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!

@34weekmess if the LA does not name your preferred school you will should appeal and request an expedited hearing because of DS being out of school. The majority of appeals are upheld. If DS can’t attend MS, you can collate evidence to that effect to demonstrate that. Try not to borrow worries for the future. For now, focus on the draft and stating your preferred school.

If the LA try to prosecute, you can fight it and they are unlikely to get far. This is why I said to check what the absences are being coded as and try not to worry about the school’s scare tactics.

If DS can’t attend school, there is s.19 provision. The form this takes varies depending on DC’s needs and what is available locally, but it must be a suitable, full-time education. It might be tuition (not necessarily academic tuition if that isn’t suitable) at home/online/in the community/at a unit or centre the LA use, hospital school, PRU, at an AP such as a forest school or care farm…

@UsernameFail it is typical for LAs to acknowledge DC has SEN but contest they may need SEP to be made via an EHCP. Think about what evidence you have. Do you need to submit SARs to school, SALT and OT? Do you need independent assessment(s)? If you can, submit sooner rather than later. The number of appeals will increase over the next couple of months due to phase transfers.

@QuickFetchTheCoffee SARs must be answered within a month. For complex requests this can be extended to 3 months, but that won’t apply to your case.

@SearchingForSolitude well in time for the tribunal then, that's good to know.

Hi @SearchingForSolitude excuse my ignorance everything is still new - is an SAR Subject Access Request? The school day they're not a state school therefore they do things differently. Our Paed asked them to do an IEP with APDR and again ' computer says no'
At least now with the LA stating they need to do this hopefully when we sit down on Weds (this meeting has been in the diary since Christmas) the SEnCo may be a little more helpful but im not holding my breath.

We do have private Clinical Psych, OT and SALT reports and the Paed report has just come through

SAR does stand for subject access request. It applies to independent schools too.

We (including the LA) saw the data they hold on our son - examples of his work and his Cat4 scores but that's it

schoolsweek.co.uk/educational-psychologist-shortage-having-significant-impact/

Article focuses on Surrey

@Phineyj Interesting article. Is an EP shortage affecting assessments in real terms? Is it area specific?

@UsernameFail that is why you need to formally request all data held via a SAR.

The shortage of EPs is a problem. What is more of a problem is LAs using the EP shortage as an excuse. If they cannot assess in-house within the timescale they should commission an independent assessment. If they breach the statutory timescales they should act quickly to remedy it. Too many LAs shrug their shoulders and say nothing we can do, which is nonsense. There was an interesting case a couple of months ago about Hertfordshire’s lack of action, SN Jungle discuss it here.

Thanks for the article @Phineyj I am in Surrey 😳

The EP shortage is national. There is an OT shortage too, but OT seems more available privately (possibly OT practices are more viable as they serve adults too?)

We have an EP visiting, To review EHCP I think, or at least to feed into it. Usually I’m good with professional involvement but with recent tribunal/LA refusals, I’m worried about the EP coming with an agenda to align with LA thinking.

how independent are they when they work for LA?
i know so much about lo’s needs, really need to find a way to get what we need (specialist school)….

It is always wise to be aware LA professionals are not completely independent.

Thank you. This is very useful information. We have an appointment at the school with the EP in relation to the EHCP. This is our first appointment - can anybody please advise on what I should expect to happen? Do I need to go in with a list of needs that I want addressed? Will they speak mainly to DD? I'm not exactly sure if I'm to go in prepared for battle at this stage?

TIA

It can be useful to have notes so you don’t forget anything you wish to say. Think about things like a timeline of events/history/diagnoses/previous assessments, strengths/weaknesses, likes/dislikes, aspirations, what support is already being given/has been tried, what works/doesn’t work. A good assessment will speak to you, DD, the school and any other professionals involved, read previous reports, observe DD and undertake cognitive testing/tasks with DD.

I've had an interesting afternoon....

I finally received Ds provision map, with all of the recommendations from various assessments.

It has been recommended that D has a learning mentor, and they've suggested that her psychotherapist is her learning mentor 😂

I don't know why the school are so resistant to the idea she may need an EHCP...

May I ask please regarding Section 19 provision- SearchingForSolitude you kindly said that it comes in many forms e.g. home or online tuition, online school, 1:1 or small group tuition at a tuition centre/unit/in the community/at a PRU, hospital school, an AP such as a care farm/forest school/outward bounds centre…It depends on what is suitable for DD and what is available locally, but it must be a suitable, full-time education (except in the small minority of cases where full-time education in any form (the scope of what is considered educational is far wider than traditional academic learning) isn’t in their best interests)

So do I need to ask for a specific provider that I think might suit? or do I just describe the problem and wait and see what the LA then offers? I don’t know what other kinds of education are available locally. Where can I find out?

@EHCPerhaps start by requesting s.19 provision. By all means mention if something is unsuitable but focus on requesting provision first. If/when the LA contacts you to discuss, you can discuss what is suitable then.

Some LAs have information about s.19 provision on their website and some have an alternative provision catalogue &/or information on their local offer. However, none of this information will be 100% complete. LAs can be selective about sharing AP information. You need a group of experienced local parents (not SENDIASS or parent carer forum unless you live in an area where they are truly helpful rather than repeating the LA’s unlawful policies) because, while there are some national providers, information about local APs is often via word of mouth.

Thank you. I've just left the meeting and that is indeed exactly what they did! DD is currently in with the EP doing activities and being assessed. Thanks to all the people on this thread, it really helps me to feel less like I've landed on an alien planet!

I guess it's just a waiting game now 🤞

Thank you Searching
I’m really appalled there is not a duty of transparency on central government and LAs to make all the information plain to all parents. This stuff is vital for parents of SEN kids to know. Thanks again for your input.

@Applemist I am pleased it went well.

@EHCPerhaps more openness about medical needs tuition is required. All too often DC whose parents know the system, what should be provided and how to enforce that get better support. Arguably the most vulnerable DC are failed to most.

However, at the moment, having one centralised list of all APs would be impossible. APs don’t have to be registered. They also open and close daily and some often change the cohort they cater to. The government has mooted forcing all APs to become registered, but that has met much resistance. The consequences for those with EOTAS or who remain on a school’s roll but receive AP would be dreadful. Some in the EHE community would be hit too because some APs also run EHE groups/sessions.

Hope it goes as well as it can @Applemist

Thank you again. I’m confused, does anxiety//EBSA come under medical needs?

My LA seems to offer a referral pathway where the DC school can refer to LA panel who can send child to a commissioned AP while child stays on joint role of the AP and school. Is that better/different route than s19 potentially?

Or is this a distinction like applying for an EHCP yourself or the school applying for the EHCP?

That route is generally used for kids with fairly extreme behaviour difficulties (and generally twice as many boys as girls, as boys get excluded at twice the rates).

Schools aren't allowed to just exclude any more so a child might go to an AP for a few months and then (hopefully) get integrated back to the original school. Or maybe get "managed moved" to another.

I'm sorry - it is all confusing and not exactly designed to help the poor beleaguered parent!

Just to clarify - that AP sounds like a PRU (pupil referral unit).

But AP also includes alternative education like care farms and so on.

Thanks Phineyj that’s really helpful- it is confusing when there are so many reasons why an AP might be needed and so many different kinds of AP. Sounds like it’s best to stick with s.19 route in our situation.