School not following EHCP

[karynlou]

hi i have 2 adopted daughters who have transitioned from primary to a much bigger high school last year. I'm battling every day to get them to follow the EHCP's. Both my daughters have various problems and i kept getting told they are following it verbally by the SENCO at the school but then incidents happen where it is obvious that staff have little or no knowledge of what's in their EHCPs. A small example is my youngest has a small bladder and is on medication. it is in her EHCP that she needs to be allowed to go to the loo whenever she feels the need. The SENCO has told me categorically that all teachers are aware of this and that they all know she has a toilet pass - yet she keeps coming home soaking wet ( she is 11 so horrendous in front of her peers) as teachers wont allow her to go to the toilet.. she is currently red raw from sitting and moving about in wet knickers and in agony - the only way i could make her comfortable enough to send her to school today was smothered in sudocreme and wearing cycling shorts under her skirt. when i ring and complain or meet and complain there is always a reason like - well it shouldnt have happened or they try and blame my child in some way - this by the way is one of the least problems we are having. my child has been too anxious to go into lessons and no one has noticed she is missing until the end of the lessons as she has been hiding in the toilet having panic attacks on her own, and no one has noticed until the end of the lessons even though she is meant to be supervised during transitions from one lesson to another and in the class itself. Its an absolute joke but im feeling completely helpless. can anyone help or advise please ?

Also I had a meeting today to go through the review again and there are a number of provisions set out in F that the high school don’t provide such as scaffolded small group intervention work to help build social and emotional skills to encourage meaningful peer friendships and peer to peer work to develop social skills. The school have advised that a number of provisions in F be removed as it’s not something they provide. I have said absolutely not as the provisions set out in F are the building blocks needed for the needs of my children in E. I know that the school theoretically should not have accepted my daughters if they couldn’t meet the transitions set out in their EHCP’s but we are where we are - I just need to know how I can enforce them to do the provisions set out in F. Can anyone help ?

Regardless of what the school usually offer if the provision is specified and quantified in section F they must provide it. If they don’t you can complain to the LA as it is them who are ultimately responsible for ensuring provision in the EHCP is delivered. If they continue not to provide what is specified and quantified in section F threaten to begin Judicial Review proceedings. The threat of JR mostly works, but if it doesn’t contact SOSSEN for help with pre-action letters for both DDs.

However, if section F is woolly and vague with wording such as “would benefit from”, “access to” “regular” etc. it is unenforceable and not worth the paper it is written on. If this is the case you should try to tighten the wording up.

If DDs need the provision do not allow it to be removed or watered down. The school need to provide what is needed and what in the EHCP, DDs shouldn’t be made to fit into what the school want to offer and provision in the EHCP shouldn’t be made to fit what the school normally provide.

Providing small group intervention work like you describe should be relatively straightforward. If the LA had refused to name your preference because they claimed the school couldn’t meet DDs needs because of that provision and you appealed you would have been successful.

Thank you so much. The school are saying that they offer the provision but I’m a totally unstructured way - I.e my girls can go to the ‘base’ which is where all the Sen kids go and congregate together as there’s adults in there having lunch etc who can keep an eye on them. They are saying that they like the social and emotional development to be more ‘organic’ in its natural setting I.e all the Sen kids just being in the base together rather than structuring small group work - this way there is no pressure on them to scaffold anything. It’s all very flowery and I don’t think she has encountered someone who says no and won’t question what they as the so called experts are telling me. It’s crazy how we are left as parents to work all this crap out for ourselves. The parenting of Sen children is hard enough without this layer.
The cherry on the cake today was the SENCO didn’t even have the right EHCP plan she was working off an old draft that has loads of stuff missing ??? How is this possible ? How am I meant to trust that she is leading the staff correctly when she is so disorganised? The LA SEN was part of the meeting virtually and even she couldn’t believe she didn’t have the right final plan.
What is a justicial review ?
Xx

The school can say what they like, but they must provide the provision in the EHCP.

There is more information on Judicial Review here.

The school have advised that a number of provisions in F be removed as it’s not something they provide.

It is not for them to decide what they will and won't provide. Your child is legally entitled to all the provision in Section F in the EHCP. However the responsibility for ensuring this is secured as pp above said, lies with the LA.

Complain to the LA using the model letter here:

www.ipsea.org.uk/complaining-when-the-provision-in-an-ehc-plan-is-not-being-made-model-letter-6

Quite frankly though I would be looking for an alternative school that is more nurturing, as this one sounds awful. Was it the one you asked to be named on the EHCP?

Sorry that should say that "It is not for the school to decide what should or shouldn't be in the EHCP."