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!

Can you speak to the school about putting this in place and then at the first annual review, get it added officially?

My school would tackle it this way. We prioritise year 7 and that includes those in the EHCP system without a plan yet.

Sorry to hear about the SVT. Hope you are OK and managing to keep stress levels about the EHCP down (easier said than done).

Other people may have better answers, and I can't add anything useful on transport, but I'd use your 15 days to comment to shift them on as much as you can by whatever means you can. On classroom transitions and on support at lunchtime, if you haven't got anything in expert evidence, personally I'd a) ask for an electronic version of the plan, b) add comments requesting these as reasonable adjustments under EA2010 (assuming DC is likely to meet the Equality Act definitions) and c) would also drop the SENDCO a line about the need for this in parallel? Will it be a transition to secondary year? Would your existing SENDCO in any case be suggesting this to the new school and can you get that documented in an email trail?

Have you been through all the levels of the Council's complaints system yet?

@RMNofTikTok sorry to hear you haven’t been well. I hope you get home and stay home soon.

If the LA won’t amend in response to your comments about the draft (amendments are unlikely if you don’t have evidence the provision is required) then the options are appealing once the LA finalises or waiting for the first AR as @Phineyj posted.

The latter wouldn’t guarantee the support is provided by the secondary though, even with their best endeavours duty and reasonable adjustments duty, and you may end up having to appeal after the first AR, anyway.

I've had quite a lot of success with reasonable adjustments on things which don't come at cost to the LA - and you have nothing to lose. Of course you are not required to evidence the need for a reasonable adjustments in the same way as evidencing the need for SEND provision and the LA and school have anticipatory duty to provide them. The legal tests are different.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a7e3237ed915d74e33f0ac9/Equality_Act_Advice_Final.pdf

The problem is, for the things listed by @RMNofTikTok, there is a cost. Getting into school and transitioning between classrooms requires a spare member of staff. Many secondary SEN departments don’t have spare members of staff now or where they do they often can’t guarantee it day in, day out, so despite their best endeavours many are unable to provide someone to meet DC at the gates/car/bus/reception and support them from classroom to classroom without an EHCP. So, because of this, in many secondaries these days, it wouldn’t be considered a reasonable adjustment.

The lunchtime support depends on what kind of support is required. Many have a SEN lunch club that would be possible. But, for example, 1:1 support on the field/playground is unlikely to be possible without an EHCP. For the same staffing reasons. And it also wouldn’t be considered a reasonable adjustment.

Thanks all

It's very well documented that she makes herself sick every morning due to the anxiety of going to school, and she goes in through reception currently as she has panic attacks outside of the classroom door, which is also well documented. I outlined this to the EP, who only recommended check ins 3 times a week and "enhanced transitional support" but nobody is quantifying what enhanced transitional support is and I'm terrified.

@RMNofTikTok will the primary school provide evidence it is needed?

@SearchingForSolitude

She will need support to go to the lunch hall and order her lunch initially as the loud open space is likely to be too overwhelming for her without it and she has problems making food choices. She's also known to throw her lunch away when she has to eat in the school canteen, she currently has a teacher checking she's actually ate.

Of course they won't, they are still denying she's autistic despite a formal diagnosis, they've labelled me as an anxious parent and refer to her difficulties as anxiety

@RMNofTikTok can you at least create a paper trail using emails to show DD currently receives the support?

Check with the secondary, some have an early supported lunch for Y7 to begin with, so you may get a small amount of breathing space.

Would a packed lunch work better?

It is unlikely DD will get the support to the level you have post about every day without it being in her EHCP, unfortunately. Even if they can provide it some days it may not be provided if e.g. the staff member supporting someone with an EHCP is off and the person supporting DD is needed to support them or the person supporting DD is off themselves.

@SearchingForSolitude yes she's just had an assessment by a specialist autism team, and it's documented in there. It's also on her pupil passport and a discharge letter from CAMHS, as well as within emails to and from the school. Now you've asked that question, I feel reassured that I have some evidence.

The meeting with the EP was exhausting. For 2.5 hours I discussed that I had primarily applied for an EHCP to support with transition to secondary school, however because the EP saw her move into the classroom next door to a teacher who used to be her teacher, they documented she doesn't have any difficulties with transition. However, if they had observed me trying to take her in through the classroom door it would have been another story!

You might strike lucky with the form teacher. Worth at least speaking with the school re tutor groups to see if she can be allocated someone experienced.

And yes it is v normal for year 7 to be dismissed for lunch early.

@RMNofTikTok you have more evidence than you think, so it isn’t as much of an issue it isn’t in the EP report.

On a related note, is DD receiving an enhanced transition to secondary? Same to you @Phineyj. Although I think you said DD would have more visits.

I'm doing my best - balancing it with the need not to become "that colleague" (I'm resigned to becoming "that parent" 😂).

I've established she gets a special SEN visit in June. I'll probably also take her to the school show, as she's keen on music theatre. I have allocated a classroom cupboard space for her football and astro trainers. I'm going to tell HR next week I'm up for working 4 days next academic year (which may help us as a department anyway). I'm also giving a seminar on SEN in 6th form teaching (which gives me an excuse to meet with the director level SEN lead) and I have made friends with all the TAs - not hard as they're v nice.

In the meantime DH has offered to help run the school cycling club and has said he will do the train commute with DD in September, the days I don't work. I've also had a new EP report done (for the council to ignore) and drafted the effing EHCP myself.

The things you have to do!

DD is also showing signs of puberty.

I'm sure that will help with the emotional volatility.

Argh!!!

@SearchingForSolitude yes she's getting an enhanced transition, but I have no idea what that entails, everything feels a bit wishy washy 🙈

@Phineyj enjoy 😂 I'm grateful DD has learned to shave her own armpits now, it's bad enough doing my own let alone having to do another set on top 😁 she's still hormonal as ever though!

Well at least she is really good with all styling type things so when she's grasped body hair stuff she can advise me 😂.

She's got the palest blondest hair though so not a massive issue fortunately.

Unlike me. I look like Molly Weasley.

I have allocated a classroom cupboard space for her football and astro trainers.

At least the important things are sorted @Phineyj .

Puberty has made DS2’s impulsiveness and risk taking so much worse.

Well yes.

Only the boys ever play on the astro at break and they aren't allowed without trainers, so she will probably have it to herself to begin with and quickly gather some other organised girl footballers. I'm looking forward to it.

If this relates to a disability or long term health condition you are into reasonable adjustments where needed to avoid substantial disadvantage, cost or no cost. (We can get so blinded by SEND CoP/EHCP process that we can overlook our children's rights under EA2010 where we don't need an expert report).

Obviously this ultimately only tested at tribunal, but schools and LAs know they have obligations under EA2010 relating to disability, and correspondence with governors/academy chains will be taken seriously. The question is what a tribunal would view as reasonable, and also what advice the school gets from the LA on legal compliance. The EASS helpline is good on education scenarios.
https://www.equalityadvisoryservice.com/app/ask

Needing a 1:1, which is what those adjustments would mean, isn’t considered reasonable by SENDIST.

To expand
1:1 for lunch and break time would be around an hour a day. Could well be more.
Transition into school in the morning would at least 15 mins.
Transition after school would be at least 15 mins.

Tutor to lesson 1, lesson 1 to lesson 2, lesson 2 to break, break to lesson 3, lesson 3 to lunch, lunch to lesson 4. 10 mins (at the very least) per transition - 1hr per day - (more in schools with 5/6/8… lessons or a second tutor time).

That is at least 2 hours 30 per day, 12.5hrs a week. It is extremely rare for that amount of 1:1 to be guaranteed continuously these days in a MS secondary without it being in an EHCP or in receipt of high needs top up funding. And SENDIST would not consider 12.5hrs pw reasonable.

Hi. Can anyone help with an AR question. AR was 4 weeks ago and we've not heard much from anyone since. Only that everything has been passed onto the internal LA tribunal team and we would receive draft/working document directly from them.Phase transfer year and tribunal pending in July. Should we still receive a report/minutes from the AR with what was discussed? (separate from tribunal processes, working document etc).

Within 2 weeks you should have received the report. Within 4 weeks the LA should have informed you if they were going to amend or not, and if they were send the draft at the same time. The AR process runs alongside Tribunal. Any amendments can then become part of the WD process.

Yeah I wouldn't expect a school to provide it without funding. I think once she has settled in she may not need it, but I don't know how long it will take her to achieve that. She's never managed to go into the classroom independently consistently at primary.

@RMNofTikTok I wouldn’t mention your thoughts about DD maybe not requiring the support once settled to the school or LA. My reasoning is the LA (and maybe the school) will have a different period of time they believe DD will need to settle and if DD has needed that support throughout primary school I would work on the basis she is going to continue needing the support for the foreseeable at least.