EHCP and the race to state

[Ohthatsjustalotofeffort]

For parents with children in independent schools….

Those children with SEN needs who do not have an EHCP as the independent school can meet their needs….. are you now applying for an EHCP in preparation to move to state school?

We have just started the process as our children will now be moving to state so will need an EHCP. As a state school teacher myself I know my child needs it and will be successful.

We are using a third party to apply for the EHCP who told me they have had I’m unprecedented demand in anticipation of the move to state schools and making sure they have the document they need.

I am aware our child who would qualify for an EHCP wouldn’t need to pay the VAT but we have 2 others without SEN and we can’t afford the fees with the increase so are on the waiting lists now to move.

Obviously mainstream isn’t suitable for all, I can’t see anyone has said otherwise, but for those it is suitable for, their EHCP can be enforced once correctly written.

Where school is inappropriate there are other options in all areas. EOTAS is available in all LAs despite what some LAs claim to some parents. Again, it often takes an appeal then enforcement.

She not queue jumping she is getting someone else to apply for the ehcp which she could most probably do herself but she has a very demanding job. If she can afford to then why not outsource to someone else rather than try and do herself. Lots of parents of Sen children end up having to give up work as fighting the system as well as looking after the Sen child themselves can become the equivalent of a full time job but people shouldn’t be expected to do this or punished for taking another option where there is one

so refusing to assess buys them an extra 10 months of savings while you go to tribunal

Refusal to assess appeals are not taking 10 months. The vast majority of RTA appeals are paper based and are not taking that long.

Interested to know whereabouts you are; three schools closed recently 😧

No she’s paying for lawyers to queue jump over poorer more needy families unable to articulate or even afford to feed their children in increasing cases. Many privately educated kids with SEN won’t even need an EHCP. £25k as a sum is being bragged about by some posters.

I really hope this is dealt with. Surely state and the most needy kids should come first.

In London 3 closed that I know of and this was 2/3 years ago..

DD2 has been referred for an EHCP. Frankly she’s ADHD, possibly AuADHD. We all know it.

But she’s also lovely, kind, amazing… She just doesn’t fit into the modern schooling system/conveyor belt. She never will. And with fewer and fewer resources, whether secondary she gets will be hard pressed to cope with her.

I am hunting for schools that she might ‘fit’ at present, but state schools essentially have a particular model and it’s not one that she will excel in. I really wish there were schools for ‘bright and gregarious but unable to concentrate for more than 20 minutes and not ‘academic’ so you have to teach them while keeping them active’.

Some people say I could medicate her, but I would feel like I was drugging her into submission. She still a normal child - she’s just not built for the narrow constraints our system is trying to force on her.

Lots of parents?

Maybe in your world, but not where I work.

How long are they taking I can’t find a specific answer online? Back when I appealed in 2016 it was 12 weeks for paper hearing but parents I’ve spoken to recently their hearing dates were significantly in excess of 12 weeks

Paper based refusal to assess appeals are taking around 5 months.

Just be prepared for a fight to get an ECHP and there is no guarantee there will be a state school place in the same school for all your children.

We are currently on week 39+ of my sons ECHP application. We are in a local authority where they have signed a safety valve agreement where they have agreed to cut the number of ECHPs. My sons pre-school applied in October 2023. The LA refused to conduct an ECHNA. I appealed in December with no additional information. The LA conceded in February (as they had no evidence to back up their refusal to assess and the numerous professional reports backed up that my son had SEN and needed an ECHP). LA conduced an ECHNA and deputed the EP report saying my son needed 1-2-1 for most of the day they refused to issue an EHCP. I’ve now appealed again and I am waiting on an appeal date. I have been warned that it can be 12 month to get to tribunal. Realistically, if we win the appeal it will be two years from start to finished to get an ECHP taking into account time to draft and issue after the appeal

Children having medication isn’t drugging into submission .

Surely paying for all this (EHCP service plus OT and EP reports ) will cost more than the increase in fees ??!

My son is autistic so I do tend to know a lot of parents of children with Sen/autism compared to the average person. Me and my partner both work full time but I know of very few parents with similar children to my son who have been able to do this, particularly if they have more than one child and the job isn’t flexible at all, virtually all have had to have one parent give up work or reduce hours,

where I work there aren’t lots of parents having to give up but that’s because most of the people that work there don’t have children with sen

If the LA hadn’t conceded for their failure to assess appeal it would have be 6 month to be heard. I appealed to SENDIST in Dec 2023 and we were listed for a paper hearing in May/June 2024.

Also in our area they will only accept EP reports written by their EPs.

The wait times can be horrendous for the appointments too

Such a blanket policy is unlawful. If parents appeal, SENDIST certainly considers all evidence including independent reports.

@Djthhtk9494 if I were to medicate my daughter to make her behave in a way that a school would like her to behave, which is not normal for her, I would feel that I was drugging her into submission.

You can do what you want with your kids, feel free. We all have our own circumstances. i was very careful to specify that this is how i would feel about my child. As far as I am concerned, the problem for my daughter is the restrictive environment and systems implemented to educate children en mass. In a different environment she would thrive and learn without the need for any medication at all.

But that’s not available in this country. So I would be using medication to push her into compliance with an overly restrictive system that does not suit her.

Legally they have to accept private reports although I don’t dispute what you are saying as lots of la’s try it on, if op ends up going to tribunal, which is likely the private reports will be accepted

The two private schools I teach in have a higher proportion of special needs children than the state schools I have taught in. One has 40% and the other has around 50%. Very few are on EHCPs. A lot of parents are looking for smaller schools with more flexibility. They are also trying to avoid the bottom sets in state schools which are a bit notorious. A lot of state schools vary enormously depending on what sets your child is in, some are basically running a grammar school style stream, middle sets (which get a bit of a raw deal) and then the bottom sets which include many of the children with severe behaviour problems (hard working, children with learning difficulties do not thrive in this environment). There has been no suggestion from Labour that they will do anything much to improve schools so I imagine things will remain the same. A lot of state school parents use tutors to try to improve their child’s chances.

They didn’t even accept a report written by a neighbouring authority and they had one of their EPS look at it, assess her themselves and rewrite. The idea the wealthy can just buy an EHCP is abhorrent and not entirely correct.

but the law and what la’s actually do are two completely different things, most la’s don’t follow the law as regards Sen. Tribunal forces them to.

I don’t need a tribunal
as they had already said she’d get one.