EHCP Assessment over 20 weeks, waiting for EdPsych

[STEAMum]

Has anyone experienced their Needs Assessment going over 20 weeks, and what did you do?

Our LEA agreed to assess and the 20 week deadline is next week. They have written stating that they are still waiting for an EP and can't say when this will be but they will update us every 2 weeks moving forward due to a national shortage.

We commissioned an independent EP and provided the report to them but they are adamant it has to be one of their own. I've copied in the Director of Children's Services and the Monitoring Officer as they've missed the statutory legal timeframe.

What have people done in this situation, could be get it to the Ombudsman?

Thanks!

Contact IPSEA for advice and support and model letters.

There is a shortage of EPs but that doesn’t help you or your child.

https://www.ipsea.org.uk/Pages/Category/get-support

https://www.specialneedsjungle.com/faq/accepting-independent-reports/

Email the Director of Children’s Services reminding them of the statutory timescales and informing them if they do not complete the process ASAP you will be forced to pursue judicial review proceedings. If that doesn’t work contact SOSSEN (or another firm as there is a wait with SOSSEN at the moment) for help with a pre-action letter.

If the LA genuinely cannot assess in house within the timescales they should commission an independent assessment.

The existing report can be used if the LA, you and the report writer agree it is sufficient. Ask the LA why they do not believe the existing report is sufficient. If they do agree it is sufficient they must not seek a new assessment.

@STEAMum I had this exact situation with my LA, including an indy report. The threat of judicial review did the trick.

Beware though, the EP report I received was utter rubbish and the LA refused to issue.

Thanks all. I managed to get through to SOS!SEN pretty quickly and got some advice about how to write a complaint to the Director and Monitoring Officer and reference the specific legislation paragraphs.

Pre-action letter to follow from solicitors on Monday in parallel.

Are you in the North of England by any chance @STEAMum ?

No, we're in the South West. Our LA is only just out of special measures so we're unfortunately one of many in this situation.

Sadly, this happens up and down the country.

Just to add our experience for anyone who finds themselves in the same situation.

We are Nottinghamshire LA and we were in the same position at OP.

We offered commissioning our own EP report too and we're told that it wouldn't be accepted. After we were about 6 weeks over, we wrote to our MP and very soon after we had an EP assessment and report from the LA and they granted an EHCP first time round.

Our LA had just been given a v poor rating and somehow I think we got caught in the uptick of them trying to pull their socks up....every cloud!

Does something needs to be done to draw attention to the risks of the distortion of the assessment of individuals and retreat from ethical practices in order to help services in budgetary crisis?

For instance, a trend an advocate notices locally is the apparent casting of needs arising from neurodisabilities, as attitudinal/behaviourial, presumably to reduce the provision needed?

The potential consequence of this, which I imagine would rarely be intentional, is that children who need nurture and help with social understanding, are met with punitive attitudes focused on 'discipline'. Which risks damaging mental health and precipitating further issues with school attendance as school feels even less safe, and as a label, potentially effects children for a lifetime.

We perhaps need to shine a light on this and ask the HCPC and Care Quality Commission how they can support EP profesional practice in these fiscally challenging times to reduce the risk of harm and ensure children and families are treated ethically?

An interesting question is who is the client for the asessment and what potential for conflicts of interest does this introduce?

EP professional guidelines require the triangulation of evidence, and consultation with other Psychs who are working with the family, when preparing input for EHCPs. It would be interesting to explore how often LA EPs are actually able to work in this way, and are routinely consulting a child's Clinical Psych, as well as their independent EP, when formulating recommendations for EHCPs?

Hi.

I don’t know if you’ll get this but can anyone help me find a lawyer who can write a pre-action letter?

my daughters EHC play is past the 20 weeks for same reasons to your post.

Can I ask who did your pre-action letter? I’m struggling to find anyone and SOS!SEN have a waiting list.

You could try Coram, Sinclairs, Simpson Millar, Bailey Wright, Watkins & Gunn, Harrow Law Centre.

Hi AMGP. Eleanor Wright at SOS!SEN did one PAP letter which did the trick, although it took 43 weeks to get the final plan and as you can imagine it was vague. We have a tribunal appeal for Jan’25 and we instructed a direct access barrister to follow with another PAP letter under s19 as daughter has been CME for well over 90 school days as they can’t find a suitable school.

We just emailed regularly asking them why they felt they couldn't use our independent report when the guidelines appeared to state the opposite and say nothing whatsoever about an EP needing to be employed by the LA to produce recommendations, until it turned out that actually they were able to use the independent report after all one day!
They got their EP to read through it at the very last moment and then the action points were all lifted directly from the conclusion there and from a document I had attached to the initial needs assessment listing what I (as his home educator for the last 18 months) thought he needed including in an EHCP for school. Their EP didn't meet our son at any point.