Ehcp refusal

[ByTealShark]

Hi ive waited 12 months for a decision for a ehcp on my child who is now in secondary the LA have refused to issue .
My child has ASD / dyspraxia diagnosed struggles to retain information organise and short term memory loss. Has fine gross motor skills and severs disease so gets alot of pain and tires easily . Doing average accedemically well behaved in school but masks heavily . I asked school to put support in before he started year 7 and went through what he needed 3 months on no support at all and my son hit burn out before xmas . I requested mediation ( has not happened yet though ) school suddenly put support in place after i had another meeting stating i wasnt happy with the lack of support and him getting punished for things he cant help by teachers . His EP report states higher level of support is needed due to the range of support needed. Sendiass were on LA side and i ditched them instantly . Now i no LA are going to say i havnt give school enough time to put there support in place ect and try and fob me off with trying but i no its never going to be consistant and once i back down i feel it will stop . How can i argue my case any tips please . Thank u x

In the future, if the LA doesn’t stick to the statutory timescales you can force them to act, via judicial review if necessary.

You need evidence. A report stating ‘higher level of support’ won’t be enough. That is far too vague. Did the needs assessment include SALT and OT assessments? Consider making subject access requests to the school, LA, and any other service involved. Also consider independent assessments. If you need independent assessments but can’t afford them and aren’t eligible for legal aid, look at Parents in Need.

You don’t have to actually partake in mediation if you don’t want to. You can just request the mediation certificate.

Thank you he has OT report and his private diagnosis reports school said he doesnt need a salt as they havnt identifiend any issues it states on his ep report sessions he needs example 3 x 20 mim sessions weekly 20 min sessions daily ect work broken down and a TA ect id think that was evidence as it says it is unlikely can provide this under normal sen . Im just trying to use bits from the ep report to back me up i guess .

Definitely appeal.

If DS has ASD, a SALT assessment would be useful. Consider whether the reports are good and you need independent reports. Lots of LA/NHS reports don’t detail, specify and quantify provision correctly and use wording such as “access to”, “would benefit from”, “regular”, “up to”, “or equivalent”, “opportunities for”, “as appropriate”, “would be useful/helpful”, “such as”, “e.g.”, “etc.”, “as required”, “as advised”, “key adult(s)”, “small group”.

Thank you he has dyspraxia to which causes his main struggles he doesnt have any speech are communication issues which is why they said no to salt my daughter does and she had salt assessments no ehcp for her though . As he is nearly 12 time is an essence really and i havnt got the funds for independant reports would his private diagnosis reports and his ep report be sufficiant for a tribunal do you think . And although they have stated laptop and scribe ect as you said would benefit from do i use this in my arguments even though i no he wont use them . Its all a mindfield and i feel il fail before even start . X

If DS has ASD as per your OP, he has communication and interaction needs and a SALT report would help. The scope of what SALT covers is wider than many realise.

Having not read the evidence, it is impossible to say whether it would be enough or not. If the reports use the wording given as examples in my previous post, that wording is too vague and woolly. The wording needs to be detailed, specified and quantified.

If you need independent assessments but can’t afford them, have you checked if you are eligible for legal aid? If you are, that can fund assessments. If you aren’t, Parents in Need is a charity who it is worth contacting.

Thank you for your help i have looked onto to family's in need not sure how it works do i need to wait until the 1st of the month to try and get a form and request a salt service ect my head is battered lol

I also think i will find it harder now to refer as he is 12 next month most are for age 11 and under 😭

Speech and language assessments and therapy are for all ages. Not just 11 and under. Yes, contact Parents in Need at the start of next month.

Thank you i will give it ago on the 1st

i have a NHS OT report and diagnosis reports so hopefully they help . I have started my tribunal forms im just stuck on section 4 its an absosolute nightmare trying to navigate this when im Neurodiverse myself so appreiate the help xx

You should look carefully at the NHS OT report. They often are not written in the way they need to be for an EHCP appeal. Similarly, diagnostic reports often aren’t either.

It is fine for the form not to be hugely detailed and it is OK to do it in bullet points. You can add to your case later in the process. For example, as a starting point, you could say something like, the LA has not ensured Section C is complete and accurate, so not all health care needs are identified. Go on to state anything in particular that is missing, but don’t get bogged down in a lot of history or worry about needing to provide everything right now. Then go on to say as a result, the health care provision in Section G is not complete or accurate. Again, stating anything in particular you think is missing.

Thank u for the tips his nhs OT isnt that good his private one is a bit more detailed there is a list of all the reccomenations and lots of things that affect people with that condition and i ticked all the ones that apply so they have a clearer idea of needs .

So i need to fill sections om this bit i didnt think i needed to unless i was appealing a plan already issued ?

Can i also cancel mediation after asking for it as i have changed my mind .

You can still ask SENDIST to include* *health and social care recommendations as part of a refusal to issue appeal. But, yes, the wording in my pp would need tweaking, sorry I forgot it was a refusal to issue. If you don’t want to have an extended appeal for them, leave the questions.