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.

@Alltheyearround and @BrumToTheRescue thank you so much, lots of brilliant advice. I spoke to the SLT a while ago and made lots of notes re counter arguments. Just need to prepare the same for OT.

@BrumToTheRescue annoyingly, the NHS OT is Level 4 Advanced Practitioner. My report writer is Level 3.

DD starts reception next year, but I'm only appealing B and F (not I) - can I still request the hearing be brought forward at some point (due to phase transfer). Or can you only do this if you're appealing Section I?

I may be thinking too far ahead, but say I was successful in the appeal, I would be happy with a personal budget/direct payments (if the LA agreed) so I could arrange my own therapists. I didn't request this when I received the draft in July (partly because I knew they wouldn't include the therapies in F). Is this something I should mention as part of the working document process? Or do I mention it in the hearing? Or only at a later stage if I'm successful?

Do you have to add citations and reference reports when proposing amendments? Or is this optional?

@handmademitlove I have. I have also had the LA seek independent assessments when the NHS can’t or won’t provide advice and information. It is also worth raising it because if you go on to complain, then complain to the LGO, it can also form part of the LGO case.

@Ponche the NHS OT having sensory integration qualifications isn’t necessarily the end of the world, so don’t panic. You can’t directly appeal section J. By all means let the LA know you would like a PB, but right now, focus on your evidence for the appeal. It is pointless focusing on wanting a PB (presumably you would want it paid via direct payments?) if the provision isn’t in the EHCP. You have nothing to lose by requesting the hearing is prioritised, but it isn’t guaranteed. Yes, to adding references. You can do this as footnotes. For example, you can say, Brown, OT, 15/08/2024, p.3, para.8.

@Ponche I went through the IPSEA guidance and addressed each section of the EHCP and explained why the need wouldn't be met and/or the provision was unlikely to be provided without it and then I put the reference in brackets afterwards (e.g. Educational Psychology report, 2023). So thinking about it, I used simple Harvard referencing. Plus I supplied an indexed list of the reports in date order at the beginning (Adobe Acrobat makes it easy to do this and you can use the "professional" version for free if you remember to cancel it before they bill you - you can combine pdfs into one big indexed pdf with page numbers).

No-one tells you you'll need this particular skill set when you have a child 😂.

explained why the need wouldn't be met and/or the provision was unlikely to be provided without it and then I put the reference in brackets afterwards (e.g. Educational Psychology report, 2023).

@Phineyj, the WD process is different to a refusal to issue appeal.

@Phineyj thank you very much - good tip re combining the PDFs! I was planning to reference like you said but now think footnotes will be easier. The non-stop admin is overwhelming.

@BrumToTheRescue thanks a lot, I will request an earlier hearing (do I fill out the SEND7 form?) I will seek the LA’s views first.

In their initial response, the LA didn’t include a copy of DD’s attendance record last year, a short chronology of events or a statement from current nursery leadership team/SENCo. Shall I raise this with SENDIST/the LA? The letter says these things must be included in the response.

Can anyone advise on this please. My daughter 5 ASD non verbal in mainstream. Going through tribunal ATM but no heating until June 25.

Over the last couple of weeks my DD has been extremely upset and overwhelmed at pick up time I collect her early to prevent overwhelm at normal times. However is still extremely upset the point she is stripping off and throwing herself on the floor and hurting herself. The school can't regulate her and they do not help me when I try and regulate her other then to offer to hold her bag. This has happened numerous times over the last few weeks and seems to be getting worse. On Monday the head teacher requested an emergency annual review which is now due to take place at the end of November.

They have also confirmed in writing they are not able to meet two parts of section f of the EHCP.

I don't particularly want to home educate but I can't bare to take her back. If I was to take her into the school the same way she comes out I am sure concerns would be raised.

I don't know what to do. We are already at appeal, there is already an emergency review date and I have logged a complaint with the la for failing to implement the two parts of provision in section F. Can I keep her off until this is resolved?

@Mummytodo I wouldn’t deregister and EHE, but if DD can’t attend, you don't have to force her. The LA will still be responsible for ensuring provision F is provided.

If DD is compulsory school age, the LA also has a duty to ensure she still receives a suitable, full-time education. If DD isn’t already CSA, she will be next term.

The normal complaints process timescales are too long for enforcing the provision in section F. If the provision is detailed, specified and quantified in F but isn’t being provided, send IPSEA’s model letter. If that doesn’t work/hasn’t worked, you need a pre-action letter. SOSSEN can help with this for free or you may want to look elsewhere. If a pre-action letter doesn’t work, you will need to look at JR proceedings.

@Ponche yes, make the request via a SEND7. If you want, you can raise the LA’s non-compliance at the same time.

@BrumToTheRescue thank you. I agree I do not want to de register cus quite honestly I'm not sure I can meet her needs either.

Can I ask what CSA is please?
The emergency annual review was requested yesterday and I emailed the complaint using IPSEA template today so it's quite early days.

It takes me along time to prepare DD for school she has little tasks to do daily before she goes to school and she simply can't move on from them until she has done them so we are quite late going to school everyday the difficulty is she is non verbal and the tasks she does do change.... I suspect DD needs the same amount of time to prepare for going home but isn't given that time

@Mummytodo Compulsory school age. At 5 a child may be compulsory school age or they may not be until next term so I mentioned both situations.

AHH sorry of course. Yes she was five last January

@Mummytodo then DD is already CSA.

DS had his last AR 26/10/2023 so will be due another. We are going through appeal working doc in process, 75% of changes have been agreed so far. EP report will be with us just in time to submit before evidence deadline in November. I'm sure the rest of the changes will be agreed when we have EP report. Where does this leave the AR, should it still be happening?

Hope everyone is well.

Mostly coming here to vent. Had a massively frustrating conversation today with the OT who did his EHCNA assessment in which she repeatedly said how great he was doing and how well he was coping. When I said that I felt differently considering the explosive behaviour we have at home, the fact he's been biting other children multiple times a week at school, and looks exhausted all the time, she kept saying that she could only go on what she'd seen.

All she's recommended is one short break a day, and that apparently can't go in her EHCNA report, it just goes to the school as a recommendation? And when I asked how the school were going to staff that if it wasn't recommended to be in an EHCP, she just said something like "all schools should be able to provide that"?

Also, and maybe there isn't a strict answer to this, she said her report would just have needs and strengths, whereas every other professional report has had provisions even when they are local offer/quality first teaching stuff. Is that usual, not to give provisions to meet needs?

@Wednesdayy123 an ongoing appeal doesn’t stop the AR process.

@BusMumsHoliday send IPSEA’s model letter to the LA. The advice isn’t sufficient. Advice and information sought should cover needs, provision and outcomes. The recommendation should be in the report.

Sorry, what is WD process?

@Phineyj WD = working document. A WD is for a content appeal. It is a word version of the EHCP (or sometimes part of it. Although if you don’t get the whole EHCP you can and should request the whole EHCP) and how both sides propose amendments/deletions.

Working document

Anyone else suddenly having problems with register coding for anxiety related absences?

@BrumToTheRescue thank you, will do.

At what point in the appeal process does the LA check that the current school can still meet need in terms of my proposed amendments?

Is it before the hearing?

@Ponche the LA’s response to the appeal should include a statement from the current school, they can submit further evidence by the evidence deadline (and potentially after that too) if they wish, but you are not appealing section I. Provision in F is based on what DD reasonably requires to meet the needs in B, not what the school can provide and not written to fit a placement.

@Proserphina sorry you are having difficulties with the codes used. The regulations (School Attendance (Pupil Registration) Regulations 2024) state that if a pupil is absent due to sickness the absence must be authorised and coded as I. DfE’s attendance guidance states absences because the pupil is unable to attend due to illness (both physical and mental health related) should be authorised as code I. Being unable to attend because of anxiety is covered under this so it is the school making up their own rules - as is so often the case!

Thanks @BrumToTheRescue , there’s no statement from the school in the response so I’ve just raised the non-compliance with SENDIST and the LA.

School have raised a couple of concerns with my proposed amendments to F - it’s mainly in relation to training for staff from the SLT report. It’s training for two different things so 2 x 1.5 hours on a half termly basis. They’re concerned about this being impractical for time and cost reasons (especially for support staff as it would be out of hours).

Not sure what to do as want DD to start reception here but am open to different settings for Year 1 onwards.

@Ponche if it is in F it can be funded. If you want to read the thread back, @Alltheyearround had a similar problem earlier this year with an appeal where the LA/school were saying they couldn’t provide the proposed amendments but All wasn’t appealing section I. Of course, the appeal didn’t look at section I because it wasn’t relevant to the appeal and the proposed amendments are now in the EHCP. It happens a lot.

Hi for our emergency annual review do I put the same evidence in that has been sent to tribunal for the appeal and include the current working document?

@Mummytodo you can use the same evidence and the WD if you want.

Thank you