EHCP Awarded but view on mainstream Help!

[Sully2020]

Hi I am new here :)

I am just looking for some words of advice or guidance.

i have a four year old son (my only child) who attends a enhanced provision Nursey and we have just had he’s EHC application go to panel yesterday and they have agreed to give my son a EHCP plan and they are working on the first draft, but was told a mainstream setting would be the best option for my son.

My son has multiple diagnoses: Abnormal white matter damage (undiagnosed) Autism, GDD, Severe Hypermobility, truncal hypertonia, non verbal, cognitive learning age of about 24months, also still in nappies.

Now I don’t want to seem ungrateful I’m glad we’ve had an EHCP awarded but there is no way my son could function in a class of 30, he falls over constantly (he’s knees and ankles are to lax) he does wear special boots he has zero spacial awareness, and it limited to what he can go on outside or play with. His Nursey now it 1:1 with 6 children in his class and they still struggle with getting him to move around safely round the school.
im unsure what to do here as I can not appeal till the final draft is done and if I wish to do so it is about a 12 month wait time for tribunal and my son is due to start school in September.
i was told I can put down a Sen setting but it will more than likely be refused.

Just wanted to know if anyone else has been in this situation or knows what else I can do!

Thank you x

In my experience they tell you special school will be refused because it costs them more. Then you appeal and get it. Sounds to me like your son will be much better off and more supported in a specialist provision. You have to push for everything as a SEN parent

In my LA they advise everyone to apply to mainstream or, at a push, an ARP.

From what you've described I would say Special may be more suited to your DS and mainstream will struggle to meet his needs.

Also, once you're in mainstream, it is nearly impossible to get a space in Special because the demand is so high.

Have a look at the special schools near you or as far as you would allow him to travel. When you find one you think would be able to meet your sons needs, you'll then have to show why that school can meet his needs but mainstream can't.

If you end up at tribunal the above is what you'll need to prove and you'll likely need professional evidence.

Can I suggest that when you get the draft ehcp for your son check that every single need he has is included in section B and that there is provision to meet every need in section f. The provision has to be worded in a way that it leaves no doubt as to what must be provided (specified, quantified and detailed). Eg son will be supported by a level 3 ta trained in x,y and z for a hours so that he is supported on a 1:1 basis during every lesson.

Slt and ot are classed as sen provision and should be included in section f.

If he has any needs such as communication, sensory or on a waiting list for any assessments then inform the la/ tribunal that the la has failed in their statutory duty to detail every sen in section b as identified communication/ sensory needs haven't been assessed by a professional able to provide input to section b/f.

Have a look at ipsea and sossen websites. Get the sossen booklets if you afford them.

If you can try to get this right now, you maybe at this until he's 26! (The end of the academic year that he turns 25).

Unless the schools is wholly independent, the LA must name your preference unless the LA can prove:
-The setting is unsuitable for the age, ability, aptitude or special educational needs (“SEN”) of the child or young person; or
-The attendance of the child or young person would be incompatible with the provision of efficient education for others; or
-The attendance of the child or young person would be incompatible with the efficient use of resources.

The bar to do this is higher than many LAs and some schools admit. Ultimately, when the LA finalise, you may have to appeal. You will be able to request a prioritised hearing.

When you get the draft, you need to go through it carefully. Go through all the evidence with highlighters. Highlight all DS’s special educational needs in one colour and all the special educational provision to meet the needs in another colour.

Then go through the draft checking all special educational needs are in B and each need has corresponding provision in F which is detailed, specified and quantified. When you make representations, note anything the LA has omitted, needs without provision, any vague and woolly wording (more on this later), or anything the LA has watered down. This is important because the placement named in section I will be the logical conclusion of B&F, so if B&F are poor there is a higher risk your preferred placement won’t be named.

Look for vague and woolly wording such as “access to”, “would benefit from”, “regular”, “up to”, “or equivalent”, “opportunities for”, “as appropriate”, “would be useful/helpful”, “such as”, “e.g.”, “etc.”, “as required”, “as advised”, “key adult(s)”, “small group”. Provision must be detailed, specified and quantified, otherwise the EHCP isn’t worth the paper it is written on and cannot be enforced.

When you come across vague and woolly wording, check the reports to see if they are woolly and vague or if the LA has watered down provision. If the reports are vague and woolly, ask the LA to go back to the report writer(s) to make the reports detailed, specified and quantified. Provision in EHCPs is based on the evidence, so if the reports are vague and woolly, the EHCP will be too.

Then make sure any health or social care provision that educates or trains is in F. For example, LAs like to put therapies like SALT and OT in G (health care provision) when it belongs in F.

@Perzival in some cases EHCPs can be maintained until the day before the young person’s 26th birthday rather than just to the end of the year in which the young person turns 25.

Should have said you'll need to prove why the school you want can meet need and not mainstream or another sen school that maybe cheaper as they will take cost into consideration if there are two schools that can meet need and distance isn't really a factor. The LA could change section I (school placement) to sen but not the one you want so just bear that in mind.

Also check independent specialists as well as LA ones.

Thank you, yes this true.

Thank you all very much, this is all so new to me.I will go through it all with a fine tooth comb.
Its just such a scary prospect of course I care about his education but at the moment its more the safety aspect of things, with my sons brain condition he has something called large perivascular spaces, he hits his head to hard it can be very serious.
I just don’t know he would be kept safe with 30 other children and maybe more than that outside!

If you get the rightspecial school you're giving him more than just safety or an education (these things are important) but it's also a peer group for him/ friends, it's staff who are able to understand what his non verbal communication means, it's not being picked on for being different or less likely, it's support for you and having other parents around who get it, it's staff that already trained in objects of ref, pecs, aac, makaton, sensory needs etc

Mainstream schools are really struggling in so many ways at the moment. If it helps why don't you visit your local ones and talk honestly to the sendco's about your son's needs. If they're honest I'd imagine they'd tell you that they would try for reception/ year one but then you'll be looking for a sen school.

My ds is in specialist and supported on a 1:1 basis even in sen school (2:1 off school site). If he needs someone with him at all times to keep him safe you'll likely need a professional to state this so you can get it in section f.

Best of luck op

Your local authority should have a service advising SEN parents. Also are you in any parents group FB or in person relating to his conditions? It’s usually a good place to start for a more specific advice.

Be careful with SENDIASS. Some are good but too many repeat the LA’s unlawful policies.

Hi thank you yes they do I contacted sendiass and they said they were quite surprised that they collectively agree on mainstream without a first draft even being done, they’ve said same thing just wait and see what first draft says and go from there! I am in autism groups etc but in regards to my sons brain condition they don’t know what it is or what caused it, we have had full genetic testing and metabolic testing and nothing came back from it

@Sully2020 I mentioned the group thing because other parents would know local situation with schools and what you should do if you disagreed with council’s decision.

Yep it’s terrible. LA delay things and their aim is to reduce the cash so everyone can go to a mainstream school 🤬
You will need to wait until it’s a final EHCP and then you can appeal.
It’s just a nightmare.
If you can you can pay for private people to gain evidence depends on your cash situation
Also, you can pay for people to do the whole process of the EHCP for you.
You can ring Ipsea / sos sen and chat through with people

Send world with ehcps and LA causes huge amounts of stress to parents.

Ipsea online is a good resource but the law world / ehcps is just a nightmare (well I find it so frustrating as LA don’t stick to the law 🤬🤬🤬)

Watch your timeline and know your dates to the week! Get a calendar and know when 20 weeks is up etc

Visit special schools and only name a special school in Section I of EHCP.

If you mention mainstream, he will go straight there and you will have a fight on your hands getting special provision in future.

I'm a mainstream secondary SENDCo; we have a handful of pupils who can't cope in mainstream but whose parents wanted them to be with peers and potentially get GCSEs (totally understandable). It's not working well, the environment is not suited to their needs.

You refuse it and ask for a special school to be named.

Go and look around ten local special schools to find one you like although realistically it'll be the nearest.

Point out that your ds needs a peer group, it's not in his best interests to be educated in a class of 30 when realistically he'll be educated alone by a TA and just in the school grounds.

You can appeal if you don't get the place,ent named or you can wait until he's year 1 or 2 or even going into juniors and the MS school starts saying they can't meet need and he moves to special anyway.

Personally I prefer the first option as it's better for a child's MH to be in a setting where they and their peers are all similar and the learning is the same for everyone as they are all developmentally learning delayed.

In case the LA tries to act unlawfully, it is worth knowing the draft must not name a school or type of school in section I. It must be blank.

Thank you we do have a school in mind as my son already attends Physiotherapy and orthotics there at the moment.So I will be putting down that as where I want him to go. Well this is it I have a sister who was diagnosed late and she wanted to stay in secondary school with her friends it became to much for her. I don’t know what the future will hold he maybe be able to go later in life but right now it’s just not feasible

Thank you yes of course I have emailed his coordinator already after the email we had yesterday, stating these reasons and more, my son is likely to have to wear a helmet again due to the amount of falls I dread to think how the other children will be him wearing that, I know children are curious but can also be very mean! I’m dreading it I really am.

Following this thread as I'm in the same position. Wish you luck with this op 🙏

My child has an EHCP recently put in place, mainstream schools have said cannot meet need, LA are now trying to get child reassessed by teachers by putting them in a resource unit temporarily although they agreed their needs but as mainstream are saying cant meet need it appears instead of agreeing specialist/EOTAS they are wanting to now change the provisions they have stated. Child is autistic and struggles with change and EHCP stated alot of support needed to access a setting, Feeling v frustrated Any advice please

We just got our ds final plan and they are saying mainstream school from Sept 26. They consulted with the mainstream attached to his nursery and they have come back and said they would not be able to meet his needs. The school I have named for him is a special needs school now they are consulting with that school but they wasn't willing to do that until the mainstream school said they could not meet his needs.
I been told they will amend his Echp if the special needs school accepts him.

Once the final EHCP is issued you can appeal. If your DC is due to start school next September they are in a phase transfer year and you can ask for your appeal to be expedited and heard before September 2026.