Moving from England to Wales with ehcp

[Mrswang]

Hi I have inherited a house in Wales , I have 5 kids and we rent in England so obviously it's a bit of a no brainer to move back to my childhood house in Wales but I have a child with an echp and another child whose having speech and language therapy so how does it work with those as I know now Wales is aln so would the ehcp still stand ?

Yes and no. If I am still correct, Wales have statements not EHCPs. The local authority will make a decision on adopting the EHCP, which is likely, and the level of resourcing.

We have IDPs in Wales, so while your EHCP won't be transferred, the details will be used to furnish the IDP. It's a case of getting your current council to talk to your future council to initiate the transition - do this incredibly early on because it's not a swift process - at least it wasn't in the case of a friend of mine who moved with her child from the Cotswolds to Conwy.

Snap Cymru might be able to provide some advice too and here's their definition of an IDP: https://www.snapcymru.org/get-support/idps/

Yes, Wales have IDPs so as a PP has said, the EHCP info could be transferred. The two councils and ALNCos/SENCos would need to communicate prior to the move too

Oh and I forgot to say... Croeso i Gymru! Hope it's a good move for you all.

They have changed to the aln system so I'm not sure what that is tbh from what I can gather it's individual learning plan.

So who would I talk to in the council up here ?

hi. welsh speech and language therapist here! yes we have transitioned from SEN to the Additional Learning Needs Act. the Local Authorities now issue Individual Development Plans which cover all the additional support children need to access the curriculum. There is a process for converting an ehcp into an IDP which your new school can walk you through. you can also ask your current SLT to transfer care to the NHS Health Board you are moving in to. there might be a bit of a break in therapy depending on waiting times. but should be fairly straightforwards. good luck with your move! x

Sorry what do you mean by 'up here'? Where you are now or in Wales? There will be a department that you can talk to in both places... I don't know the specific contacts in councils...

Brilliant advice because I didn't know the SLT bit but presumed it would either be via new GP or direct to Health Board department.

OP, the Welsh system for SEN/ALN has recently changed and is not the same as the English system. My understanding is that the plan does not automatically transfer. The fact that your child has an EHCP in England means that the authority for your area in Wales will be on notice that he has special needs (additional needs) and I think that means they have to carry out an assessment, but they do not have to provide identical or equivalent special educational or additional learning provision to what he currently gets in England. I would really want to be confident that my child would not lose provision specified in the plan that I considered essential and which is not easy to get in England if I moved to Wales (eg an equivalent special school placement or a specialist intervention such as ABA).

I would also recommend seeing if you can find any online commentary from Welsh parents of children with ALN and how they feel about the new system before you make any firm decisions about moving.

Also, have a look at the Additional Learning Needs Code for Wales 2021, which is the statutory guidance for Welsh authorities, schools and parents. Paragraph 28.36 is a good starting point maybe.

Do sanity check all of this for yourself, obviously, I'm not an expert!

Sorry, I started writing my post whilst others have posted so there's some overlap

Sorry I mean where I live now in England...I'm under a lot of stress so my head is fried I should have said in England where I live now

Hi yes my cousin is in Wales she told me with the support down there you have to fight for it , obviously the kids are my first priority with schools which is why I'm trying to find out as much info as I can.

No worries love, so if you go on your council's website they should have contact information on there. Most have a directory page or your child's school could probably recommend a contact.

Of course, OP, and if you're saving rent and getting a mortgage free house that's a huge factor in favour of moving. It might be (depending on what the provision is) that you would be in a position to fund anything your Welsh LA wouldn't.

Don't go in with the "need a fight" mentality. Your child has an EHCP, their needs are known and identified and the new LA won't just disregard that. But you can't move to a different LA, a different country and expect things to fall into place overnight. Give the relevant services chance to do what needs to be done and ensure you keep your current LA informed so they can send everything over to the new one.

Yes your right which is a big factor in considering the move , my 10 year old as DLD which is developmental language disorder and here in England he goes to a mainstream school with a speech and language base so he's getting the adjustments he needs to understand as communication wise although verbal he needs to be spoken to slowly and sometimes big tasks need to be broken down into steps etc I would worry he'd be left to his own devices sort of speak and wouldn't get any support. I have a 7 year old daughter who gets targeted support in her school but they have a nurturing class she goes to where they help with her gross motor etc as she isn't able to write hold a pencil etc.

There are differences between EHCPs and IDPs. Depending on your DC’s age/needs/the provision they already have, they may not get the same or even similar support. Even when they do eventually it could take a long time &/or need you to challenge the council.

There are lots of problems with the English system, but, for many, there are equally as many, if not more, in the Welsh system.

Exactly this which is why I'm trying to work it all out tbh so I can be prepared.

As well as SNAPCymru a pp linked to, reading the ALN Code for Wales here will help you start to understand the Welsh system and differences. The ALN Code for Wales is a similar document to the SENCOP.

Thank you I'm going to look now x

we have lots of language units in wales too for children with DLD, with resident SLTs. do you know which part of wales you’re looking to move too? i might have some contacts of people you can reach out too. x

Yes pontlottyn in the south Wales valleys x

Oh about seven miles from where I am from originally - Sirhowy Valley.

So Health Board is https://abuhb.nhs.wales

And council is https://www.caerphilly.gov.uk