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!

@Cafetabac great news! The last minute capitulation is such a dick move from the LA but at least you've got where you need to be.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/special_educational_needs/5077140-ehcp-support-thread-no-3

For when we need it.

Oh I do mean outcomes @SearchingForSolitude. The way they've laid the document out is v confusing. A friend's just kindly lent me her daughter's as an example, and while it's no more SMART than mine, at least whoever wrote it knew how to write a readable document.

😡

Congrats, @Cafetabac. It's nice to hear some good news. Here's to hoping things progress smoothly for you from here.

Regarding the schools who said they didn't receive consultation requests from our LA, our caseworker said schools sometimes say this to buy more time.... All of them? I wondered.

They then 'informally' issued the final plans, saying they are just awaiting signing off. But they also said I could let them know if we want any further amendments and they'll do them next week. I've read through the final drafts and they have completely watered down DS's maths provision, and DD's also has some omissions, so yes the marked up plans are going to back to them on Monday. Hopefully they'll just cave and we can avoid appealing... Although we're still waiting for the secondary school to be named...

@SpaceInvader321 both LAs and schools can be economical with the truth. It makes for interesting reading when people submit SARs to both. The LA can’t informally issue the final plan. They have either finalised or not.

Anyone else waiting for confirmation their case is registered with sendist tribunal? Submitted on 7th May and really hope its this week! Everything takes forever 🫠

Hi all, briefly introduced myself before, but today I've printed out all forms and been looking through IPSEA resources.

I'm looking and hoping for support and pointers for my EHCPNA application, particularly as my DD (yr 5) is academically top of her year (which I fear will be a barrier) However, she is also ASD. Essentially, what I'm asking for in an EHCP is a list of reasonable adjustments legally agreed if you like so that she will (or should 🙄) have all these things in place for her mainstream secondary school. My DD has extreme levels of anxiety, overwhelm, and lots of sensory processing issues as well as social and comprehension issues like literal thinking, not understanding sarcasm, facial expressions etc. All are being carefully managed by her one special teacher she can confide in in school (which isn’t her class teacher!) and a support plan full of reasonable adjustments which has just been updated to increase what’s being offered in response to my daughters increasing need. As is often documented in girls, we are seeing the wheels well and truly begin to fall off at home, the beginnings of school refusal and difficultly maintaining her one friendship. She also has ARFID (although not officially diagnosed, but definitely has it).

So in terms of me, I’m a mum of two and completely overwhelmed. I don’t have any family in my life and no enduring friendships (I’m ND too, no surprises, self diagnosed), so support is pretty much MN, my husband and the school.

I plan to include the following in my application:

ASD report
Copy of sensory diet school questionnaire
School support plan
Letter from SENDCo
Email from clinical psychologist detailing very elevated scores for anxiety on Conner’s questionnaire for ADHD screening performed recently as marked by the school

Can anyone think of anything else? Or any professionals I could ask to assess?

I’m so sorry if this all sounds idiotic. I’ve been trying to follow the thread and realise I’ve got a lot to learn. I’m reading all the resources I can find, but also very much hoping to hear from anyone applying where their child is actually excelling academically. It almost feels like because of this there’s no point in me applying. But she won’t be able to manage school at all because of emotional and social issues if this isnt taken very seriously. 😟

Please help!

Hello, could anyone tell me what 'exceptional needs funding' is/means ? After a battle to get ds an ehcp, then naming a specialist school, I've just been informed the placement was agreed but because the school requested exceptional needs funding it's now gone to county level. None of this means anything to me !!

@vacay it just means the school has requested more funding.

@SearchingForSolitude Ahh I see, thank you. Will this impact the placement if it is refused ?

@vacay if the SS is already named in I then they must admit. Is the school wholly independent?

Originally the LA named ds' current mainstream school in the draft plan, the school said they cannot meet ds' needs and we wrote a letter stating we are not in agreement, so we then named the specialist school, the specialist school arranged a visit, told us we will find out about if ds is being given a place, I've just been informed by the LA that the decision was made to give him a place but because the school has requested exceptional needs funding it needed agreement at county level. That's where we're at right now, it's going to the panel this week.
No it's not an independent school it's just a standard state school

@vacay so you haven’t got a finalised EHCP naming the special school?

The draft shouldn’t have named any placement or type of placement. Section I must be blank in a draft.

Because the school isn’t wholly independent, the LA must name your preferred placement 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.

No it's not named. And still a draft. The LA tried to get us to agree to ds staying at the mainstream school while they consulted with named school. We said no to this and so did the mainstream school.
Sorry just checked, section I is blank

@SearchingForSolitude As far as I'm aware the ss are happy to take ds. They actually called his current school to speak to the head and said they wanted to meet him and show him around the school which I was told was a really positive thing.
They've offered the place and it's been agreed with LA But becuae they've asked for this exceptional needs funding it's going to a panel at county level

@vacay it’s not uncommon for schools to want/need more funding. I wouldn’t worry at this stage. What week of the EHCP are you on? Make sure the LA doesn’t delay finalising.

Bloody hell I have no idea !! Ehcp was agreed in feb, agreed to assess in June 2023.
Once offered the school place (🤞🤞) I'm guessing this is when I need to badger the LA to finalise ?

When we challenged school around poor progress of literacy and not doing provision (during exam time the daily 40 mins for motor skills is cut by half), school say well we can't meet needs all the time you know.

SENCO even started down the tack of 'the attendance of the child or young person would be incompatible with the provision of efficient education for others'.

This is a secondary mainstream school who took DS on knowing what the needs/provision was. 3 years in, still not happening.

Headteacher talking about us dictating provision, but we are not. Just want what is the plan we fought so hard to get properly specified.

Tribunal in summer (different needs to the one above).

School say they just don't have enough staff to deliver intervention daily when it is exam time. I realise they can't magic TA's out of a hat but surely there must be a way?

@vacay the LA is well out of time. They should have finalised by week 20. On their website, IPSEA has a model letter you should send to the Director of Children’s Services. If the LA still doesn’t finalise ASAP post back here (or on thread 3) for further advice on what to do next. You don’t need the school to offer a place. The LA must name your preferred school even if the school objects unless the LA can prove one of the exceptions in my pp.

@Alltheyearround the school should not be taking the staff delivering SEP detailed, specified and quantified in DS’s EHCP for exam access arrangements. There was a whole thread about it not long ago if you want a frustrating read.

@SearchingForSolitude I know. I can't bring myself to read it just now. School make us feel like we are in the wrong, that we are being unreasonable. They say the right of a child to exam support is more of a priority than provision for an EHCP. They say they can't employ extra staff to cover provision/exams, which is funny as that's exactly what our college does in terms of invigilators. There's a pool of them and they are supply essentially.

They say if we don't like it and keep being arsey and bringing it up, there is the door. They say they can meet provision whilst not actually doing so. We are not set up to do 1:1 was actually said more than once.

SENCO said (re poor literacy progress) maybe DS isn't capable of making progress and functional literacy is aspirational but not possible for all.

What?

Off to type up minutes as school can't be relied on to provide an accurate account of AR.

More hours of my life disappearing into the sinkhole.

They say the right of a child to exam support is more of a priority than provision for an EHCP.

They need reminding the EHCP is a legal document. On top of action to enforce the provision, they are leaving themselves open to a disability discrimination case.

Is this from when they agreed to assess ? Thank you!

No 20 weeks from when the EHCNA was requested. Assuming you haven’t had to appeal a refusal to assess or refusal to issue.

No, not had to appeal anything. We just didn't agree with a mainstream school being in section I. Although I did start a stage 1 complaint as they missed the deadline to complete the assessment and that soon got them moving
Here is the dates

I did remind the head it is a legal doc and he replied to my email to say he did not like my tone!! Honestly you cannot make this shit up.