parental ehcp declined, advice?

[BabyMarsh]

hi just had the decision of the ehcp outcome and it was declined to issue, my son has ebsa, autism, and adhd also selective mute, they said his needs can be met within the school even though they are not being met and he is struggling to attend and only going in at 11am most days because he is unable to attend. is it worth appealing i don’t know, 18 months appeal dates (so i’ve read) doesn’t seem worth appealing?

These people were exceptionally helpful when I spoke with them - contact them and explain your situation

www.sendiass.org/

I appealed the refusal to assess and they assessed her, the Ed psych did an assessment on her.

The LA then refused to issue an EHCP, I appealed again. Key evidence was the Ed psych report the LA had paid for 😫

We won at tribunal, the LA didn’t even bothered to turn up to tribunal but we still had to present our case.

My DD was in year 9 when I requested the EHCNA and her EHCP was issued at the end of year 11, I had had to home school her for years 10 and 11.

Shes started college in Sept and I cannot tell you the difference having an EHCP has made.

Please don’t give up.

I also never bothered with mediation as it’s a delaying tactic in my LA so just got the certificate and went straight to tribunal.

can i email the educational psychologist? just to ask for clarification because he said himself he doesn’t believe the school could meet the needs in the ehcp or would it be weird for me to email them?

submit the appeal and say you agree to a paper hearing. For a refusal to assess the paper hearing wait is less than 9 months. Ipsea. SOS:Sen websites useful.

it was refusal to issue so i’m not sure a paper hearing would be best in that situation?

If your DS is hiding in school and the teachers say he is unable to follow instructions, you have lots of evidence to show the school is not currently meeting his needs. Expect to have to fight every inch of the way - but don't give up. Our LA EP didn't even meet DS, but still issued a report - so that was something we appealed and formally complained about. Do take advice on how to word the appeal - SESSOS or IPSEA are both good for that - but don't be put off. Good luck!

Well he obviously does if he isn't able to be in school f/t. Appeal and I wouldn't bother with mediation tbh.

Yes, you can contact the EP directly. If he is prepared to say that on paper, he is probably your greatest supporting evidence.

they said his needs can be met within the school without the need for an ehcp so the school can meet his needs without one that’s what the letter states, one of the reasons is he is in a nurture provision which is 1 hour a day except fridays but that’s due to end in easter anyway. i wasn’t sure if it would be weird to email the EP

Be careful with SENDIASS. While some are good, some repeat the LA’s unlawful policies and do more harm than good.

By all means email the EP, and depending on their report, their report may be helpful to your appeal, but many LA EPs would not put more in writing to support the parent’s case at this point.

Definitely worth appealing. As appeal waits are so long it's worth trying mediation first (they must do this within 30 days and if they can't, they must issue the mediation certificate so you can appeal). If you have strong evidence you can appeal 'on the papers' which means no face to face hearing and can make it quicker.

how much school has he missed? The LA have a statutory duty to make sure suitable full time education is in place, start pushing for it https://www.ipsea.org.uk/faqs/what-support-should-the-la-give-me-if-my-child-is-out-of-school-for-any-other-reason

Definitely appeal! The tribunal will give you a fair outcome. The LA just hope you’ll give up.

my worry is i don’t have any new evidence and they’ve declined on the evidence i have i won’t have any support with mediation as senco isn’t supportive or school so i won’t have any support in mediation and im not that good with my words!

We had ours declined too
we used a lawyer, Rob Price HCB Group.
our EHCP was accepted last week

You don’t have to actively partake in mediation if you don’t want to.

Depending on the evidence you already have, you may not need any more, but if you do, there is time to collate that or seek new evidence.

i don’t think i’d be able to get any new evidence with the school not supporting? he’s just been diagnosed with adhd and we have that report but not sure it would be enough to prove anything as he was already diagnosed with asd and they have that report

You don’t need the school’s support to get more evidence.

You can look at making SARs to the school, LA and any other professional/agency involved. I would wait to do this until after the LA has responded to the appeal.

You can look at independent assessments. If you can’t afford this but need independent assessments, check if you are eligible for legal aid (or rather legal help for appeals to SENDIST) as this can fund independent assessments if necessary. There are also charities you can look at. The most well known one is Parents in Need but I have used lots of others when supporting others.

Going forward, follow up all conversations with emails to create a paper trail.

What is it that you feel he isn’t getting currently? The echp isn’t about diagnosis it’s about reasonable adjustments within school, health care etc. Yes appealing is something you can start the process off but in the interim you need to be clear with the school about what needs aren’t currently being met and allow them to make changes to meet them, you can always withdraw the appeal if it’s no longer needed remember.

fixating on the special unit isn’t necessary useful because from personal experience, the autism unit was really for those too disruptive to be in the main classrooms, dd was placed into it due to not coping in the classrooms and lasted about 4 hours before she was back stressed out in the sick room, we ended up with separate provision within the school at the back of the school office, work set but private learning which worked for her.

Here’s your evidence! Document each call (we printed out phone records showing daily calls received from school) and follow each one up with an email (“further to you call at 13:36 today in which you stated X….” Etc). Appeal immediately and start the process ASAP as hearing dates are set well over a year in advance in some areas. Don’t take no for an answer. Don’t waste time with mediation - it’s a delay tactic. You can call them and request a certificate and move straight to appeal. I went through this process twice in the same year for my two kids and won both cases - one is now at specialist and the other in their first choice mainstream school autism base. Both had school SENCOs saying we would never get them in.
IPSEA and SENDIASS can help, and parent SEND forums are a gold mine of info. Good luck.

They agreed ours at mediation so it is probably worth it we did have the support of school though although it was a parental request.

I want him to have an EHCP because mainstream school simply isn’t working for him, and it hasn’t for years. He has autism, ADHD, selective mutism and severe EBSA. His anxiety around school is so bad that he struggles to sleep at night, locks himself in the toilet in the mornings because he’s frightened to go in, regularly can’t get into school until 11am or later, and has even hidden around school to avoid lessons. He’s told me he wishes he hadn’t been born because he hates school so much. This is the reality of what he’s experiencing.
What I want is for him is to have the opportunity to attend a smaller, more nurturing ASD unit where his needs are understood and he can feel safe enough to learn. An ASD unit isn’t just for children who are disruptive. He isn’t disruptive; he’s anxious, overwhelmed and struggling to cope with a mainstream environment. He needs understanding, not punishment for being late or struggling to attend lessons which teachers seem to think is appropriate, punishments make it worse and make him less likely to attend. They won’t listen to me when i’ve told them not to give him detentions if he’s unable to get in on time. He’s academically capable, but that doesn’t mean he’s coping. I want him to have an education he can actually access, somewhere he feels safe, understood and supported. I don’t think that’s too much to ask for. it’s honestly the ehcp or i take him out of school and home educate because I am not going to see him suffer anymore than he already is.

Thank you that’s good to hear, i want a smaller more specialist placement for him as he just is not coping in the mainstream environment.

@BabyMarshit's really a no win all round at the moment.
Refusal can be a delaying tactic in itself. Even when accepted assessments are generally taking way longer than they should.
Because either way, Councils know that the wait for Tribunal is 12-18 months, so any challenge is way ahead.

Yeah i know that’s the problem, right now he is only managing to get in half the day so even if he isn’t behind academically he soon will be. I posted about his troubles before and was told to apply for a ehcp but 18 months is a very long way off.

The fact he has an adhd and other diagnosis and is struggling to attend is evidence within itself something isn't working. Presumably you have an EP report, what did they say? Have school put any support in place? Keep everything with them in writing so you can use it as evidence. I kept a diary of what was happening each day and this was useful for us (that was refusal to assess though)