New EHCP/mediation/ new school.

[Sweetpeasweetpea]

Good Morning,

I just wanted to share my experience from yesterday mediation regarding my daughter’s EHCP and some advice. Thank you for reading.

What happened in mediation:
• I asked for Section F (provision) to be quantified and for Speech and Language Therapy (SaLT) to be included once assessed.
• The LA agreed to include her ADHD diagnosis, and SaLT will be included once assessed, with provision hopefully following.
• The LA refused to quantify Section F, saying she has “daily support” all day. They also mentioned she gets 16 hours a week, but this is not written in her EHCP, which worries me.
• The new school SENCO said she will have interventions and assessments, and this is how provision will be measured in termly reviews.

My concerns:
• My daughter is in her first week at school, and I can already see how her EHCP is being applied in practice.
• Her TA is shared with other children, including another child with an EHCP.
My daughter has to ask for help, and sometimes by the time she does, she has forgotten what she needed. Her EHCP clearly states her attention, focus, and working memory need scaffolding and support.
• Today she told me she was crying in the toilet because of a spelling test situation—she had to mark her classmates’ tests, and her classmate marked hers with dots. She could not complete the task because it was beyond her ability and she didn’t want to speak to the teacher.
• The day before, she said the teacher told her the child on her table would help. According to her reports, she often looks at classmates’ work for cues because she cannot work independently, yet her EHCP states she needs dedicated support to complete tasks.

What I’m wondering:

1. Should I keep a diary of what my child experiences in school or missed support?
2. How can I ask for clarity on how shared class support works in practice, especially when another child is always sitting next to her? She struggles to get attention when she needs it, and she masks her struggles. I mentioned this in the mediation, also written in her EHCP, the LA member downplayed this statement, told me a child can't mask for 6 hours.

thank you

How old is dd? I’m not sure if you mean she’s in first week at school ever or first week in new school?

You should appeal. The wording you mention is far too vague and woolly. Provision that isn’t detailed, specified and quantified in F doesn’t have to be provided.

For example, ‘daily support’ is far too vague and woolly. What ‘support’? When? Where? How long for? Frequency? Ratio? Who will provide it? What will their training/qualifications/experience be? ‘Daily’ could mean for 5 mins once a day. All DC in schools receive daily support. It doesn’t mean 1:1 or even 1:2 or that DD will have a TA. If 1:2 (or whatever ratio) is required, the EHCP would need to clearly set out how 1:2 (or whatever ratio is required) is provided.

Provision in EHCPs comes from evidence. By all means keep a diary, but you will need professional evidence to support amendments you are proposing.

If advice and information from SALT is necessary, it should have been sought during the needs assessment. Don’t trust that the LA will amend or amend sufficiently at a later date.

Sorry, I should have said, she's in year 2, 6 years old.its her first week in a new school.

ExistingonCoffee
everything you have mentioned is correct.
I know I should appeal, but I don't have evidence.
with this wording, I will have to keep asking, this makes me feel very unsure.
when I did bring this up, the La told me, she's getting support throughout the day. 😚they think we are stupid, we know the truth, but keep getting told rubbish.

You can seek further evidence during the appeal process. You don’t need all the evidence right now.

Look at independent assessments. If you can’t afford them, check if you are eligible for legal aid. This can fund independent assessments if necessary. If you aren’t eligible for legal aid, there are charities, such as Parents in Need, who can help.

It is all in the wording. DD is “getting support throughout the day” but that doesn’t mean the level of support DD requires.

Do the original reports from the EHCNA have the same wooly wording in them? Or have the LA changed the wording to water it down? I would start by checking all the original reports and that all the provision stated in them is copied correctly across. If they are also vague, you may have to go back to the original authors and ask for them to be re written properly! How.long ago was the assessment?

More and more EHCPs are going this way as there is not enough money. Also it can be detrimental if a child can only work when velcroed to an adult. They need to also develop some independence. I would monitor and see how she settles in. I hope it works out.

it can be detrimental if a child can only work when velcroed to an adult. They need to also develop some independence.

This is a line LAs like to try to use. It misrepresents the research, which is why when LAs try to rely on it at Tribunals it doesn’t wash. A well trained 1:1 deployed correctly does not lead to dependence. Michael Charles, a well regarded SEN solicitor, once wrote a piece about it.

Provision in F is based on what the child reasonably requires to meet needs. It is not lawful for LAs to refuse to include SEP reasonably required because of a lack of funding.

You don't need evidence to make what's already in there specific and quantified, the judge will expect the LA to go back to the professionals they obtained advice from during the ehcna to find out exactly what's needed.

It can take around a year now to get a hearing. By then the salt advice will be ready and can also be added. If you do nothing I can guarantee they either won't do a salt assessment, won't add the support or it will be as woolly and useless as the current support is and things will just get worse as your daughter won't be getting the support she needs.