Senco non committal to ehcp - help

[ILovePeggySue]

Trying to appeal a refusal to assess. Got to the bit where all the evidence has to be in. Sent loads off to the tribunal. Had the council response which was one page going off a witness statement from the school senco.

They sent her some questions which she has answered in quite a wishy-washy non committal way. The main question being, 'does the child in your opinion need an EHCPA' - which said senco replies with, she is not sure as child has not been attending so can't give an accurate answer.

My daughter has been unable to attend now due to anxiety, sensory processing issues, mental health difficulties for nearly the whole of this school year. She is in year 6, waiting for autism assessment, been high masking, referred to CAMHs, 3 Early Help Hub referrals, GP letter to school outlining the anxiety and mental health symptoms. Had OT assessment and Ed Psch. Assessment both say she needs help.

Just fed up. My daughter has escaped from school, writes notes on how she will continue to escape, writes notes saying she will hurt other pupils if she can't escape, has ran away from home in the middle of the night as she was worried about going to school. She won't leave the house, can barely leave her room and can longer engage with us, her family.

So much fucking evidence and council are still refusing to help all because the one day a week senco can't give a good guess that she will not fucking cope in secondary. Thanks love, for being nice to my face, listening to me explain how my 11 year old was bought back at 1.30am by the police and you can't just say that an ehcp 'might' be required. Thanks a fucking lot.

By the way, I am a tad irate.

Pissed off in Cornwall

Try not to let it get to you. It doesn’t matter that the SENCO has responded like that. Although it isn’t the worst response ever, it acknowledges DD isn’t attending. The bar for refusal to assess is relatively low.

Is alternative provision in place if DD can’t attend school?

I'm sorry this is happening but my only advice would be to let the appeal play out. It sounds like the evidence is on your side.

Does the EP/OT report specify the provision she requires? If so that will be strong evidence against a less-expert SENCO whose answer is "I don't know."

In any case, the second part of the legal test for an EHCNA is that an ECHP "may be required" to meet their needs. So depending on the wording of the Senco letter, it might actually support your side.

No alternative provision in place. That is probably the next thing to send an email off about. The council did actually say, 'does she need an ehcp ', they don't say she 'may' or 'might'. They also say the school have to complete a number of APDR cycles.

The OT assessment says she won't cope in mainstream secondary, the Ed psych says she has complex and significant needs and that an EHCPA is the next best step. I am so tired of emails and thinking about this. I feel the primary school are just delaying now as they will be finished in about 7 weeks. So then I will be fighting with the next school. Grrr.

Ignore the unlawful tests. SENDIST will base the decision on the actual law.

On their website, IPSEA has a model letter you can use to request alternative provision.

If you haven’t already, it is worth speaking to the secondary school’s SENCO.

Thank you. Reading the SEN board threads I see so many other people going through similar, so it is good to know I am not the only one. But I just get so angry at how long everything takes, at how burnt out I am and by how people who are meant to help just can't be bothered. I don't like having to complain all tye time, ring people up, check that the council are following the law. I am permanently pissed off and angry now. Grrr, again.

Op you will need to fight the systems some LA are better than others not sure on yours.

However it seems I’m one of the worst ones. However you need documented evidence on everything.

cahms not fit for purpose no help.

Personally / unfortunately it only seems to be the private people that actually understand it all 😭 they do the good reports but it cost £££££

Once you have the evidence you’re dealing with the LA but I’m not sure what Cornwall offers / if it’s a good or bad one.

Make sure everything is over email. Make sure you complain - you might get nothing. My child hasn’t in 1.5 yrs but it’s good evidence for a tribunal…..

Councils don’t follow the law - they are corrupt - (well mine is) but delays equal cash not spent so they are doing the job which they are employed for reducing cash …..

A fellow cynic, it is awful when you get to the point of not trusting a word anyone says. Thank you Niceskytoday, sorry about your child as well and your problems with the council. It is all about saving money.

What is even more frustrating is that my elder lad, broke down in exactly the same way as my daughter, could not go into school, was so overwhelmed.

We managed to get him an EHCP and finally into a specialist provision and he is thriving. I have seen what a better, smaller and more nurturing environment can do. Our boy can manage full time now and goes off to school with a smile and comes back with a smile.

@ILovePeggySue I'm hoping you've had some movement on this now, but the SENCO answered a straightforward 'No' to that question for my DD's. I also didn't have quite as much evidence as you seem to, and the LA backed down before it even reached tribunal. They waited until the day before the deadline to set out their argument and just said they weren't opposing.

Am expecting another rejection to issue, so gearing up for another fight. It is so exhausting and frustrating.

I didn't experience such unhelpful SENCOs fortunately but sounds like you have lots of evidence and that's what counts. SENDIST aren't stupid. They clearly understood in our case that the LA hadn't even read our child's paperwork. They ordered the LA to assess and then ordered them to issue (two tribunals).