional.

Thanks all.

I agree it's very vague.

I raised a concern about the lack of quantification when I received the draft copy, I was assured that all EHCP's are like this when the child is so young but not to worry because it will be reviewed regularly and I can put forward my thoughts at such a time.

The deadline for signing it was closing in so I agreed with the plan, just so he had one. I should have been much firmer.

It does concern me, however, that even with the plan being as vague as it is and open to interpretation, the nursery are still managing not to follow it at all.

This sums up, why an unspecified EHCP is not worth the paper it's written on.

It definitely needs to specified and quantified. My Ds has an utterly appalling EHCP. Currently it's giving absolutely him no support at all.

His is full of 'opportunities for', 'access to' and 'benefit from'. All taken from a poor educational psychology report.

@Punxsutawney

This sums up, why an unspecified EHCP is not worth the paper it's written on.

It definitely needs to specified and quantified. My Ds has an utterly appalling EHCP. Currently it's giving absolutely him no support at all.

His is full of 'opportunities for', 'access to' and 'benefit from'. All taken from a poor educational psychology report.

Great picture. I should send that to his EHCP case manager!

On a serious note, why are there so many inadequate EHCP's that lack quantification when so many people know that to be worth anything they need to be quantified? Is it deliberate so as to be able to avoid providing the required support? Is it down to slap dash local authorities?

You often don't get more, more funding, more provision.

But what you do get is a legally binding document with outcomes, regular reviews and your child is protected as the provision must meet the needs and outcomes stated.

The document protects for the child until they are 25 if they remain in education and the long term outcomes are not achieved.

My tip is to make sure those long term goals include Further education objectives. This way they can't say they've been met at 16 and not carry the EHCP on. It's a long way off but get it legally written in!

@beautifullymad

You often don't get more, more funding, more provision.

But what you do get is a legally binding document with outcomes, regular reviews and your child is protected as the provision must meet the needs and outcomes stated.

The document protects for the child until they are 25 if they remain in education and the long term outcomes are not achieved.

My tip is to make sure those long term goals include Further education objectives. This way they can't say they've been met at 16 and not carry the EHCP on. It's a long way off but get it legally written in!

Thank you BM, taken on board

In answer to your last message, it's funding. It it's not specified exactly they are not held accountable and funding will be used elsewhere. It's a way to make inadequate funding pots stretch at the expense of the child.
There just isn't the money to fund appropriate suitable provision. But knowledge can help you firm up the wording of what is provided.

Don't take what the LA tell you as gospel. They will tell you what they want you to know, and their version of the law - LAs often have unlawful policies.

All EHCPs should be detailed, specific and quantified. Unfortunately, a woolly and vague EHCP isn't worth the paper it is written on, and it can't be enforced.

The EHCP needs tightening up. You can ask for an early review, IPSEA have a model letter you can use. Although if the LA refuse you don't have the right of appeal, you would have to either wait for the annual review or ask for a reassessment of needs.