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!!

There's a blog "Steph's two girls" on Facebook that's v good on PDA and has a lot of useful books, including her own one.

@listlesscat it is unlawful to have a blanket policy of insisting on consultant evidence. Such a policy can be challenged.

@fedupallthisrubbish The majority don’t get beyond a pre-action letter, some don’t even get to a pre-action letter as threat works. Maybe ~95% (but don’t hold me to that figure, I’m not too sure) don’t get to JR itself.

@fedupallthisrubbish from a quick google, research from the Council for Disabled Children in 2020 showed 91% of pre-action letters were successful and a further 5% partially successful. I would say the figure is probably slightly lower now (LAs know it has become harder to find someone undertaking legal aid work to take you on), but sometimes the threat of JR works without even needing a pre-action.

@fedupallthisrubbish sorry for the multiple messages, but it is also worth noting that even when the pre-action letter doesn’t work some cases don’t go all the way because the LA concede when they are served notice.

Thank you @ThomasWasTortured but it’s a bit wrong they make parents pay as the last resort - parent should be able to claim back the cost of the pre action JR to the local LA - especially if they are arguing what was agreed in the tribunal 🤪…. Thank you x

Thank you. That's really helpful. x

I need to catch up on the thread so bare with me as I read through and respond.

@ThomasWasTortured I had no idea that was the travelling distance. I’ll take a look at some schools further afield, as you say there are bound to be more.

I have sent a request for work for DC from the education authority but no acknowledgment as of yet. I’m not sure what will happen now though as DC has managed two half days this week. Do they only offer that kind of provision for children who are not attending at all? DC is still missing so much but I asked his school and they said he won’t get any home tuition because he’s been to school this week. So that means I will have to take him out to get work for him? That seems crazy.

@fedupallthisrubbish I used the threat of Judicial Review when my education authority breached timescales. They tried to appease me by saying they were trying their best, I again threatened JR and they refused to issue the same week. I’m not sure if it affected the outcome but it certainly pushed them along.

@losingthe We sound to be in a very similar predicament along with @MrsLamb on school attendance issues.

I heard from our Education Authority today to say that they will “have trouble” attending the hearing in December due to some sort of unavoidable circumstances so they’ve asked permission to move the date to January (allowing for Christmas and New Year). I’m furious about this.

I’ve sent in a letter explaining DC is not attending school so moving the date will just delay things further. How likely is this to be allowed?

@fedupallthisrubbish I agree, it shouldn’t be necessary. Sadly, it is only going to get worse.

@HellHathNoFuryLikeASENMom the LA has a duty to ensure those who wouldn’t otherwise receive a suitable full-time education do so. Attending school for 2 mornings a week isn’t full-time. Work sent home doesn’t discharge the duty either. The recommended maximum travel time isn’t set in stone, many travel further, some can’t travel that far. As frustrating as it is, the LA’s request may well be allowed. It depends on why really.

Hi all, still no EHCP draft here, but I have now LA OT and EP reports. Unfortunately I'm finding it impossible almost to read the bloody things. How bad is that!? I'm not sure i can handle any more stress. I did glance through the EP one who was talking about class sizes no bigger than 15. Is that enough to keep him out of mainstream? It seems like an odd number to me. Most schools i've seen had classes smaller than 10, or their mainstream schools with 30.

Hi @lilistlesscat, what's the trouble? Are they full of jargon or is it that they confirm things you were worrying about? Could you get a friend to look through them with you?

I found our EP report quite helpful and I appreciated that he came out and clearly said our DD was behind age related expectations, because the school had never said that.

But the OT reports I found more of a challenge. I was very unfamiliar with the language they used, especially the sensory stuff.

It is unnerving hearing your child written about in the third person too.

@listlesscat when you say you are struggling to read them, is it because they are upsetting or is it because of the system/format the LA has sent them in?

It wouldn’t necessarily rule out MS, some independent MS have classes of 15 or less. Although even independent MS classes have grown, so many are bigger now. It also depends how it is written. It is not uncommon for the wording around class size to be too woolly.

Some SS have 12+ in their classes. Another sign of the pressure on the system.

I think also that a resource base within a mainstream school might be able to achieve smaller classes, at least some of the time.

The norm in mainstream secondary is KS3 classes of at least 30, and in private primary (my experience is of heavily populated bits of London), 20.

Private secondaries vary - some are restricted in class size because they operate out of historic buildings. The ones that are more purpose built are creeping up in class size due to economics and the teacher shortage is affecting all parts of education.

Also mainstream schools will have larger top sets and smaller bottom sets for core subjects and slightly smaller classes for practical subjects.

ARPs can work well for some DC, but for many DC who struggle with the hustle and bustle and overwhelming sensory environment of a secondary mainstream they don’t work.

I only get to EHCP admin after everyone else in the house has gone to bed!
I avoid reading the reports due to dread and fear mostly, but I also have ADHD it turns out so it's probably that too.

Anyway, I have now scanned the reports for red flags and I don't really see any but i'm not sure I'm qualified to judge. EP mentions one of the two special schools we've expressed an interest in which I guess is a good sign? I will brace myself to read again.

The LA still haven't said they will issue, but I'm cautiously assuming they will at this point.

The only ARP in the area is at DS's current mainstream school. I can only imagine the kids in it are under the same pressure in same atmosphere as the rest of the school. The current school get 'first refusal' almost right? If there is an EHCP? They review and say if they can meet needs first? I can't imagine them fighting to keep him - not with his recent exam results at least

I'm trying to book in a session with sossen for when we have a draft, and might explore some local options for casework support. It's not just a matter of having the right school named is it?

I’d try and view inside the SS too that the EP states The private EP suggested a school for us and omg when we went to visit it - it would have been the worst school possible for our son. So I’d always try and get inside if that’s possible with the SS

I have used sos sen messages at times - if it’s a quick question they sometimes open up time slots which is fantastic so watch out for the times they advertise. At least they get back to you within the time slot if it’s an easy q you want answering.

LAs always want the cheapest school - all about the money. So I bet they would to say mainstream - they always do to delay and save cash and drag people to tribunal

@listlesscat when you receive the draft it must not name a school. You will get the chance to make representations and name your preferred school. Unless the school is wholly independent the LA must name it unless the LA can prove:
-The setting is unsuitable for the age, ability, aptitude or special educational needs (“SEN”) of the child or young person; or
-The attendance of the child or young person would be incompatible with the provision of efficient education for others; or
-The attendance of the child or young person would be incompatible with the efficient use of resources.
The bar is higher than many LAs and schools admit. And unless the LA can prove one the above the school can, and must, be named even if they object. However, they often act unlawfully and force parents to appeal.

For wholly independent schools, you will need an offer of a place and to prove the LA’s proposed school(s) can’t meet DS’s needs &/or it isn’t unreasonable public expenditure.

Thanks - this thread is a life safer!

Latest turn of events is that someone at LA contacted me today to book in 10 individual sessions with an OT between now and March. While this seems good, i am worrying if they're booking those in before there's an EHCP maybe it means they're not going to do one at all?

Not necessarily. It could equally mean they will issue but try not to put OT in F. LAs often do this. It is important it is in F because it is them legally enforceable. Follow up the conversation with an email so you have a paper trail as evidence.

I think someone else mentioned they had a pda child on here ?!?!?

please can you check this out and sign

https://www.change.org/p/national-autistic-society-to-remove-harmfully-biased-pda-information-from-their-website

thanks

I’m confused why is an autistic support charity not seeking to support the experience of all people with autism? Literally what’s in it for them?

The SENCO at our school claimed never to have heard of PDA!

@ThomasWasTortured thank you

today the LA SALT rang me to ask some questions about DS to complete her report. I think the ECHP admin are waiting for this rather than just use the much more comprehensive one we had done privately in July. Anyway, this tells me that i'm not about to receive the draft at all, if this report has not been done they'll still be waiting for it.

The legal deadline for the ehcp is today, and they're still waiting for 'independant' reports. It's all against the rules but realistically it feels like best option might just be waiting it out? Can it be worth making more noise about them being late when the outcome will still involve waiting for the same people to get their work done but also possibly annoyed with a pushy parent. I have already complained and escalated once a couple of weeks ago.

This is an example of the argument (which obviously raises some very important issues. Autistic voices are speaking out on both sides of this debate):

NAS earns an income from AET and NAS line manages AET’s
director... The Autism Industry is using Education Care Health Plans (ECHPs) and the SENDIST (special needs) tribunals which legally arbitrate on ECHPs to try and legitimise PDA. PDA as a category attributes actions, behaviour and temperament onto the individual and away from the organisations and how organisations treat such individuals. It switches moral emphasis away from organisations listening to people on the autism spectrum and places the issue back onto people on the autism spectrum. These all contribute to control the evolution of the autism human kind along the predominant medical paradigm... If things are to improve for people of autism human kind, we need to seize control of our own definition away from the Autism Industry. By not engaging with PDA we can resist the commodification of the autism human kind, enabling individuals to escape concrete impairment identities (Mallett and Runswick-Cole 2016)...SENDIST tribunals ignoring PDA diagnoses could enable greater autism self-advocacy and self-regulation. (Extract from Pathological Demand Avoidance: A Case Study into Looping Effects and Commodification of Autism, R Woods, 2017).