EHCP support thread no. 3

[Phineyj]

A new thread for when no. 2 is full up.
Link to thread no. 1: https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/special_educational_needs/4834986-ehcp-support-thread
Link to thread no. 2:
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/special_educational_needs/4989146-ehcp-support-thread-no-2

I am the mum of an 11 year old girl with SEN and have spent the last 20 months battling for my local authority to issue an EHCP to support her transition from primary to secondary school. We are currently after draft stage after two tribunals. I've had so much useful advice and moral support from posters on here.

This new thread is here to help everyone, whether you're just starting out or are a battle-hardened veteran of years of this.

There is no such thing as a stupid question and there are many acronyms and technical terms so please ask for an explanation of anything that you don't understand.

SEN: special educational needs (sometimes SEND: special educational needs and disability)
SENCO: teacher at school charged with overall responsibility for students on roll with SEN
ECHNA: education care and health needs assessment - the process of a local authority commissioning reports to find out a child's needs
EHCP: the education care and health plan that details a child's needs and the agreed provision to meet them; a legally binding document
SENDIST: the special educational needs and disability tribunal - an independent appeal panel which considers parental appeals against Education Authority decisions about special educational needs.

I'm squeaking quite a lot, but not much sign of grease. 😣

Well keep squeaking, @Proserphina. Polite and persistent gets there in the end 99% of the time.

Thank you @Phineyj, but have been at this for 30 months now, super polite and persistent. These guys have grey rock down to a tee. Ignore emails, smile and say yes when meetings finally go into diaries, then do very very little of what they have agreed to and has been noted. Other professional working with us to support DC are completely exasperated. Think they try to drive families like us out.

Weirdly, after losing 2 tribunals, my LA seem to have cracked and decided to just do as I ask (and they've never suggested a meeting - 20 months here and I haven't met anyone in person!) So they are finally doing their job, kind of, but are still administratively poor. Emails to wrong address, poorly drafted documents etc.

I'm still waiting to hear anything from the LA about current school consultations. I did chase this week but no reply back. What's the rush after all? It's only June. There's a whole 6 weeks left before he has no school place.

@UnendingSaga never underestimate their stupidity. After two weeks of chasing both ends I found the consultation had gone to the info@ email (not the SENCO and headteacher emails I'd twice supplied)...the poor school now has 4 days to respond...

That does not surprise me @Phineyj. I know the requests have been sent twice, but I've no idea who to. They aren't my choices so I've supplied nothing. My choice said yes and is holding a place. It's possible the schools might have come back and it's going to panel again and they're just not telling me anything yet. Especially if all of them said no and they are going to try and name somewhere against their will.

Me neither. But given that the school we want is also my workplace, I was a little distressed and embarrassed that all that personal information about me and my daughter was floating around the info@ address. Fortunately I got hold of a decent person in admin who muttered darkly about GDPR data breaches, found it and deleted it for me.

Do you think in about 10 years' time ITV will make a drama about all this crap?! I do hope so.

Hi all
I'm going through my DC draft and I want to make sure im amending this correctly.
LA has put everything must be directed by qualified teacher and delivered by teaching assistant but the educational physcologist has said delivered by familiar adult , adult needs to be skilled in meeting children's needs who are delayed in all areas. to me this is very watered down am I correct ?
also the LA hasn't put in that's specific activities should be 1:1 which educational physcologist has put. the LA just put how long the activities should be for. that's watered down right?
Also sorry I know this is long, they have completely missed out adult supervision for all movement outside (flight risk) which was in the educational physcologist report and just put do a risk assessment.
please be honest and tell me if I'm way over thinkING all this and it should be word for word (which the educational physcologist has written) and not just basic.
thanks all

@Jaffacakesrlife request the LA amends to include 1:1 as per the EP report. Not including it is watering down provision. As well as stating what provision is required and how long for, is the frequency included? Also request they include provision for outside. Although “adult supervision” is rather vague. What the EP has written is too woolly. A “familiar adult” could be anyone - e.g. cleaner, midday supervisor, parent helper. As long are the rest of the related wording is nailed down, “teaching assistant” to deliver the provision is far better than “familiar adult”. What exactly is “skilled in meeting children's needs who are delayed in all areas”?

@BrumToTheRescue thank you so much. I thought I was just being picky but you have reassured me that I'm not.
I don't get the EPs request for familiar adult but she goes on to say familiar adult supervised by SENCO.
I'm hoping she's referring to a possible
1 to 1 buttt we can never assume when it comes to EHCP
Thank you again I'm so greatful

@Jaffacakesrlife you should ask the LA to go back to the EP to make her report detailed, specified and quantified. “Familiar adult supervised by SENCO” still isn’t adequate. And unless explicit does not mean 1:1.

If I get a pre action protocol letter drafted who do I send it to in children's services? The director? There is no provisions officer or anyone accountable for making sure schools provide what is on the EHCP. Ours is watertight but school refuse to do it - saying exams mean TA's are otherwise engaged, This is the 3rd year this has happened. Have had umpteen meetings, emails etc with head. He now says if we insist on provision all the time (so unreasonable, I know) then school can't afford it and therefore can't meet needs. He says yes he knows non provision is 'a bit sticky' legally. Bit sticky? How about stealing some of my child's education and specialist provision we have fought so bloody hard to get nailed down in an EHCP.

Tribunal officer saying more money can be requested by school via panel.

That was supposed to be earlier this week. Not heard a peep from anyone.

It's a wonder I have any hair left to pull out.

Should have recieved the LA's response to appeal and EHCP working document by 12 noon today. Have heard nothing and waited patiently all day... surely I thought this would have been followed/ deadlines met when it comes to tribunals.

@Wednesdayy123 they haven't stuck it on a "portal" and not told you have they? That's happened to me a few times...

@Phineyj I have not heard of a portal, surely it should have been mentioned? I thought it would all be through email..

Probably no portal if they haven't mentioned it, but worth asking.

I don't know if anyone on here is familiar with The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, but trying to get an EHCP has often put me in mind of this classic quote about unhelpful bureaucracy...

www.goodreads.com/quotes/40705-but-the-plans-were-on-display-on-display-i-eventually

I'm after some advice I got declined for an ehc plan. My daughter now refuses school she is age 12 but reading and writing level about age 9. She is diagnosed with autism. School still expect her to attend normal classes but she doesn't have a clue what to do and is so anxious and scared to go in she refuses to go. The school have said they will talk to the inclusion officer but I don't know what that will do. At the last meeting with her school they said the teachers can't give her extra help as they are to busy and the senco special class doesn't have any spaces. I feel so defeated at the moment.

Hi @Char3940 sounds like a difficult situation. I'm sorry. Are you going to appeal the refusal to assess? You should (check the letter - you have two months from the date of it to appeal or one month from the date of the mediation certificate). You should decline mediation.

Doing the appeal means providing evidence that your DD may have SEN and may need special educational provision to be made. If she can't access school at all, that's helpful, although you may need to do a subject access request (SAR) to get evidence of emails etc (as in what the school have been emailing to each other.

The IPSEA help sheets on their website are good.

If you do all that I think the school will start to take you more seriously!

Is DD in year 7? Do you think thar with appropriate adaptations this could be an OK school for her or do you need to consider other options? Why did you pick it in the first place and what was transition like? Does she have friends there?

P.S. if that's what the school said that's outrageous (and I'm a teacher!) Do you have any of that in writing? If not, you may need to start writing up summaries of what's been said verbally and emailing it to all relevant parties.

It is vital to create a paper trail because it's likely you'll be asking a tribunal to decide what needs to happen here.

Take a friend or family member along to any subsequent meetings to write notes.

We won at mediation and the LA have now agreed to assess DS5 for an EHCP. Still a long way to go but I feel like we are finally getting somewhere.

Well done, @elliejjtiny.

We've got a final EHCP as of yesterday. It's not brilliant but I'm not sure it's awful enough to do a third tribunal over. As long as we get my school. So I'll wait for next week's transition meeting I think.

They did at least take all the dodgy stuff about our family breakdown in 2020 out so I don't have to worry about it floating round my workplace...

@elliejjtiny lovely news. On their website, IPSEA has a model letter use can use to request the LA seeks advice and information from different professionals (e.g. SALT and OT) during the EHCNA.

@Char3940 was it refusal to assess or refusal to issue? Did you appeal? Separate from the EHCP process, if DD is unable to attend school, is alternative provision in place?

@Alltheyearround ‘bit sticky’, aye! The school is being reckless leaving themselves and the LA open to action. Send to the head of legal services (or whatever title your LA uses for that person). Some also send to the caseworker, DCS &/or MO (where that is a different person to the head of legal services - in some areas it is the same person, in others it is a different person).

@Wednesdayy123 LAs regularly fail to comply with SENDIST deadlines, I’m afraid.

I cant access the email they send me declining to even look at an ehcp for her. Its locked under sensitive information after 21 days. I will have a look today if there is anyway of viewing it again. Unfortunately I don't have it in writing that the teachers are to busy to help her but the head of year said it and the senco teacher was present but I'm sure they will back each other up. I was gobsmacked when the head of year said it. I think I will record any conversations from now on with the school so its on record.

@Char3940 is it via a system like Egress? You can request the LA does not use it to communicate with you. It is a terrible system. When was the LA’s refusal?