EHCP support thread no. 2

[Phineyj]

This is a support thread for anyone at any stage of the EHCP process. I've got an 11 year old girl in year 6 of a mainstream private primary school. I've been seeking an EHCP since she was in year 5, to support her transition to secondary school. She is diagnosed with ASD and ADHD and is working about two years behind age related expectations. Our local authority refused to assess and refused to issue. We are currently in the 11 month wait for a second tribunal which I am hoping (but not sure) will take place before she actually goes to secondary, although I doubt the actual EHCP will be finalised by then. In the meantime I've been enjoying (not) learning all these acronyms and trying to support other people in this journey. In my spare time, I'm a secondary school teacher.

If you, too, are drowning in acronyms and paperwork while finding your local authority (LA) as useful as a chocolate teapot, join your fellow travellers here!

Phiney yes to alternate reality, absolutely.

Please can I ask you all a secondary school question? The more I am looking locally I am finding out about a couple of small quite therapeutically-oriented AP providers. However they only offer a couple of GCSEs or don’t offer GCSEs at all. Ideally I would like my child to try doing 5 GCSES so they have the option of sixth form college and a wider range of jobs.

I can’t seem to find out how a mix of providers at GCSE level would work. Maybe that’s trying to tell me something!

But.. Would a p/t MS school with the smallest class sizes I can find, plus a p/t AP = EOTAS?

Or would it mean that my DC would be on the MS school’s roll ,to attend part time, then AP part time? So then it would be entirely up to the school whether they were happy to have a p/t kid or not?

Yes it says it in the OT report, I have asked the salt if she recommends this also as it isn't in her report but the salt interventions are literally all day long and in such details so perhaps she has written it like that because no way mainstream can do this. Things like child led curriculum. Either way I've asked her if she can clarify.

She really does need it if she's got any chance of independence in the future shes switched on in many ways but salt have said her communication is that of a 1year old. She's five.

@Mummytodo I meant do you have it in writing from the school?

@EHCPerhaps plenty of DC attend or have more than one provider at GCSE. Part time school and part time at an AP is not like flexi schooling. Wholly independent schools excepted, the school does not need to agree if it is stated in the EHCP as it should be.

You can have part time school for the part of provision it isn’t inappropriate to be made in a school and part time education otherwise than at school for the provision that it is inappropriate to be made in a school. You can’t have section I blank if there is a school to be attended.

@SearchingForSolitude yes from the senco on email

@EHCPerhaps that's a good question. I teach in a medium sized London comprehensive and we have a small group of children educated off site. This is generally because they have gone to a PRU-type alternative provision, temporarily for weeks or months and generally because of behavioural difficulties. However, there is at least one GCSE student spending part of the week at an agricultural college, funded by his EHCP.

I think what you have in mind is possible, if you have the stomach for the research and paperwork.

I meant to add that a larger school with a more varied pupil group may have more experience and options with different pathways. So keep an open mind for the moment.

I think the problem with part time schooling at secondary is a practical one relating to the timetable. Eg if you wanted them to do maths and English at school, the lessons will be spread across the whole week - what do they do in between? Rather than a specialist provider or tutor who could condense into specific days around the needs of one student.

That said, I know of friends who had a shared placement between mainstream and specialist provision - it is possible. But they were not at a level where GCSEs were a consideration.

Thank you very much everyone. I’m having a tough day today so that’s lovely to hear that some DC have managed it. Just feels like such a slog, trying to make all this happen but with no guarantee that it ever gets supported by the LA or that the school/AP will be able to provide the right support in reality or that even after all this, that my DC will actually engage with any of it.

@EHCPerhaps Ultimately, you don’t need the LA to agree. They don’t make the final decision if you appeal, that would be SENDIST.

Thank you Searching. I sometimes feel so overwhelmed with all this process to wade through. Your posts have really helped.

The school have sent me their draft ECHNA with the expectation that my DD will complete the sections aimed at the child’s pov. I’ve been trying. She won’t cooperate with them on that (or me, realistically, she is not in school). She has ASD with what I see as PDA traits. She won’t even tell me why school is so hard. Does it matter?

The form says it will take parents’ views, but what if anything would be helpful for me to write? Is this where I put all the reports and evidence even though the form is asking for kids’ input?

Our school attempted the child's pov too @EHCPerhaps and all we had was 'I don't know said Username's kid' for the answers.

I wouldn't worry too much. We were warned our EhCNA would be rejected and it was. We're now appealing.

Thanks Username that makes perfect sense. It’s my first time applying and I think I have wasted a lot of time hoping to make it a ‘good’ application. I have felt really daunted by the application process with the whole industry of paid experts springing up with loads of advice around this… now I am pretty sure that even textbook perfect applications get turned down on a purely financial basis.

@EHCPerhaps lots of DC can’t give their views, don’t worry. DC’s view is not necessary before requesting an EHCNA.

Unless the school is going to submit the EHCNA request ASAP, you should request one yourself because waiting for the school to submit the request is delaying matters.

Yes, include any evidence you have, including that DD isn’t accessing school at the moment. Think about why an EHCP may be needed. What difficulties does DD have, what support has previously been tried and hasn’t worked and why or has worked but the school can’t continue to provide without an EHCP, if you have any evidence of what support is required cover that, likes/dislikes, strengths/weaknesses.

There's been a miscommunication in my draft being sent to my preferred school setting from my send officer. We're due a decision any day as its been 13 calender days since we requested the placement. Would it be acceptable for me to contact the setting directly and inform them? It's a paragraph on the draft which has been changed by current senco but I feel it's quite important? It should have been changed by send officer before being sent

I would contact Sen services and the setting, preferably by email together

Hi all

I feel quite stressed out this evening.

I put my SEND7 in on 16/01, no response as of yet.

Response from LA re appeal is due Monday. I've had no contact from them whatsoever. Is this normal? They said I would be allocated a case worker and they would be in touch. How do I push it forward if they fail to respond on Monday? Unless order request?

@246810k definitely contact your preferred school then follow up with an email. However, you say the paragraph was changed by the current SENCO and the SENDO should have amended before consultation. That isn’t necessarily the case. The SENCO can’t force the LA to amend, the decision whether to amend or not is, at this stage, the LAs.

@RMNofTikTok normal for many. It is not unusual for LAs to not comply, unfortunately. LAs are given repeated chances to comply. If the LA misses the deadline email the LA initially. If you don’t get anywhere, you can also raise it with SENDIST. SENDIST can make unless orders, but that is unlikely at this point and isn’t always in your best interest, anyway. Here is a good article about failure to comply with deadlines.

@SearchingForSolitude

As a McKenzie friend in family law and DWP tribunals this is wild to me. Missed deadlines are seriously frowned upon and usually result in applications for costs. I've never known a court application to take 5 weeks to be responded to!

@RMNofTikTok SENDIST is a whole other world. They like to have as much information as possible about the case to base any decision on. The threshold for LAs to be barred is also high because of the chance of the LA appealing and the original decision being thrown out.

That's really interesting, because my notice of hearing specifically states that if the LA don't file the bundle by a certain date they are automatically barred from participating in proceedings. I think my LA is notoriously bad though....

I understand SENDIST wanting as much information as possible, but given that many LAs are declining in order to delay funding provision, it doesn't make sense that the courts would allow the tardiness.

@RMNofTikTok there’s no deterrent, no accountability, so why would LAs comply?

What SENDIST say they will do re barring isn’t what they go on to do a lot of the time. LAs are given many, many chances. Even when LAs are barred they are often reinstated.

This is what I'm saying. Currently there is no deterrent. Whereas if unless orders, costs orders, barring of evidence etc were used, I'm certainly LAs would suddenly be able to file on time.

@RMNofTikTok SENDIST is different to other types of courts. In many cases they would result in a delay to the hearing. LAs would be barred, they will successfully be reinstated in many cases. LAs don’t care about costs - see the large sums of spent on representation defending indefensible cases against unrepresented parents and LGO settlements that are a drop in the ocean. They lose the vast majority of cases anyway.

Yes don't they lose 98.2% of cases over all?

I think I might have to quit work in September. I just cannot see this send7 ever being processed or the LA filing paperwork on time for an earlier appeal 😢 and there's no way DD will be able to start secondary school in September without the right support. She started pre teach for maths on Monday and by Tuesday evening I had emailed the school and pulled her out of the early starts. She simply cannot cope with any transition or change in routine at all currently