EHCP support thread no. 4

[Phineyj]

We've nearly filled the thread again, so here's a new one. Welcome everyone: newcomers, people stuck in the process; battle-hardened veterans of many years...

Here are links to previous threads:

EHCP support thread - www.mumsnet.com/talk/special_educational_needs/4834986-ehcp-support-thread

EHCP support thread no. 2 - www.mumsnet.com/talk/special_educational_needs/4989146-ehcp-support-thread-no-2

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

Great thanks, OT has agreed to amend, and council has also forwarded my request to the commissioning team.

Hi can anyone advise on this situation

We have an ehcp but going to tribunal for sections b f and I. My child without a doubt needs a sen school

During the appeals process the la have offered a place at specialist asd school for 2025 start. I would accept this given that we are not at tribunal until June so the likely hood of starting before then is very slim. And I've said to the la I would agree to this providing more provision is put in place in the meantime to support my daughter. They have said no problem but nothings been agreed yet.

My daughter currently attends an arp.who have said from the get go they can't meet need and there is anearly ar coming up as result. The school have alsobsaid they would agree to this providing additional support and funding in place.

I would like to ask for 1:1 funding full time this is in one of daughters reports for safety, dd requires alot sensory input and is not allowed on trips so I would like to suggest they provide a budget so when other children go on trips that I can take her to soft play (they also go to softplay at the sen school) a sensory diet is also needed but mainstream struggles as they have very limited equipment and dd struggles to access different areas of the building due to transitioning. Could I request me have funding to take daughter to do something sensory such as swimming or again softplay?

I am not sure if this us unreasonable but the sen school is at a cost of 80k per year per pupil and by stating in mainstream it is savin the la alot and in the meantime dd will be missing out on alot and she has no peer group in school has Any one any thoughts on this?

The school should be making adjustments rather than excluding DD from trips.

You can request a personal budget but you will need the provision to be in the EHCP.

@BrightYellowTrain thank you. They didnt want to exclude her. My daughter can't cope with them at all even with me there and she literally goes fight or flight. We also cannot change her if she needs changing as we cannot transiting her to any toilets or changing areas she has quite complex needs and hits in every of send.

Ah, that’s different if DD can’t cope.

I read ‘not allowed on trips’ as the school excluding DD from the trips, which sadly happens all too often.

Has DD had a sensory OT assessment? If not, do you have one lined up before the hearing?

They really tried to take her on a trip and I was there too and when we tried we knew it was impossible. It was very stressful for everyone and quite upsetting. She has began to strip off for when she can't cope in school and school have said this is now a safe guarding issue and they do not want to keep her isolated hence they have called an early review. I can honestly say the school have gone above and beyond.

Yes we had private salt and sensory assessment. I think the la are backed into a corner and that's why they're offering a place albeit not till next year.

The ot report says mainstream will not be able to meet need. She requires an si trained ta at all times both for safety and eating non edible she has eaten poisonous things in school and they have had to report it. School say that even if they had funding they would not be able to get a ta trained ta to that level in a mainstream.

The si trained ta is actually in her ehcp currently. She isn't receiving it so I have put in a complaint in regards to that too

The normal timescales of complaints process are too long for failure to provide provision detailed, specified and quantified in F. Instead, email the Director of Children’s Services reminding them of their duty under section 42 of the Children and Families Act 2014 and threatening judicial review if the situation persists. Then, if that doesn’t work, you need a pre-action letter. SOSSEN can help with this free of charge, but there is a wait, so you may want to look elsewhere. If that fails, JR proceedings themselves will resolve the situation.

Thank you. I will do this as she has been without this provision since may and she's not learning anything probably regressing infant. If she wasn't in this current school she would defo be at home by this point but they do so much extra for her

The LA have decided to issue DS with an EHCP which was expected. He’s now one step closer to joining his sister in nursery which will be perfect for him. First draft is due in a couple of weeks so we’ll see how that looks!

Cautious thumbs up @MinnieTruck!

Haha honestly @Phineyj can never get too excited can we

@MinnieTruck brilliant news.

Great news @MinnieTruck !

Our request for an earlier hearing was refused, due to the volume of cases which is understandable I guess.

Sorry to hear that @Ponche. A year ago, the vast majority who made such requests for genuine reasons had an earlier hearing agreed. Now, more are having the request refused or not brought forward by as much.

That makes sense, I guess the system is just even more overwhelmed now.

They said if both parties agreed to a paper hearing, it may be brought forward. But I would prefer an oral hearing so I declined that option.

@Ponche as well as pressure on court time, more parents are aware you can make the request. DS2’s hearing was brought forward to next month. I know if I had made the request recently it would have been refused. For other people’s cases I have supported, it used to be only the occasional one refused. Now it is more. It is still worth making the request for genuine reasons, though.

The special school (and only school) that I applied for, visited DD at nursery on Tuesday which apparently went really well. Today, I found out that the LA will be naming the school on her EHCP. I could CRY

Hurray!

@MinnieTruck That is brilliant. Well done you!

@BrightYellowTrain oh yes, I see what you mean. If it wasn’t for this thread, I wouldn’t have known either!

@MinnieTruck that’s amazing news, so pleased for you and DD! At the phase transfer review, or even just generally, did the LA/nursery ever push mainstream? As I have the phase transfer meeting in a few weeks and not sure how it will go when I mention special schools.

Thank you so much guys!

@Ponche my LA were very naughty and didn’t follow the correct procedure for the phase transfer review as I basically didn’t have one.

In August, I received an email from the LA saying that as my DD has an EHCP, I wasn’t to apply for primary school places via the general admissions route. I was to apply through the SEND team route and there was a link which took you to the online application.

When filling out the application, it asked for three schools to be named and one school had to be a mainstream school. Bright had told me that legally, you can apply for a special school and don’t actually have to include a mainstream school. So all I did was write the same special school down three times😂

I thought the LA may get in touch and ask me to include another school but they never did. I saw that the EHCP had been opened and they requested to name the special school on DD’s plan. There was no pushback from the nursery or the LA at all but as I said, they didn’t actually carry out the phase transfer review like they were meant too! I’m not sure if any of that makes sense so feel free to PM if you’d like

So very behind on this thread. Congrats @MinnieTruck, that's brilliant news about the school. Sending good vibes to everyone else, whatever point you're at in the battle.

I'm still waiting for the LA to respond to our Working Documents. In the meantime, we've been dealing with a lot of EBSA, unfortunately. Both DC are really struggling in their big MS secondary, mainly the sensory and social stuff. Our SENCo has lightened DD's lesson load a little and has her doing a few sessions each week with a dedicated LSA, which has been positive. But even though the SEN team is lovely, they can't change the fact that it's a massive school with all the sensory overwhelm, etc that comes with that. We're seriously considering a change of setting but it seems like there aren't many good options. Most of the ASD specialist schools near us are either tailored to children who are behind academically and/or have a lot of behavioural needs, or they're wholly independent and won't take DD because of her PDA profile. I'm waiting to hear back from one independent SS following DS's assessment there a couple of weeks ago, but the fact they haven't been back in touch doesn't bode well, and DS didn't seem keen on going to such a small school (6 or 7 kids/year group).

I'm really warming up to the idea of EOTAS (thanks @BrightYellowTrain for all your insight on some other threads). I have no idea how open to the idea our LA will be, or what exactly a package would look like -- lots to learn. Online school is one possibility. DD says she knows she should probably change schools but she's distraught at the thought of leaving the SEN team and a couple of teachers she really likes. Our current SENCo has said he's open to looking at a hybrid option, where DD could do some in-person lessons at MS and the rest online, which could possibly work, if it isn't too challenging logistically and it's a feasible EOTAS arrangement.

I think we probably won't be able to wait until our tribunal hearings, though, as they're not for another six months. So I think we'll need to look into an early review. Our new caseworker is on leave, so I haven't been able to discuss anything with them yet.

they can't change the fact that it's a massive school with all the sensory overwhelm, etc that comes with that.

@SpaceInvader321 ^this is why DS3 now has EOTAS. He was in a supportive mainstream with a comprehensive EHCP but nothing could overcome the overwhelming sensory environment.

Some DC have part (the part(s) that it isn’t inappropriate for it to be delivered in a school) of their education in a school and part (where it is inappropriate for it to be delivered in a school) otherwise than in school. It wouldn’t be a full EOTAS package and the school would still be named in section I. When it works well, it is excellent. When it doesn’t work, it can be disastrous.

EOTAS packages are completely bespoke. It can help to break it down into elements and make a table. For example,

• Academic learning - 1:1, in a group, a mixture? F2F, online or a mixture? If online, will it be an online school (and which type because they vary a fair amount)? If F2F, where - a tuition centre, home, in the community (e.g. library, community centre, church hall, hired office space, LA building…)? What subjects (including your less traditional subjects - tuition doesn’t have to be your traditional academic tuition) or will it be completely child led based around DC’s interests?
• APs - e.g. a care farm, forest school, sport AP, arts AP, gaming AP.
• Therapies - SALT and OT (including SIOT). Then something focusing on MH - CBT, animal-assisted therapy, art therapy… Then consider if any other therapies are needed, e.g. physio, rebound therapy, hippotherapy…
• Exercise/sport - gym membership, swimming, tennis, climbing, skiing, cycling, personal trainer, martial arts…
• Mentoring/PfA - online or F2F? Mindjam? Accessing the community (and a budget to do so).
• Social interaction - this could be anything from organised groups such as a chess club/Air cadets/dog training group to a budget for outings of DD’s choosing (e.g. shopping, theatre, gaming cafe, museum…) to online socialising.
• Cooking lessons.
• Music/drama/singing lessons.

Then move to thinking about things such as:

• Equipment - desk and chairs. Tech, software, assistive tech, headphone, printer (and ink subscription), sensory equipment…
• Resources - paper, art supplies, anything else needed for the tuition or mentoring…
• Memberships/subscriptions - this can include things like magazine subscriptions, Spectrum Space boxes, MEL science boxes, Hello Fresh boxes, book subscription boxes, Scrawlr boxes, annual membership to the trampoline park, Tassomai, audible…
• Professional time - TA/HLTA/LSA to facilitate the package. A lead professional to co-ordinate and oversee the package. Time for professionals to plan, provide feedback, attend meetings, update and write reports, prepare for and attend annual reviews, EP input, travel time, payroll company…

But you will need evidence because needs and provision in EHCPs are taken from the reports.

If you are interested in reading it, we talked EOTAS possibilities in the pub thread and I posted about DS1&3’s packages.

Sounds like you have a few different options to consider @SpaceInvader321 good luck with it all🤞🏾

Can someone help me here because I’m about to lose my rag. I am STILL going back and forth with DD’s SALT who says that she will not be entering DD’s nursery to carry out what is set out in the provision section of the EHCP. Now the plan clearly says, ‘Over the next year, DD will require 12 hours of the SLT time….. with a minimum of 9 hours for face to face input.’

A few weeks ago I sent an email to the LA and cc’d in the SENCO from the nursery and the therapist. I asked them to clarify who is responsible for what is written within the plan. Is it the NHS or should the nursery have access to their own therapist. The LA literally confirmed that because DD is aged 0-5, it’s through the NHS. Yet the SLT has said that her higher ups have told her it’s policy for them to not enter a nursery(???).

Apparently, the SLT’s managers manager has spoken with the LA to inform them that they won’t be carrying out what’s stated in the plan. What the hell happens now then? The LA hasn’t informed me of anything and I’m getting annoyed that it’s nearly Dec and the therapist hasn’t yet started working with the nursery. Helppp what is my next step here?