LA have finalised EHCP despite consultations responses not back yet

[LettersOfTheAlphabet]

Absolutely hopping mad. LA consulted a setting last week who have yet to respond but today have received the final EHCP naming his current school which has not been attended since November (for very good reasons)! The final ehcp is dated the same day the consultation was sent! What the fudge do I do now??

You should appeal if the LA has not named your preferred school.

If DS is compulsory school age and unable to attend school, is the LA making alternative provision?

Trouble is appeals here are 12 month wait. I feel sick at the thought of no school for another year

Forgot to add, child still on roll at school so LA just saying it is their responsibility but they've literally offered 5 worksheets in all the time

The way to challenge the placement named in I is via appealing. You should also appeal B&F because section I is the logical conclusion of B&F and they will be written in a way which support the placement the LA has named. (Although only appealing I will be a quicker hearing there is a higher risk your preferred placement won’t be named.) Because DS is not in school you can request an expedited hearing, so although a hearing would be several months away the wait won’t be a year.

The ultimate duty to ensure DC receive a full-time education lies with the LA. The school sending work home, even if it was more, does not relieve the LA of their duty. Send the Director of Children’s Services using one of IPSEA’s model letters requesting provision under s.19 of the Education Act 1996. If that doesn’t work email again threatening judicial review. Then, if that fails, contact SOSSEN for help with a pre-action letter.

Thank you so much. I had a letter from the LA send team leader yesterday telling me that the education is the responsibility of the school - so this is categorically untrue then?

Yes, ultimately, it is the LA’s duty to ensure DC unable to attend school receive a suitable full-time education (s.19 of the Education Act 1996). It is also their responsibility to ensure anything detailed, specified and quantified in F is received (s42 CAFA 2014).

In some respects they have done you a favour by issuing it. It means you can now appeal. You could be waiting for months for things to come back and then more going back and forwards with the LA. Appeal. Visit schools if you haven’t already and work out which one you think meets needs. You may also need to get private assessments done to get the proof that the setting you think meets needs is the only one that can. Check out IPSEA and SENSOS. SNJungle also is good for background info on what goes on.

And yes in the meantime it is the LA’s responsibility to ensure a full time education is being provided somehow.

You are quickly learning that the LA, schools, SENCo do not always know or follow the law!

Thank you. It's going to be months either way. Child is PDA so very limited number of options open to us unfortunately but the one we're waiting for a response from looks cautiously promising.

Yes. If he’s out of education do mention this on the appeal documents as these appeals get seen quicker. Ditto if he’s at a phase transfer ie Yr 6 going into Yr 7.

For what it’s worth my PDAer is significantly less PDAey now he’s in a more suitable environment. Don’t get me wrong he’s still no where near what you’d call compliant, but if I’d never heard of PDA until today I wouldn’t be saying it fitted like a glove like I did when I first came across it!

Is the school wholly independent? If not, the LA doesn’t need the school to agree to the placement. The school can and must be named against their will 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.
As you are finding, that doesn’t stop LAs forcing parents to appeal.

Once you appeal and get the hearing date, if it slips through the net and isn’t expedited (some do even if you highlight being out of school/phase transfer when submitting) submit a SEND7 requesting an earlier date.