EHCP support thread

[Phineyj]

My DD (10) is being assessed for EHCP. The council refused to assess (despite her already being diagnosed with ADHD, ASD, hypermobility and vision problems following eye surgery).

School have been supportive throughout and they are going above and beyond to keep her engaged in education.

She's about to go into year 6 though.

I took the LA to the tribunal and won.

They must produce the plan by 4th August. I think they probably will (they've stuck to deadlines so far...ish...). But I've got all the IPSEA complaint letter templates primed!

The hardest thing about the whole process is that no-one else in my life understands it or what it's like to spend all your free time essentially begging people to document the deficits your child has.

It is also a hard realisation that no-one cares much about your child's education except you.

I am also a teacher so I feel sad on behalf of the SEN DC I teach as I am told little about their needs (I spent a whole day doing DofE with one recently...I don't even know what her EHCP says...)

Join me if you are also grimly trekking through the EHCP jungle!!

@ThomasWasTortured ah yes he has plenty of sensory issues, loud noises bother him, hair washing, food textures etc but no the ot didn't mention anything like that ? It was all about mobility and how he used/moved his body
How he used cutlery and scissors, stuff like that.

So I contacted the LA who have said the delay is because they don't have an available ep atm due to a nationwide issue of everyone needing an ehcp. When pushed for a timescale she said possibly the end of November. So that's good news lol

Lack of staff is not a lawful excuse for breaching the statutory timescales. Email back reminding the LA of this.

Not all OT assessments look at sensory integration, which is why I asked if the one DS had did. It sounds like DS needs a sensory OT assessment.

@ThomasWasTortured we had a private OT assessment from someone who specialises in sensory integration, and another LA to assessment (after we pushed for them to use the private one) and from talking to the LA assessor they are recommending some OT but not the Sensory Integration Therapy the first OT recommended. The LA OT offered to provide papers explaining that the evidence for sensory integration therapy's value was not all that sound when I questioned her about it. I'm not sure this would be a battle I have the energy to fight. Taking any OT now and finding another way to SIT might be better for my sanity.
Do you have experience of SIT?

@listlesscat Both DS1&3 have SIOT in their EHCPs. Both have benefited from it. When SIOT is delivered well by an OT with sufficient training and experience (e.g. at least level 4 or equivalent of the Sensory Integration Network Postgraduate Modules/an advanced practitioner) I have never known it to be unhelpful for DC with sensory differences. Although some benefit more than others. LAs don’t like it because it is expensive.

Have you had your child assessed for adhd? Meds can help takes time getting the correct combo - but does help with focus

Sorry the above not was for @losingthe …. I did quote it but not sure it’s worked

Asd and adhd go hand in hand with a lot of people ….

However side effects of meds are sometimes too much

I asked school to put a referral in back in the a, so he's on the waiting list. He does have signs of adhd definitely

@listlesscat sorry if I’ve missed it, but how old is your DS now? Do you already have an EHCP in progress or are you appealing?

@ThomasWasTortured a good idea about asking for an addendum to be added, I will see if this is possible.

@CHAKRAlight Thank you. It is hard not to feel guilty (and judged) but the situation is impossible. I’m damned if I do and damned if I don’t.

My main worry is DC education; he loves to learn but I only have limited things I can offer him. I have now requested some work from the education authority and they told me to ask DC school to organise. I said no and put the onus back on them as from what I can see from my research, it’s for them to organise.

Does anyone have any idea what this kind of alternative provision might be for DC?

DC school is getting quite stroppy about my regular ‘demands’ but I am finished with being patient. I am polite but pushy now. Not that it gets me anywhere either.

Can I ask for a special placement during draft stage if a plan eventually gets issued?

The LA’s duty is non-delegable. Alternative provision under s19 of the Education Act 1996 can be in various forms depending on what is suitable for DC. For example, it can be home tuition, online tuition, small group tuition in the community or at a centre/unit/provision, hospital school, care farm, forest school, outwards bounds type place, Mindjam…

Can I ask for a special placement during draft stage if a plan eventually gets issued?

I’m not sure if you mean for DC to attend before an EHCP is finalised? In which case, you are highly unlikely to get a specialist placement without an EHCP. Or whether you mean can you request a specialist placement when you receive the draft? In which case, yes you can, but there’s no guarantee the LA will agree to name one. They may force you to appeal.

@HellHathNoFuryLikeASENMom ds is 13 now, he would have been starting year 9 in his mainstream school. We're waiting for his draft EHCP any day now, We applied for it ourselves, LA initially refusal to assess, now the draft is delayed, we've asked for some alternative or special school placement...

@ThomasWasTortured that’s very helpful, thank you.

Sorry yes I meant at draft stage if I were to win a plan, if I could ask for a special placement. It’s very likely I will have to appeal this too.

''I will appeal, but it comes at a high price. Including the cost in family well being from the long term exposure to organisations who deny children and their families their basic legal rights, and then behave unethically to cover their tracks. Whilst I know the origins of this lie in the funding crisis, it has created some pretty nasty organisational practices that make a big contribution to why SEND parenting is so stressful.''

I have conversations like this all the time with DH. The cost in time and emotional cost vs trying to get an appropriate education. Its just draining.

Even when I get a decent EHCP (after 100 battles) the school don't seem to be doing things - DS is supposed to have phonics (he is 13 with dyslexia and other stuff). The do not appear to be delivering this. I will complain again. I'm constantly complaining.

Someone asked about LGO. I have escalated to them after exhausting the LA complains line. They were good, simple to use. They didn't find a fault (LA had admitted failure with timescales to issue final) but I got to communicate to the case worker there how frustrating it is that there are no effective penalties for LA's who waste time and fail to provide what is a legal right to children with SEND. He agreed! Said he had written to them recently about it. But...I said, without actual sanctions for wasting time (e.g. concede on eve of tribunal etc etc) they are getting away with malpractice scot free.

Meant to respond to @MrsLamb for her very apt comments! ^^

@Alltheyearround I have had the exact same thoughts. Even to the point of considering starting a petition to implement fines for shoddy LA practices when it’s clear time wasting but I’m not sure I have the energy to fight another fire.

Yes I do think that everyone is in with bad practice maybe even including the LGO. Time will tell but my complaint about the LA went in Jan and she is now on sick leave hoping to come back in one month still not heard anything.

The LAs just churn out same all rubbish / time delays so it would be great to fine them. However, when you see time and time gain same things happening. Or the judge at tribunal could fine LA if they have brought a family in which is quite obvious that the child needs an EHCP. Our tribunal was laughable really why the LA wanted us to go to tribunal (as that could have been a good slot for a family who needed a tribunal more) - but that equals time delays and that means saves LA money. Case worker after case worker leaving (I think we are on number 6 in 2 years ) they just seem to vanish into thin air 😂

I think all the policy / documents/ hoops you have to jump through is ridiculous to gain an EHCP. Also, I’m terrible at English so some of this sen info is like a foreign language at times - not easy what you should do / say etc.

I’m sure it’s aged both of us 10 years plus / plus all the lack of sleep / unable to sleep / stress / anxiety it’s certainly not good for the entire family unit - so stressful.

Hello all: this is an amazing thread... what a difference it makes to hear about your struggles and your advice is so useful. If I may? I have a second SENDIST appeal in, and have used a couple of old assessments (really old by SENDIST standards). I did this as they mention persistent problems (ie SALT: "persistent language disorder" (elsewhere developmental language disorder) and in the OT one "all the signs of dyspraxia". If the medical letters reflect continuing issues ThomasWasTortured do you think both would be considered valid or should I be searching for private new ones?

LA SEND inspections are carried out at intervals jointly by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and cover education, health, and care. Writing to both Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission, asking that concerns are considered during the next inspection, could perhaps be helpful?

The question of accountability and complaints to professional bodies where indiviudal practitioners are operating well outside professional boundaries, perhaps can't be ignored if the culture of lawlessness that seems to prevail in some LAs and Schools is to change (eg. EPs overriding Paedatricians and Clinical Psychs on the characterisation of needs arising from clinical conditions) or of practice which is unethical (eg. failing to engage with complaints or proceeding without having secured consent) or failures to follow statutory guidance (eg. SEN Code of Practice).

A friend was told last month by her secondary school SENCO that EHCPs are only for childen who go to special schools. How is it possible that a SENCO is dispensing such advice? (Perhaps a Freedom of Information request asking for local guidance and training materials provided by the LA to SENCOs would be instructive? Unless of course this originates in the Academy chain?).

@Maud450 if possible, up to date evidence would be preferable.

I was told EHCP's just for special schools by a special ed teacher working for the LA. I couldn't believe my ears. It was in the early days & had just spent an entire year learning about EHCP before applying for one. I was so shocked I said nothing. How many others did she say that too? And the SENCO was in the room as well. Said nothing. Terrible lies.

ThomasWasTortured Thank you for this advice. A nightmare though having to fork out for more assessments/hoops to try to jump through! The solid support here is so heartwarming. 🙏🙏

@Maud450 depending on how out of date the reports are and how needs and provision required have changed you could ask whether the report writers will add an addendum rather than a whole new report. If you need new assessments and aren’t eligible for legal aid but can’t afford them contact Parents in Need because they can sometimes help.

@MrsLamb I shall certainly be offering my feedback to Ofsted when the time comes.

I’m going around in circles with what to do with DC. Half term is only a week away and he has still not been able to attend at all.

He will not discuss the subject at all and becomes angry and shuts me down if I broach it. The anger and the stress is high level.

He was extremely angry yesterday for some unfathomable reason and tied a t shirt tightly around his face and kept it there. I don’t know if this was a genuine thought for him to suffocate himself or whether he was trying to escape in a sensory way. Either way, quite concerning and I wonder what on earth I am going to do.

The useless school say there’s nothing more they can do but they’re there if I need them <shock> .

A special placement would suit DC in many ways but not academically at all. HE is not an option due to isolation of DC and also our roles; again there are not many HE groups or resources near us.

EOTAS packages also appear to rely on a lot of parental input.

Do I cling on to hope that if an EHCP is issued, that there will be a miraculous abundance of support available and current school will support efficiently?

Or is it likely things have broken down beyond repair?

@HellHathNoFuryLikeASENMom what age is your son and what should he be studying? What subjects does he like when regulated? Does he have any relationships with peers in or out of school? Interests? Does he like any teachers/coaches/instructors? Is he getting any help at all with his mental health?

Don't feel you have to answer but I'm a teacher in a comprehensive with a lot of SEN DC and have also had one or two students over the year ditch A-level for online schools etc.

Also had to kind of put our own package of help for my DC together in 2020 as it was desperate and no-one was helping. She was younger too.

We had some success with a sports coach (formerly my personal trainer) and a "boy babysitter" (friend's adult son) plus a kindly neighbour in terms of non threatening adults to learn with/alongside. Some teachers from school were also v helpful.

DD would definitely do the t-shirt thing!

To answer your question, the EHCP might help long term but is unlikely to make much difference in the short run, especially with a useless school.

My school absolutely does its best but focuses on year 7 and year 11. We just can't keep enough HLTAs for one thing.

Something else I wanted to add is that DH and I found a NVR trainer very helpful. Although DD is explosive and used to be pretty violent so that was a major issue.

The trainer was himself neurodiverse (as was his brother) and that seemed to be the key factor.