EHCP urgent review and Exclusion! Please kindly advice.

[Larrissaa]

My DD1 in Yr1 and currently has EhCP. She has recently been excluded from school for 3 days, and we have requested for an urgent review of her ehcp. I have asked the school if they can source a behaviour outreach service and they have come back with SEMH outreach to give advice on my DD1. I have also requested for speech and language communication outreach services for my dd1. I was hoping all this can be requested or reimbursed to the school via the ehcp. The ehcp key worker has said this may always not be the case. I am looking at services that my daughter can receive at a mainstream school. She is quite high functioning academically but she does not stay all the her lessons, she gets up and leave the class. I have requested for a quiet space but They have any. The Ed psych came to review and assess her and she said that for the 1 hr duration of assessment my dd1 is a different child from what the school has reported. She also went to a different unit for about a month to have an idea of how she is in a different setting, again tbe report was that she was brilliant all through her stay. I feel this review is an opportunity to get the right support for my daughter. I am not considering specialist provision as I feel they may not challenge enough academically. She is quite bright . Please I will really appreciate any advice or comments. Thank you

Is this a formal exclusion and have you had official paperwork? Was DD's EHCP being followed at the time?

Funding isn't your concern. If the school haven't got enough they need to approach the LA. Your focus should be on ensuring all the provision DD needs is in the EHCP, and the provision is detailed, specific and quantified.

The outreach support needs to be in the EHCP. If it is then the support must be provided, if it isn't you can't force the school to provide it. If the outreach support isn't specified and quantified in the EHCP it is unlikely the school will receive funding for it.

Has DD been assessed by SALT, OT and a psychiatrist &/or clinical psychologist? Are the assessments up to date or do you need to request a reassessment of needs? Is SALT, OT, ELSA and some therapeutic MH provision included in the EHCP? Is a quiet space in the EHCP?

Unfortunately if the LA refuse your request for an early review you have no right of appeal. Your options are either wait for the AR or request a reassessment of needs which does come with the right of appeal if refused.

The school need to figure out why DD presents differently with others. Is it sensory overload? A different approach? A smaller class? The 1:1? Can DD communicate why she leaves the classroom?

Academic ability is of little use if your child can not function in everyday life. Mental health must always come first in my opinion.

If your child has been excluded (presumably this has been done officially and you have a letter from the HT explaining why she has been excluded and how long for?) then it is absolutely the right thing to ask for the EHCP to be reviewed as clearly her needs are not being met.

www.ipsea.org.uk/pages/category/exclusion-from-school

The costings are not your concern. The professionals should identify your daughter's needs and recommend any extra provision required to meet these needs. I would also consider asking for OT assessment as the getting up and walking out of class could be to do with sensory issues, if she finds it too overwhelming in there.

The needs should be included in Section B of the plan and the provision in Section F of the plan. When the LA have amended the EHCP they should send it to you for your representations. Once the LA has finalised the plan it is the LA who is responsible for securing all the provision specified in it.

If you are not happy with the Final EHCP, you will have the right to appeal.

The Ed psych said the current ehcp is not fit for purpose as DD1 needs are now different. The current ehcp is more nursery based. We are in the process of getting OT referral. The class is the biggest class size in the year group and the scho have said they don't have any quiet space dedicated for dd1. She goes to the bathroom stands there for a while and then goes back into class to join the lesson. The annual review is due in September as the LEA don't mind us doing it now. I want the revised one to be updated and relevant. She was previously discharged from SLT but the Ed psych says a new referral should be done. I will also ask for the outreach to be included In the ehcp. I was hoping for a behaviour, and SLC outreach as well. I have bought a wobble cushion which helps and also ear defenders. She is not keen on the eat defenders she takes them out and says she sounds funny when she wears them.
Although she doesn't stay for the full lesson, when she is assessed on it she seems to have grasped all that has been taught.
Do you think there are any other resources that may benefit my dd1 that I can include in the ehcp review. She has 1:1 full time 33 hours stated in her ehcp. She HT is really supportive and very on board. I just need advice if there are other things that she may benefit from.
How can I ask for the outreach support to be quantified e.g once per month.
We have meeting soon and it is a multi agency meeting including Ed psych, private SLT, inclusion officer, LA send rep.

It was a formal fixed term exclusion for 3day. To be honest I am not sure if the ehcp was followed. She lashed out (hit her by the arm)at the 1:1 and the school said she had broken the behaviour code . Which resulted in exclusion. The school are beginning to say they can't meet her needs.

You need to request a reassessment of needs rather than just an early review. As provision in EHCPs is taken from assessment reports DD needs up to date assessments to inform the amended provision, otherwise the amended EHCP still isn't going to meet DD's needs.

As part of the above request OT and SALT assessments, you don't need to wait for another referral via the normal route. Ensure the SALT and OT provision is specified and quantified in the EHCP. This way the provision is likely to be given sooner, and be more frequent and longer term than would otherwise be the case, also if it isn't provided you can enforce it.

You should also request an assessment from a psychiatrist &/or clinical psychologist. Some form of therapeutic MH provision sounds necessary.

Have you tried noise cancelling headphones or ear plugs instead of ear defenders? ELSA will help DD, as would movement breaks and social skills support. Can the school not find somewhere for DD to go, perhaps with a pop up tent, especially at the moment the space could be outside. Going to the toilets is not an acceptable solution.

How often the outreach support is specified depends on DD's needs.

It is Disability Discrimination if the EHCP wasn't followed when the incident occurred.

Thank you so much for your advice
10brokengreenbottles, I will speak
With senco. You are right a reassessment of her needs is what is required instead of a review. As the Ed psych said the current plan is no longer fit for purpose.

If you do ask for a reassessment and they agree, push for them to get speech and language and occupational therapy reports to ensure that all her needs are properly identified.

My child goes to a SEN school and in the more able groups they do GCSEs. I wouldn't rule out a similar setting. It's so nurturing.
Bare in mind it doesn't have to be permanent.