EHCP support thread no. 5

[Needlenardlenoo]

Another thread is nearly filled so here is a new one for when we need it. I am the original OP but have name-changed due to admin (let's call it spring cleaning). We got our EHCP finally in June last year and are in a state of cautious optimism two terms into the year 7 transition. There has been no contact from the LA at all to us, but perhaps no news is good news, sometimes. The next challenge is going to be the annual review. I am feeling a bit paranoid the LA might try a cease to maintain. Anyway, onwards and upwards and best wishes to all!

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
EHCP support thread no. 4 -
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/special_educational_needs/5197351-ehcp-support-thread-no-4

@Namechangeagain80 we had this issue, I requested OT advice but LA refused as she was ‘not known to the service’. After going round in circles, I eventually spoke to the NHS OT lead who said the LA should have passed my request on as they have a service agreement in place to do EHCP assessments for children who have not yet been referred to them.

She offered an assessment but by this point, I’d had a private assessment and report done so declined. The private report is why we actually ended up speaking as the LA asked the NHS OT team to ‘review’ the private report and they provided feedback which I complained about.

Eventually registered an appeal against sections B and F in July 2024, the NHS assessment ended up happening anyway in December 2024 as the LA wanted their own reports prior to tribunal. Also did another NHS SLT report then. Tribunal in June 2025 was adjourned as the NHS OT didn’t attend and the NHS SLT who attended was not the one who did the report.

Adjourned hearing was on Monday and only scheduled for the morning and we only got half way through the evidence so now it’s been adjourned again until Jan 2026! Feb 2026 will be 2 years since I requested the EHC needs assessment and the plan was issued on the day of the 20 week deadline but it’s been another series of endless issues and delays since then.

Not helped by the fact that the NHS OT and SLT visited school again in September with no/very short notice to do further assessments and reports which ended up meaning late evidence submitted and late changes to the working document. And time wasted during the hearing to explain all this. The whole saga has been beyond frustrating!

@Alltheyearround your appeal won’t be registered as a phase transfer appeal yet. That doesn’t happen until the phase transfer EHCP has been finalised. The deadline for that for post 16 is 31st March.

Ah yes, we have had AR so final should be in 12 weeks.

Having an appeal already in means it will become a phase transfer at that point? We won't need to lodge a separate appeal?

@Alltheyearround sometimes it can be added to the live appeal by just making the request via a SEND7 and sometimes SENDIST asks you to submit a new appeal then consolidate.

I did the SEND7 and they converted it to phase transfer.

@Namechangeagain80 @Ponche we are in the ridiculous situation that the LA refused my "reasonable" request for OT assessment and when I pushed, they contacted NHS OT who also refused as not needed. I then got a referral from GP to OT, who are now seeing her and are very confused about why it was refused as it is clear support is needed. the LA are still refusing to arrange an assessment even though OT have now agreed it is needed. We are awaiting tribunal but LA has submitted no evidence against our appeal.. and the last communication from them, when I queried why they were still refusing, was met with "I need to take instruction" from the solicitor, who then left the organisation!

Whenever I discuss this with people outside of the SEND world, they are shocked at how this can happen...

@handmademitlove @Ponche @thatsnotmygarden

Thank you all.

It's all so ridiculous and a complete minefield - how is anyone meant to navigate the system?! (Without helpful advice from people here)

We're going with a private OT assessment anyway (with the OT who diagnosed DD two years ago with 'significant sensory modulation challenges' and wrote a very detailed report, though wasn't for an EHCP at the time). So many of DD's issues stem from her sensory needs - how the LA can say they have conducted a full needs assessment without an OT assessment is frankly ridiculous.

(I had previously looked into an NHS referral, but the pathway was impossible. The school FLO has since said she will do an OT referral, but said that "none she'd done had been accepted". 🤯)

@handmademitlove Is it an appeal against content you are waiting for? And do you mean the LA has not set out their case against your appeal? What happens next?

With our appeal against refusal to assess, our LA conceded literally the day before they were due to set out their case. They didn't even try to hide their time-wasting!

@Namechangeagain80 when I asked the GP to refer to OT she said the same about never having a referral accepted. To be fair, initially they declined the referral and sent me some videos to watch, but I range them and pointed out that a) their videos.didnt cover the issues she was referred for and b) I had jumped through their hoops years earlier anyway. They then agreed to review and offered an appointment.

Our current appeal is therefore about content - basically that needs have not been fully identified due to lack of OT and therefore provision cannot be complete. In the LAs response to the appeal, it simply repeated the "about your child" in the EHCP with nothing written about why they opposed, other than that they were aware of the issues and were working to resolve them... 🙄

Our appeal against refusal to assess was also conceded before tribunal!

@Namechangeagain80 your independent assessment will be so much better anyway.

If you did still want the LA to assess, another thing you could try is contacting the DCO/DMO.

The problem with a normal NHS referral is not all ICBs commission sensory integration OT on the NHS. That isn’t a problem for the EHCNA, only a normal referral.

Evening all, can I join? After almost a year of waiting the date for the tribunal for refusal to issue is in a few days time. The appeal is on the basis that the recommendations made in the assessment process won’t be delivered in the absence of an EHCP. It’s a hearing over video. I’ve not got a legal representative, just making the case myself. What are your top tips for prep?

@handmademitlove Did they agree to issue or did you have to appeal that too? We had a refusal to issue over the summer, but similarly, the assessment was cursory and also short-sighted. The decision was therefore surely flawed because not all of DD's needs were identified and/or the fluctuating nature of them properly taken into consideration.

As with anything SEND-related, it definitely seems as though there is a lot of gate-keeping. Our GP, when we approached about DD's anxiety and increasingly OCD-like behaviours, although very sympathetic, again seemingly reluctantly said she could do a CAMHS referral, but they rejected "all, but the very serious cases". But after triage, it's gone through.

@thatsnotmygarden Thank you. I think our ICB does, but there was a lengthy, convoluted process of video-watching, school approval, waitlists and months of trial and error (we've tried pretty much everything) before you even got a half hour Teams call with an OT... And then you'd get discharged and have to get re-referred for anything further...

I think we will stick with the private assessment.

@BananaPie No experience, but good luck 🤞

@Namechangeagain80 they did actually agree to issue without a fight! I suspect because every professional she has come into contact with has used the phrase "one of the most complex students we have seen" - including the LA EP, their own autism support team, SALT and now OT...

Two of them suggested she would make a fascinating case study 🙂 which I guess should worry me, but is actually reassuring that she is actually as complex as I have been saying for years!

@handmademitlove I can definitely see how it would have been validating, particularly if you have been fobbed off/not listened to previously!

@BananaPie the best thing you can do to prepare is to make sure you know your way around the bundle and if you prefer to work with the electronic or a paper version. Whatever works for you - annotation/bookmarks/sticky tabs/your own index/colour coded/your own summary document/screenshots… It can help to make some notes for an opening and closing statement. You don’t always need them, but it helps to have them in case. If witnesses are attending, it can help to have some questions prepared. And remember, if you need a break during the hearing, say so.

Thanks! That’s pretty much what I was thinking so reassuring to hear. How long will it last? It’s refusal to issue rather than arguing over the detail of what is in and what isn’t.

@BananaPie that’s impossible to answer really because there’s no set amount of time. It depends on the case (some are more complex than others), LA (there is the possibility they will concede just before/early in proceedings or alternatively try to drag things out - some judges are better at stopping this than others) and judge (how they run proceedings varies and some move at a faster pace than others). You should allow the whole session but it could be as little as 30mins/1hr.

@thatsnotmygarden I'm thinking ahead about GCSEs and what'll I'll do if DD (as seems likely at the moment) would struggle with a full set of them. It so happens that there's a school we're in catchment for, that admits from year 10, which has a vocational theme that might suit her. She'd do core GCSEs (2 English, 2 Science, Maths) and then a vocational qualification equivalent to 4 GCSEs.

However, in their admissions policy, it says:

"EHCP, LAC and Adopted Applicants Applicants with an EHCP, LAC (CLA), previously LAC or adopted status: We are committed to meeting every applicant that has EHCP, LAC (CLA), previously LAC or adopted status and to make reasonable adjustments for that applicant, within our admissions process. Please note that a school can only be named in an EHCP or LAC plan if it is a maintained school or if the school has received approval from the Secretary of State under section 41 Children and Families Act. A list of such schools is on the Gov.uk website; [Our] School is not listed. Therefore, we apply our own admissions policy and are not in the same position as maintained schools."

So if she got a place, what would happen about the EHCP? The school couldn't be named on it, so would it be blank? Or is there some wording they'd use?

Do you think an LA would be difficult about a move such as this? It actually sounds like from reading the school's website that they may have quite a few other AuDHD children so presumably there must be a way.

Grateful for any advice!

Please note that a school can only be named in an EHCP or LAC plan if it is a maintained school or if the school has received approval from the Secretary of State under section 41 Children and Families Act.

This misleading of them.

It isn’t just maintained schools and section 41 schools who can be named in EHCPs. Schools such as academies, free schools, non-maintained special schools, etc. can be named in EHCPs. As per section 38(3) of the Children and Families Act 2014, you have the right to request these schools and the only lawful reasons for refusing parental preference are set out in section 39(4) of the Children and Families Act 2014. The EHCP could continue and the school could be named.

Wholly independent schools can be named in EHCPs, but the rules are different. You need an offer of a place. They can’t be named against their will. But if they agree to being named, they can be and the LA would still be responsible for funding it. You also have to show the LA’s proposed school(s) can’t meet needs &/or it isn’t unreasonable public expenditure.

You can see how many DC with EHCPs the school had at the last census here. It also shows those coded as K.

It is difficult to say if the LA would be difficult.

In case it is relevant to you, if you would prefer DD to remain where she is (with or without also using an AP), a personalised timetable can be something covered by the EHCP.

Thanks @thatsnotmygarden! That's really useful to know and I have a year to look into it further.

So I've contacted a specific EP about an assessment and the earliest they have availability is beginning of March 2026 with a four-week turnaround on reports (I presume most SENDIST-experienced EPs have similar waiting lists).

The deadline for final evidence for the appeal is end of January 2026. (Though hearing not until December 2026!) I know I can request an extension for evidence; is this likely to be accepted? Do I go ahead and book the EP?

Thanks @thatsnotmygarden for the advice about Parents in Need. They've offered to pay an amount towards the EP assessment 🙂

@Namechangeagain80 normal unless you get lucky with cancellations etc. I would go ahead. Don’t worry about the evidence deadline. Even if you don’t have an extension to the evidence deadline, SENDIST is highly unlikely to refuse to admit the report as late evidence.

Hey all. Just joining this as I’m anxiously embarking on an EHCP application for the first time for my DD who is 8 and has lots of learning challenges. Diagnosis of dyslexia only so far but we suspect other things around attention, memory and processing.
Just want to get the ball rolling now on a needs assessment as I’m desperate to get a EHCP sorted before secondary school if I can.
One thing I am struggling with is obtaining meaningful non-wooly information from the school about dd’s actual attainment level relative to expectations. We have regular meetings about this but it’s all so wishy washy and vague- ‘she is working hard’ or ‘working towards’ or ‘can do xyz with support’ - all of which makes it sound like she is doing OK but it’s very different to what I see at home. I never get any really clear answers and find myself trying to hunt for clues like the level of her reading book etc which seems ridiculous. I guess I could do a SAR but it seems like a bit of an aggressive move at this stage given the school have generally been good and I’m keen to keep them onside. Does anyone have any advice on what specific questions I can ask to get meaningful information for the LA about what level she is working at? Is it all in terms of ‘how many years behind is she on x, y and z?’

She may have done KS1 tests - ask if they've done any of the following tests (see attachment). I believe they used to be required but are now optional.

If she hasn't, can the SENCO do these tests on her?

Optional key stage 1 national curriculum tests: information for parents - GOV.UK https://share.google/EdMjMlaUsl6EnfUbQ

I will look up the details of the tests the educational psychologist did on my daughter.