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

@thatsnotmygarden thank you, as always, so helpful. Back on it on my day off, back to the second, unpaid job! (unless I complain yet again and get more compensation!)

I'm so angry at the waste of money and time. At least I can channel that into emails, once again...

Jumping in here with a question for those who know about EHCPs but please tell me to go off and start a new thread in this section if that’s more appropriate!

DC1 has been assessed and the LA have agreed to issue an EHCP. I have spent some time going through the draft to ensure provision is specific and quantified and that provision is included for each need/outcome. Not sure I’ve done it right but the timescale is now too tight to get anyone else involved. They have agreed to almost all my proposed amendments (as they’ve included needs and outcomes from the LA educational psychologist report but not any provision).

The real sticking point is speech and language therapy. He has ASD and DCD, and is verbal (oh boy, is he verbal at home 😂), but is so quiet in school that situational mutism was suspected at one point. He has real difficulties with social communication. We have a private SALT assessment from June 2024 recommending SALT provision, written to EHCP standard.

As part of the EHCNA he was assessed by NHS SALT in September 2025 but they have yet to issue the report. Because of this, no SALT provision is included in section F and they won’t include anything from the private SALT assessment as there should be a more up to date NHS one. I have tried adding in proposed amendments based on the private report and these have been rejected. They have refused to list this report in section K even though the EP has taken it into consideration and put that in writing. They claim any NHS recommendations for provision will be honoured and included at the next review. He’s Year 6.

What should we do now? I can’t decide whether to push this further and appeal, or whether to throw the money we’d spend at tribunal on securing a year’s worth of provision ourselves (we haven’t done so far as, having spent £4k on private assessments to identify his needs, we don’t really have the funds for ongoing therapy but could manage a time limited block).

Hi @MyCatPrefersPeaches hopefully a more experienced poster will be along soon, but for the moment - do you know which secondary he's going to?

My secondary school receives regular speech therapy visits from our local hospital responsible and while they do see the EHCP kids with SLT written in their plans we can also ask them to see other students who have those needs. It's at the SENCO's discretion. In your case we would absolutely be including your son (while politely hassling the LA to get its act together).

@Needlenardlenoo , thank you for your reply. His secondary place is not confirmed yet but we have named our preferred school - the decision to issue was made about a week before the normal secondary application deadline so we also have a standard application in the system. That’s really interesting - I hadn’t realised SALT provision could potentially be accessible in that way. I am twitchy about not having it in the plan as legally binding. And I’m cross that they are essentially denying his needs because the NHS hasn’t managed to meet their timescales.

So glad I joined this helpful and supportive thread. A (possibly silly) question for the more experienced - how do you 'know' which schools are 'good for SEND'? This is my first DC and I live in London so there are a LOT of schools around. We are hoping for an EHCP to allow us to name a school we think will work for our DC (if we don't get an EHCP in time we have agreed we'd look to see if we can move into the catchment of a suitable school) but one issue is I can't work out which (state) schools actually have better/ worse support. From their websites they all talk a good game and have 'send policies' which say the right things, but then I hear such mixed things from parents. Are there any real tells/ concrete clues that tell you whether a school is likely to be supportive or not/ how did others judge this? TIA

Oh @Bearlionfalcon that is not a stupid question. That is the $64 million dollar question...

There's no easy way to find out.

I've had to go to the lengths of sending DD to the school where I teach.

I wondered in the past if an EHCP % above average was a good sign but it was pointed out to me that that could mean they'll be overstretched.

A tiny % such as grammars have would suggest they may lack experience.

The average is around 5% by the way.

You can look to see if there's a recent Ofsted. They mention SEN.

Schools know the academic outcomes of DC at SEN at GCSE and A-level but they don't have to publish them. You are looking for somewhere with "positive value added for SEN students" ideally.

If you're willing to say approximate areas people may have intel.

I think it's hard to make a sweeping judgement about a school being fantastic when it comes to all SEND, as different children thrive at different schools. But in terms of how I could tell whether a school was going to be good for our child or not, I went for an appointment during the school day and met with the SENCO 1:1. I did this for each school we were considering. I asked questions about how they'd meet my child's needs, had a 1:1 tour of the school and got a run down of what a typical school day may look like for my child. From there, I had either a good feeling about the school or a gut feeling that told me it wouldn't be right. I then took my child to visit the 2 that we were happy with ourselves, so they could see what it was like. Both schools offered 1:1 tours for us and our child during the school day. Thankfully the school we preferred was also the school that my child preferred.

I think you also have to go along and consider what is important to your child. For some it may be things like pastoral care, atmosphere/culture, space, physical environment, etc... for others it may be more of the cognition/learning provision etc. ... Some schools may be fantastic at supporting children with cognition and learning SEND, but not so much SEMH SEND. Good luck! X

Hi! I wonder if you'd considered also applying for DLA (aside the EHCP SaLT provision). If you have evidence of your childs needs, you can apply for DLA and use this to fund private speech therapy? We use our child's DLA to fund their private OT. X

Thanks so much that’s amazing @Needlenardlenoo

I’m looking at north and east london

Schools I’ve got locally and would prob get into without EHCP -

Stoke Newington school
Highbury fields school

schools were considering trying to move nearer to or name on EHCP -
Parliament Hill
Clapton girls academy
Camden School for girls
Alexandra Park School
Fortismere school
Marylebone School (but not sure how EHCP works for church schools)

EHCP works in the same way for church schools! They're not private.

@MyCatPrefersPeaches once the EHCP is finalised, I would appeal.

Despite what the LA has said, there is no guarantee they will agree to amend at a later date. You may end up needing to appeal, anyway. The NHS report is also likely to be less comprehensive than the independent report.

You don’t need to spend large sums appealing. Depending on your evidence, you may not need to spend anything else. If you could afford it, you could ask the SALT if they would write an addendum. If you can’t afford it and decide you need more up to date evidence, contact Parents in Need. There are other ways of securing evidence if you can’t afford it, but that is where I would start.

I would also relook at the draft. I know I say this all the time, but it is not uncommon for parents to believe the wording is better than it is. Highlight all DS’s special educational needs in one colour and then all the provision to meet the needs in another colour. Each need should have corresponding provision. Then go through the draft and make sure all the highlighted needs are in B and the highlighted provision is in F.

Make a note of anything the LA has omitted from the draft, any needs without corresponding provision, any woolly and vague wording, anything the reports have failed to include, and any reports the LA has failed to include.

When you go through F, look out for vague and woolly wording. For example, “access to”, “would benefit from”, “regular”, “up to”, “or equivalent”, “opportunities for/to”, “as appropriate”, “would be useful/helpful”, “such as”, “e.g.”, “etc.”, “as required”, “as advised”, “key adult(s)”, “staff”, “small group”, “frequent”, “could use”, “trained”, “experienced”… Provision must be detailed, specified and quantified. If it isn’t, it isn’t enforceable.

When (it is a matter of when, not if) you find vague and woolly wording, check the reports to see if they are woolly and vague or whether the LA has watered down provision. If the reports are vague and woolly, ask the LA to go back to the report writers to make the reports detailed, specified and quantified. If the LA has watered down provision, request the LA stick to the wording in the reports.

You don’t mention OT provision, this should also be in F. Maybe mental health support too

@Bearlionfalcon state Church schools can be named in EHCPs even if you aren't of that faith (or of any faith). Sometimes religion can be relevant to EHCPs, but not being of faith doesn’t prevent a school being named or change the rules for naming a non-wholly independent placement.

Talking to local parents can tell you a lot. You will hear good and bad about every school, but it should help you build a picture of how approachable the school is and their overall ethos. Speaking to school staff can help. Not just what they say, but how they say it and what they don’t say. Although not being approachable to parents of potential students doesn’t necessarily mean they aren’t supportive of SEN. As well as looking at their SEND policy/information report, also look at the curriculum policy and behaviour policies.

Thinking about what type of school will suit DC best - your list of schools includes some that feel very, very different to each other, e.g. APS and Fortismere. I know parents who are happy with SEN support at Parli, but it doesn’t suit all DC. I know some who are happy with Clapton girls and think their SEN department is nurturing.

Thanks a lot… I don’t have a clear sense of the ‘feel’ of any of them really, except for the ones which are very close to me - that’s my issue! I’ve heard Clapton girls and Parli are supportive for send students and I got the vibe at the open day that Highbury Fields is not. I know nothing about APS/ fortismere except that everyone seems to think they are amazing (in reality, I’m not really that keen to move that way). We are only just out of catchment for Clapton, but Parli - which everyone talks about as if it’s the best option for SEND + creativity which is important to DD - would require a house move unless LA allowed us to name them on an EHCP. Ofsted report speaks in glowing terms about SEND at all of these schools but the reality I hear from parents is different especially re: SNS! If you have any specific insights do feel free to DM as would love to hear them! Thanks again!

@Bearlionfalcon normal catchment areas don’t matter for EHCPs.

So APS vs Fortismere. APS is very strict (and lots find adjustments for SEN are not as forthcoming as they could be) which doesn’t suit all. It depends on how DC’s SEN presents. Not just whether they have behavioural difficulties, but it doesn’t work for all who are anxious about potentially being in trouble. So think how DD is likely to cope with that. When judging what you hear about APS, take into account when the experiences are from. Some attitude towards SEN students have changed in recent years and some people’s experiences have been more negative over the last few years. Some think it is a product of their own previous good reputation for SEN. Fortismere is more liberal, which you probably already know. Organisation and communication can be lacking in their SEN department. Improvements have been made, but it is still sometimes leaves a lot to be desired. From your post, I doubt APS will be a good fit and I’m not sure I would prioritise Fortismere. I think Parli and Clapham girls would be a better fit. Obviously that is only based on the limited information in your posts.

I’m not local to you. My knowledge is just from helping others and seeing the paperwork from their cases, so I don’t have knowledge of all your choices.

OFSTED reports aren’t always the full story. If you are looking at OFSTED, look at Parent View responses in conjunction with the report.

Thanks so much for this good advice. I didn’t know a lot about APS so this is helpful. DD would hate a very very strict school, as she is terrified of breaking rules etc. Equally she suffers a lot in noisy/ chaotic environments and classrooms where she can’t hear clearly / focus. So I think fortismere probably also unappealing, for the same reasons I’m not keen on our local SNS. Sounds like my initial instincts to look at either Parli or Clapham are probably sound. One teacher at Clapham did tell me it was very strict but it seems a bit less draconian than others. Most of the schools in hackney are academies known for very OTT behaviour policies which I’m just really wary of knowing how anxious my DD already is about school. I was hoping Highbury might be the answer but I was really disappointed speaking to the SENCO and left feeling like they just weren’t really set up to support dyslexia properly at all. Thanks so much for your feedback.

@Ehcphelpbeep , thanks for your post. I have wondered about applying for DLA but I wasn’t sure whether his care needs would be sufficiently high for us to be awarded it. I should probably look at it in more detail as I suspect he will need more care than the average child his age. His needs affect the hours I can do work-wise as well, as he doesn’t cope well with after-school club. Do you know what sort of evidence I would have to provide?

@thatsnotmygarden , thank you for this - it was really helpful. I did as you suggested before my initial response, having seen similar advice elsewhere, and it was a good exercise. Have just gone through and checked needs, and identified a couple which needed to be explicitly included, so that was good.

I was pleasantly surprised when I read the draft as it was generally specific and quantified, although some needs and outcomes were missing provision despite this being highlighted in the EP report. I seem to have spent ages on it. But it allows for between 4 and 5 hours of support per week, along with OT provision (which is included at the level recommended in our private report, which really surprised me). As he’s currently getting nothing, im
pleasantly surprised - his school “didn’t see need” prior to his ASD diagnosis and have tied themselves up in knots about how to look as though they’re doing something without actually expanding any resources on it.

I do have some sympathy for them as I know how tight budgets are, but the EP assessment has made it clear he has quite significant cognitive difficulties, and the fact he has any difficulties at all just seems to have passed them by.

@MyCatPrefersPeaches definitely apply for DLA. Have a look at the Cerebra guide for completing the DLA form. You can use various evidence. It is about quality rather than quantity. You can use evidence from HCPs and school/LA.

@thatsnotmygarden thanks - I took a look at that and the guidance notes do look helpful. I think because school have been so in denial about the fact that he has any needs at all, it initially made me question myself a lot about how significant his needs are - and my DH was at least a year or more behind me in terms of accepting the need for an assessment and likelihood of a diagnosis.

It’s odd because this is the stage where I should feel vindicated - it’s not just in my head/bad parenting, he does have genuine issues (and I’m really relieved the educational psychologist has identified some of the cognitive problems that were below the radar) and he is now hopefully going to receive some meaningful support for them. But I just feel a bit flat. And I guess I’m questioning whether school would agree his needs are greater than those of another child his age.

I think I need a week off and then will start with the Cerebra guide and DLA. Onwards and upwards, eh?!

@MyCatPrefersPeaches I think it sounds like you've done amazingly well to secure the EHCP especially if the school were denying there was anything going on. I really empathise with the 'is this all in my head/ is it bad parenting' thoughts too especially as my DH also initially didn't think there was 'anything wrong with' DD.

I just had a meeting with the SENDCO at our school about starting the EHCP Needs Assessment application. I told her I'd been advised to get on with it ASAP and not wait / get further reports etc. She was supportive of me doing it and she said she would get more detailed data on DD's attainment and how 'behind' she is. But though she feels DD needs and should qualify for an EHCP because her needs are quite profound, she was quite gloomy about our chances. She says there's a big risk at the moment that the LA will say 'this is just dyslexia, she doesn't need an EHCP.' So her advice was to get a private EP assessment for DD if we can afford it and use that as the basis of our application as she thinks it'll identify needs other than dyslexia which the LA won't be able to ignore so easily.

I told her I didn't want to delay the process, but that was her advice. She agreed about DD's case already meeting all the legal tests etc, but she said she'd seen kids with much more severe needs turned down for EHCPs by our LA, even kids who were two school years behind or more. She said that sometimes there seems to be no rhyme or reason to it. I did say I was willing to battle and take them to tribunal if necessary and she basically said, good, you'll need to be!

She also said a private EP report, if we get one, is always better and more comprehensive than what the LA will pay for in her experience. She said that they'll do a real battery of tests and really tease things out that an LA needs assessment wouldn't do anyway. She said that in any case there's no EP time available in hackney at all at the moment at least until the end of the year - it's all used up for the whole borough apparently (mad!)

So now my dilemma is, do I take her advice and get the EP assessment done privately (which we can afford at the moment) and then apply after that with (hopefully) more evidence? Or do I plough on regardless? I got the strong sense from the SENDCO that if I do the latter they'll refuse to even assess and we will be in for a real battle (even though I know that in law the assessment should absolutely be granted.) Her view was that it was worth waiting to get everything into a better position before starting and that because we are at the start of y4 there was enough time to take a few more months.

@Bearlionfalcon thank you, and I’m sorry to hear you’re in the middle of it as well. We have struggled because DS masks like a pro and there has been, shall we say, a distinct lack of curiosity about what is actually going on. He’s not disruptive at all and he isn’t so far behind he will affect their statistics, so they were perfectly happy to make sympathetic noises and leave him to struggle.

We spent a not inconsiderable amount on private ASD/ADHD and DCD assessments, including a really thorough OT report. I didn’t bother with an EP report, although I did insist to the LA EP that she saw him in person as she would not have got half of what she did out of him if it had been done down a screen, and that report has been absolutely key to getting the provision in the EHCP. She didn’t tell me until after but she couldn’t have done the cognitive assessments remotely.

Between you and me, I think we were lucky in that a) I attached a heck of a lot of paperwork to the EHCNA (had heard anecdotally that some LAs see the needs assessment as a test of parental commitment and I wanted “if you reject this I will appeal and I will win” to be radiating off the paperwork 😂), and b) our area is currently in special measures and being inspected very closely by Ofsted - and I just wonder whether that might have led to less messing about than anticipated. He’s also in a phase transfer year. I fully expected a refusal to assess, or a refusal to issue.

I would listen to your SENCO but I would also be mindful of not losing time as Year 6 will be on you before you know it and you want to be able to find the right secondary school. If you have the funds for a private assessment, you might want to book one now, do the needs assessment anyway, and see what happens. If you get a refusal to assess, you can appeal and you’ll have the EP report by the time of your hearing.

@Bearlionfalcon waiting lists and lack of EP time locally are irrelevant to the statutory timescales for EHCNAs. They are not lawful excuses for breaches.

A good independent EP report will be more comprehensive. It will also be more detailed, specified and quantified. Many LA reports are poor.

However, personally, I wouldn’t wait for an EP report before requesting an EHCNA. For several reasons. Anyone good with experience of writing medico-legal standard reports for SENDIST, which is what you want, will have a waiting list unless you are exceptionally lucky with a cancellation. Some of them will have waiting lists longer than a few months. Even if you have an EP report, the LA may still refuse anyway and then what was the point of waiting, you have lost time anyway - this is particularly important is you have to appeal refusal to assess and refusal to issue. Unless money is no object, if you have to appeal, you may decide the LA EP report will suffice, not amazing but enough, and you need to target your money at, e.g. a SALT assessment.

Working backwards from secondary transfer, you preferably want the EHCP to be in place for Y6 so you can go through the EHCP phase transfer process, but failing that you certainly want it to be issued during the first half of the spring term of Y6 at the latest to give you time to submit a content/placement appeal if necessary. Waiting until, say, February 2026 to request an EHCNA has the potential to be tight with the waits for appeals.

Thank you @thatsnotmygarden @MyCatPrefersPeaches - so grateful for all your thoughts and I'm taking it all on board.

Wow, so many echoes of my own experience in this description: "masks like a pro and there has been, shall we say, a distinct lack of curiosity about what is actually going on... not disruptive at all and isn’t so far behind [s/he] will affect their statistics, so they were perfectly happy to make sympathetic noises and leave him to struggle..."

I'm so glad you got your DS the EHCP in the end and it's really heartening to hear it given that my experience has been so similar (I'd say our school have been pretty good/ sympathetic since diagnosis but up to that point the "lack of curiosity" was DEFINITELY a thing!!)

I'm so conflicted because I do also instinctively feel I want to hand them a huge dossier of stuff - if only to demonstrate my massive appetite for a fight and how well equipped I am to do battle! - and perhaps doing so would avoid an appeal at least at the needs assessment stage. But I really am v concerned about timescales too, especially since - given DD's profile and all the likely pushback about "it's only dyslexia" - we are highly likely to face having to appeal at the needs assessment stage and refusal to issue.

I think the best option might be, for me to take a few weeks to get as much documentation together as humanly possible and then submit just before Xmas at which point I'll have an end-of-term report from her dyslexia specialist tutor to state that she's been having 1:1 support for over a year and still struggling with the basics of writing etc, plus 3/ possible 4 rounds of ADPR from her school. Should be enough time to get an EP assessment too if we decide to go down that route although it's tight.

@thatsnotmygarden how do you find an EP who will produce a report of the necessary depth/ precision? I've spoken to one who has availability this month (maybe that's in itself suspicious) - they want £1300 - but say that they can't do 'EHCP standard' reports quantifying the support that's needed in terms of hours/ frequency, and they won't send their experts to tribunals. But maybe it's still better than nothing if, as my SENDCO says, the EHCNA request will likely be turned down in first instance by my LA without more evidence.

@Bearlionfalcon , if it encourages you further, our SENCO quite literally laughed in my face when I first said I thought he needed an EHCP (less than 18 months ago) and said he wouldn’t get one. Took a lot of self-restraint not to do a lap of victory in front of her when I saw her in the playground the day after we got the news.😂

If you have some money to spend (under £500, I think), this charity, Re:SEND, is very good and will either check a draft for you prior to submission, or write the EHCNA for you.

What you have sounds more than sufficient to meet the legal test: your DD may have SEN and may require special educational provision to be made in the form of an EHCP.

I paid them to check our draft; they advised editing it but otherwise it was fine so I could have saved my money! But I felt more confident. They have free guides as well about what to include and cover, there will be lots you might not have considered at this stage.

https://resend.org.uk

@Bearlionfalcon having a significant amount of evidence doesn’t stop LAs refusing to assess &/or refuse to issue. LAs still refuse in light of overwhelming evidence. Particularly sometimes if they think this parent is going to cost them a lot of money - even if parents appeal, it kicks the can down the road.

I wouldn’t pay for a report that is not detailed, specified and quantified for an EHCP. Unless lucky with a cancellation, which do crop up, you won’t have an EP report from someone with SENDIST experience by Christmas. You often find these via word of mouth. You could try Jemma Levy, Vivienne Clifford, Stephanie Satariano, Ruth Birnbaum or Catharine Pierce.