EHCP denied AGAIN!!!

[MoreDataPls]

My lovely child has ADHD, ASD and hyper mobility. They attend an ofted outstanding school, however it does not have a SEN department, but has a SENCO. I have just been notified by the council that my child has been denied an ECHP again. The councils reasoning is that the school are providing sufficient support for my child. The only additional support my child receives is reading intervention once a week. They are a proficient although reluctant reader. The EHCP request was thorough, I provided plenty of evidence and documentation, but the request was still denied. So my lovely mumsnetters, based on the attachment of their work, similar to what I provided to the council when requesting the EHCP, what key stage of schooling do you think my child is?

I chose KS3, and by that I mean that the balance of probabilities puts this as a KS3 child who is capable but struggles with presenting his work.

The content is too challenging for KS1. The spelling is also at least adequate for KS1.

I feel this looks more KS3 than KS2, because secondaries tend to be less bothered about presentation.

All of that is irrelevant to whether he should have an EHCP.

When you say the application was thorough, were there any external reports beyond his diagnoses? Did any professionals support the application? Did the SENCO?

Thank you. So 70% of grades are at 4 or above, but the mean is still only 4.8 (seems counter intuitive to me!)

Is it refusal to assess or refusal to issue? It's standard for LA's to refuse to assess in most cases. They are hoping to put you off and you should appeal.

I can see why your child might need an EHCP, but I don't see what the level of his drawing has to do with it!

I teach 4 year olds - not one of them would be able to produce that piece of work!

There's a big bulge actually getting a 4 and then also at 5. 50% are at 5 or above, which means 50% are 4 or below. Reading off a graph from the doc but it looks like about 40% is 4-5. Makes sense the average is 4.8. As I said I could have chosen to round up not down but given you can't get part grades that seemed the wrong approach to me and made no difference to the point anyway.

I think people have very skewed views of what 'average' is. I know plenty of parents who think of a 7 as a low grade and a 6 a disaster!

You must not be teaching mumsnetter kids. On Mumsnet being able to read chapter books at the start of reception is considered 'slightly on the bright side of normal' 🤣. If you say it's the last Harry Potter book people might concede it's 'pretty bright but not a genius'.

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to reply. I really appreciate it. There have been some very insightful comments, particularly from others with children who have faced similar struggles and those who have worked in schools.

Apologies if I wasn’t clear regarding the EHCP request. The council has decided not to proceed with a statutory assessment, stating that they believe "My Child's" needs do not currently require special educational provision under an EHC Plan.

My child is in KS3, Year 9, and will soon turn 14. They take medication for ADHD, which has significantly improved their engagement in lessons and ability to complete work. It has also brought their detentions down to zero, which is fantastic! However, I still feel that their academic output is below the expected standard for a Year 9 student, especially as they have already begun some GCSE coursework.

While my child is articulate and can verbally answer questions, they struggle immensely with writing. If asked a question, they can respond fluently, but when required to write it down, they become confused and struggle to organise their thoughts. Their punctuation is also virtually non-existent.

Aside from reading intervention, my child does not receive any additional support in school. The SEN plan states that they should sit at the back of the classroom and are permitted to use a laptop in some lessons. There are a few exceptional teachers who go above and beyond to support my child, and I am incredibly grateful for them. I also pay for a tutor twice a week, which is a significant financial burden but provides 121 support that isn’t available at school.

The SENCO believes my child will "be fine" and does not require any additional support, nor do they support my EHCP request. I’m now realising that, as a high-performing state school, it may not be the right environment for my child

To the poster who asked, "What do I want from the plan?"—honestly, I had hoped that an EHCP would formally recognise my child's specific challenges and ensure they receive additional support, as well as extra time for tests and exams. My understanding was that an EHCP would secure additional funding for the school, allowing for this extra provision. I have been requesting targeted educational support since Year 2!

Following advice here, particularly from Kungfufightingwithexperttiming, I’m now wondering whether I need to fund independent assessments for numeracy, literacy, etc., rather than relying solely on the Child Psychiatrist’s reports (more £££££) that supported the EHCP request. I genuinely don’t know what further evidence the council expects me to provide to justify the statutory assessment.
I’m increasingly worried that my child is running out of time to achieve the Grade 4 GCSEs needed for further education—they hope to attend a local technical college—or to secure a job that provides financial independence.

I think your expectations of what should be done for your child are too high. Your child is already receiving extra help and medication. Many children do not work to the standard expected for their age; natural ability is a spectrum, and being below average is still normal.

Sorry OP - huge side-track but as a data nerd I found this really interesting (sad I know!) www.statista.com/statistics/282422/gcse-grades-in-england/

The reason the mean seems intuitively too low is because the mode is 5 (16.6%) but the second most common grade is actually a 3 (16.3%), and then a 4 (15.5%). The 3s pull the mean down, almost to 4.0. There are more 6-9 grades than there are 1-3, but this isn't enough to increase the mean beyond 5.

Another way of thinking about it is 2/3rds or 67% of grades are 4 or higher, but only 35% are above 5 and 33% are below 4. Therefore it makes sense that the mean is between 4 and 5, but a little closer to 5.

Disclaimer: I have no idea how U grades count in the mean!

Re college.
My DD has done 3 years at college with zero gcse passes, starting on a level 1 course, then a harder level 1 and now a level 2. (She got an EHCP at the start of y12.)

Re exam concessions. You don't need an ehcp for these. Ask the senco when they will be assessing your son, should happen this academic year.

I am a qualified secondary SENDCo and SLT. I can't comment with any accuracy on your child, but it appears there is nothing he needs that cannot be provided by the school's usual offer, so he does not need an EHCP. Children do not need an EHCP to access exam special arrangements or, depending on county, additional funding. The school can provide what he needs (laptop? Scribe? Adapted tasks? Extra time?) Without an EHCP. It is the school you need to be talking to, I think. I don't think further assessments will help you. That world you showed is not particularly weak for Y9, but lower end.

Op
Your dc doesn't need an EHCP to get exam concessions.

What is your dc's main need and what do they need most support with?

@MoreDataPls

Sorry, back on track.

EHCPs are where a child needs targeted and specific provision as a result of their SEND. I don't know your child so I don't know whether they do, but it's not sounding obvious that he does. EHCPs are not for all children with a diagnosis, nor all children who are working below the average for their age. This would be completely

The most relevant and holistic report that you can get to support an EHCNeeds Assessment request is an Educational Psychologist's report. This would cost around £600 in most areas if you seek this privately. Having an Ed Psych report before tribunal could strengthen your case, if they find significant needs and propose the need for significant adaptations. If the report does not propose the need for significant adaptations, this could hinder your case. If tribunal agrees that a Needs Assessment is required and you had not previously sought a report, then an Ed Psych would be assigned to your son's request and this would cost the school, not you.

Occupational Therapy also sounds relevant to your son, given his needs. In most areas, OT referrals are to NHS services and would not cost you money. The referral would normally be completed by school but needs to be agreed by the OT service. If I'm honest, I would doubt that your son would on the basis of writing difficulties alone, but it would be worth asking the SENCO.

OP - your son's issues sound very similar to my son's. I will leave others to comment on the likelihood of an ECHP but honestly that work is not particularly bad for year 9 and I think even if you get an assessment agreed you'll find there's limited actual support provided for under an ECHP. What exactly do you want the school to provide him? I can't immediately think of anything that would be particularly useful and obviously he's not going to be awarded 1-1 support.

If you have money for private assessments etc, I'd instead spend it on tutoring from an SEN specialist. Appreciate you might not have the money for that but it would be a better use than more private assessments in my view.

@MoreDataPls i have an adhd child, no ehcp….you know that to receive extra time and other accommodations for exams that they don’t need an ehcp? Ditto things like movement breaks, separate room, laptop, reader pens, a scribe etc….none of these are dependant on having an ehcp ,the schools have
assessors that come in particular years and test to see what accommodations are needed. Ehcps are meant to be for those with the most complex needs and perhaps that is not your son as it sounds like adhd meds have made a big difference. have you thought of seeing an educational psychologist to give you more of a steer of your sons needs and particular weaknesses ?So, for eg, it might be dysgraphia that impacting on his work if you find his answers using a computer are better structured. Also, have you had things like his eyesight tested…Irlens syndrome is not uncommon amongst those with adhd/ asd. Not all students are going to be academically successful even with maximum help, my child did extremely well once she was medicated for her adhd and the teachers knew how to support her but had NT friends who failed English and/or maths.

Oh and you don't need an ECHP for exam adaptations like typing, extra time or movement breaks.

If he struggles with writing could he use a laptop in class? He may be entitled to a scribe in exams too. There should be lots of reasonable adjustments being made still.

Oh I know, but if it was posted in a thread of ‘I think my child is advanced for their age’ then there would be many posters insisting that it was pretty normal for a four-year-old 😅

Does school support your application?

Every school has a sen budget and is expected to fund support for most kids with sen from that budget. An ehc is required where more help is required which needs funding. The old rule of thumb when I worked in sen was £6k pa worth would be covered by the school.

Lots of children are below average and won't qualify because the school is putting the support in.

At secondary, what happens is that they mostly pool the ehc money and use it to fund specialist TAs per subject. So it's not like primary where you get your own TA. These TAs usually help other kids too. So you might find your son is already getting help.

An ehc is useful if a child needs external provision, which is expensive. This would mean a place at a specialist sen school or speech and language or OT provision at the current school.

If you want him to stay where he is, imo your best bet is to look into whether he needs speech and language support. This is much more than just pronunciation. My daughter had a clinical receptive language disorder and we had no idea.

But you may find that an ehc is not needed, that your son is just not a high performer. Then it is about being realistic about outcomes and thinking ahead to college.

For more advice I suggest you contact SOS!SEN

Lots of my students (including my own DC) have adjustments for exams including extra time, readers, scribes and rest breaks. Very few have an EHCP as they simply don't need them. Support comes via school and our SEND team. I support them in class as well with lots of adaptations. Again, only a couple have EHCPs.

Exam access arrangements don’t require an EHCP. Have you looked at the access arrangement guidance on JCQ’s website?

You can appeal the refusal to assess. The legal test is relatively low. You only have to show DS a) has or may have SEN, and b) may need special educational provision to be made via an EHCP. You don’t need to prove DS definitely needs special educational provision to be made via an EHCP. Only that he may. You do not need to prove the school has spent £6k, DS is 2 years behind, 2+ APDR cycles have been undertaken or any other unlawful myth LAs like to perpetuate.

Because the threshold is relatively low, you may not need any further evidence to get over the threshold. If you do want/need something else, I suggest an assessment by an educational psychologist with SENDIST experience. Often psychiatrist letters aren’t written in the right way for an EHCP itself.

An EHCP can lead to additional funding, but you should focus on provision rather than funding.

what happens is that they mostly pool the ehc money and use it to fund specialist TAs per subject. So it's not like primary where you get your own TA. These TAs usually help other kids too.

This very much depends on what is in a child’s EHCP. EHCPs can detail, specify and quantify a dedicated 1:1 in secondary, although many parents at primary and secondary level need to appeal to secure it. Where it is detailed, specified and quantified in F, support must not be shared.

That work is better than some of my non-austistic, non-diagnosed year 7s produce, OP. Year 9, L-MA therefore seems accurate.

I'm sorry you're struggling to secure the SEN support you feel your DC needs. It's horrific. But believe me, there are children with even higher needs out there suffering too.

From your update, I'm afraid I agree that your child does not meet the threshold for an EHCP. Strictly speaking, they should be assessed (that threshold is much lower), but you have no realistic chance of success at this school or any other with that.

My LA agreed to assess my son and I had hardly any evidence as his school are useless and I asked for an ehcp assessment myself. It's in the process now. he's 12 and I would have guessed 12-13 looking at that pic so not sure it proves anything.

An EHCP will provide statutory interventions your child should receive to meet specified outcomes.

These don't only need to be educational.

However funding is only provided if the cost of that to the school is above 6k. They have to find the first 6k from their notional send budget.

Hence why schools don't want kids on EHCP plans. It often increases their outgoings!

What you need is information about where your ds is at. What progress has he made for last 2 years if KS3. Is it above or below expected. What could he achieve with support? What outcomes are you seeking that he needs the support for?

You can appeal and even take it to tribunal whereby a judge will look at the evidence and decide if the LA has made the right decision or not. You should have been sent the info with the refusals to assess letter.

What I started with when I did ds' was "you state the needs can be met within school however you've refused to assess what those needs are - so you can't say that based on any evidence. He may not be meeting his full potential due to the barriers asd and adhd being to education within a mainstream classroom."

Exam allowances aren't provided with an EHCP - that's separate.