Has anyone withdrawn from EHCP process?

[FlippityFlippityFlop]

I'm probably going to sound ridiculous but here goes.
We have just been informed that our LA will assess our 4 year old. The nursery have concerns over his behavior there (dysregulted and throwing things) - to the point that they have asked us to leave the setting (for pushing and throwing and but interacting the easy he"should").
The thing is - although I in no way think he's an angel - we do not see this behavior at home.

He is a bright, kind, loving and cuddly boy. He does have some social issues - it takes him a while to warm up to new situations (e.g. if Intake him to a party he will play by himself for the first hour). But he has good friends, plays with them and is generally fine. If he gets upset at home he might stomp and hide under a table - but he never gets physical - and nothing that I wouldn't have put down to just being a child who can be challenging at times.

I feel that his current nursery just don't want him (constantly asking us what is going on at home - when he is fine at home) and are making out his problems to be worse than they are. Every day is a bad day (even when I have seen him playing happily the whole time).

I am now torn between thinking my child must need an ehcp if this is what the nursery think, to also thinking he just needs a bit of time and this isn't the right setting.

I am also worried (overthinking everything atm) that if he gets an EHCP that it will severely restrict where we can send him. What happens if a child with an EHCP just isn't happy at a particular school? On so many of the school open days I've heard from parents who moved their child as they just didn't fit/were unhappy/were being bullied. What happens if they have an EHCP? Do you have to wait for the Annual Review? It seems that then a child would be forced to stay.

Also - what happens down the line of you wanted to privately educate (we might want to do this for smaller class sizes further down the line) - it seems that this would most certainly be blocked as the LA would have to name it on the EHCP and then they would become liable for the fees.

I am not sure if we should continue with the EHCP process or just give him some more time. We have already sorted to another setting that can take him and who think he will be fine.

Personally, if the nursery is suggesting an EHCP, I would listen. It isn’t uncommon for DC to display differently in different settings. It doesn’t mean DS doesn’t need an EHCP.

To move schools with an EHCP you would need a review. You could request an early review. There are pros and cons to moving with an EHCP, because it also means you wouldn’t only be limited 5 schools with spaces.

With an EHCP, you can still make your own arrangements at an independent school. There are additional rules if you wanted it named in the EHCP and funded but if you wanted to make your own arrangements, you could.

More positively, an EHCP gives additional options of where you can send him. You never know, you may be grateful for that in 5 or 6 years when secondary applications roll around.

My DD is at a secondary out of Borough with an EHCP.

At the very least, the educational psychologist report will hopefully be informative.

Since your LA have agree to assess I would let them assess. Many parents are fighting to get there kids an EHC needs assessment. Many LAs are operating well outside the statutory time scales.

Since your son is 4 I am assuming that you have applied for a school place in September 2026. Therefore, you son will be offered a school place on school offer day for September. If the ECHP process is not complete then your son can take up his school place in September with his peers. Then if the LA decide to issue an EHCP they will ask you for your school preference. As my son had started reception and was happy there, I asked the LA to name his current school. If the LA agree to issue an EHCP before your son starts school, they will ask your for your preference and then your child would start school in the setting named in section I of his EHCP.

Once you son has started school then if there are problems then you can ask the LA to call an emergency review rather than wait for the annual review to request a change of placement. Requesting a change of placement from a mainstream state school to another mainstream state school shouldn’t be an issue as it costs the LA the same (although they will need to consult the new school and ask if they can meet needs). Please bear in mind that the LA only needs to name a school that can meet your child’s needs not the best school for your child. Therefore, if a mainstream state school can meet your child’s needs but you would prefer your child to attend an independent school because you liked it better then the LA would refuse to name it (and pay the fees). If you disagree with the LA and feel that they have named an unsuitable setting that cannot meet your child’s needs then you can appeal to the SEND tribunal.

If your child doesn't need an EHCP, this will be the outcome of the process.

This is a good point! Go ahead with the assessment. See what the outcome is at the end of the process

Thank you everyone! I know that everything you've said is right.

I think it's just that everything has escalated so quickly and I feel that everything is so rushed. Although we had been told he had some sensory needs before - nothing much was really said by the nursery apart from that he didn't like to participate in large groups and preferred to play by himself or be with an adult. Then he moved up rooms - where the ratio of kids to staff is larger, it is a lot noiser, Everything seemed fine at first - they told us he was loving it. And then since Nov at every pick up we are told it's been a bad day. When we pick him up though he seems happy, and is playing with friends.

Then we were told they were reducing his hours to give him a reset and they felt he needed an EHCP and that we needed to sign the forms that day.

I agree that he needs some extra support - I think it's just that I feel a bit blindsided by everything and am overthinking every possible outcome and worrying about everything.

I never wanted an EHCP for my children (all were early diagnosed ASD and AuDHD with PDA, OCD and DCD - no surprise, as both parents and all grandparents, too). We found that changing the setting made a big difference, and for us that involved changing counties and countries, so not very easy with an EHCP. We also included various private schools along the journey, which wouldn't have accepted them with an EHCP. We also did home ed, home tutoring and online school. Under the new wellbeing bill, the right to home ed is going to become restricted for children with EHCPs, and I wouldn't want to risk this. As a long term school governor, I also haven't seen academic improvements through EHCPs. Nurseries and schools push for them to reduce behaviour issues, and often parents push for them because they genuinely want the best for their children, but the support they pay for (1:1 with TA, small TA led units, ELSA during lessons) often comes at the cost of academic progress as the child spends less to no time with a qualified teacher. It might be worth it in terms of their mental health and behaviour at home, but the EHCP process is not always outstanding in my view to provide both: academic and mental health improvements. I therefore would, if you have the resources and time, and gut feeling, explore alternative nurseries and primary schools, smaller private schools, home education or home tutoring first. Educational outcomes for EHCP holders are very low. Only 0.6% of pupils with an EHCP pass A levels, while almost 15% of home educated children go on to pass A levels, while almost 100% of pupils who attend privately funded ASD friendly online schools pass their A levels, as do students at private schools with ASD and other conditions. I know many parents who thought an EHCP would be the silver bullet, but it didn't help or even made matters worse - not least while the process of getting one takes away your resources and you become more dependent on professionals and random bureocrats, rather than following your gut instincts as to what your child needs.

@Ilka1985 I think you have summed up exactly what I am worried about. I am worried that rather than helping him it will end up restricting him. I know that academics isn't everything - but I don't want to end up restricting my childs path at 4 if there is a better option.

At the moment, we don't have any concerns for him academically - and when he is with people that he is comfortable with he is great. He has friends who he loves seeing and playing with and will happily go somewhere like a soft play/theatre. He follows multistep instructions from us (e.g go to your bedroom and get your book/hat/gloves and put it in your bag by the door), asks lots of questions and recalls what he has learned later that day/week/month, and he has an amazing imagination. We haven't started phonics yet (as it's not something that I was taught so I need to get my head around it) but have started simple addition.

A lot of his issues appear to be from not wanting to be with unfamiliar people (needing a strong connection with them), not wanting to take part in group activities or not wanting to play with more than 1 or 2 people at a time. When this is forced he shuts down. Obviously, at home this doesn't happen. What it does mean though is that the nursery is saying that he 1.5 years behind in communication and social development.

All I want to do is what's right by my little boy.

EHCPs don’t have to be restrictive. They don’t have to mean poorer outcomes for an individual child compared to if that individual child didn’t have an EHCP. They don’t have to mean less time with a teacher (this is a line LAs like to use against TA support at Tribunals. It misrepresents the research and gets short shrift in front of judges.) DC can be academically able and have EHCPs.

@Ilka1985 do you have a link to support your statistics?

According to this link, 0.6% of those sitting A levels this year had an EHCP, which isn’t quite the same as only 0.6% of those with EHCPs passing A levels.

Since not all EHE DC are known to services and even when they are there is no requirements post 16, I would be incredibly interested to see how on earth any statistics can reliably say 15% of all EHE DC pass A levels.

Comparing exam pass rates for those with EHCPs to those EHE, at online schools and at independent schools is like comparing apples and oranges.

Also, do you have a link to the amendment of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill saying all DC with an EHCP will need consent to deregister? That was mooted at one pointed but then dropped. Unless there has been a very recent amendment tabled that I can’t find on the government’s website.

The most recent amendment tabled but not yet passed is for
“(c) conducting or has ever initiated proceedings under section 31 of the Children Act 1989 (care and supervision),
(d) providing services to the child or their family under section 17 of the Children Act 1989 (provision of services for children in need, their families, and others),
or has ever conducted enquiries or has ever taken action under section 47 of the Children Act 1989 (local authority’s duty to investigate).”

The explanatory statement states “This amendment seeks to ensure local authorities must consent to the withdrawal of a child from school if there are currently, or have ever been, enquiries, proceedings or action initiated in relation to the child under section 31 or 47 of the Children Act 1989 or the child is currently classified as a child in need under section 17 of that Act.”

Now the amendment tabled is about those being provided with services which is somewhat at odds with the explanation which would include CiN, including disabled DC as per s17’s definition of a CiN, even if services weren’t being provided.

@ExistingonCoffee The LA has already the right to name a school in an EHCP and the new bill will strengthen their right to oppose deregistration in favour of home ed. Vulnerable children under section 17 include disabled children. You can't argue that your child is disabled (ASD counts as a disability) and provide a range of diagnosis and evidence of special needs and behaviour issues to the LA and then think the term 'disabled' and 'vulnerable' doesn't apply to your child. There is no free lunch - if you ask for free money for extra support, you make yourself dependent in one form or the other, and the current political landscape is shifting, and noone knows what will happen. Some people have no choice, and any support is better than no support, so I would support everyone who wants and needs an EHCP for their child. But EHCPs are not the only or even imo best way to support a child, if you are able to explore alternatives, especially if the child is academic and motivated and able to concentrate and comply with a trusted adult. Statistics are not perfect, but do you know a child who got an EHCP early on for non physical disabilities and has done well academically due to the support they received in school?. I do know some children who went through EOTAS and online school/home ed/small private school on an EHCP who did well, but they had parents who put adequate and suitable provision in immediately privately, so didn't allow for any education to be missed or inadequate for long, and then fought the LA to finance the new arrangement. This is hard, as you usually need a lot of evidence that normal provision did not work, so the more proactive you are, the more evidence you 'ruin', but being proactive and try and find the best setting first is still in my experience the route with the best outcomes.

@Ilka1985 merely naming a school in an EHCP doesn’t mean the child has to attend though. Naming a school doesn’t automatically register a child at the school either. And that isn’t what I was asking. I asked which part of the amendments state all DC with EHCPs will need consent to deregister. I ask because the amendments on the government’s website don’t cover it, it isn’t mentioned on Ed Yourself’s updated website page, and just a couple of days ago you were under the impression on another thread “The right to homeschool is not affected by the Wellbeing bill”, which is also wrong.

I know all disabled DC are CiN as per s17’s definition. I said as much. But the actual wording of the amendment tabled is “providing services to the child or their family under section 17 of the Children Act 1989” as I said. That isn’t quite the same as all DC who meet the CiN definition. Many meet the definition but are not provided services under s17.

I didn’t say EHCPs were the only way to support a child.

Yes I do know DC, more than one, for a range of needs, who got EHCPs early, attended schools and did well. There are such posters on MN.

Where did you get your statistics from please?

I don't think there's any need to start worrying about A levels at age 4!

I teach in an inclusive comprehensive in England and there are many examples of students with EHCPs making academic progress including A-levels. Of course I can't prove a counterfactual - how they would have done without the EHCP, but in many cases, they wouldn't have got into our school without the EHCP so...

I agree with@Needlenardlenoo. Not to mention the fact EHCPs may not exist in 10 years. Certainly not in their current format.

I find the average point scores interesting. At A level, DC without SEN have an average point score of 34.94, DC on SEN Support have an APS of 33.62, and those with an EHCP an APS of 33.43. Obviously that doesn’t give the whole story. At a cohort level those with EHCPs are more likely to have more significant needs and receive a higher level of support. It also doesn’t standardised for things like sex, FSM status, ethnicity, region, etc.

I thought I would come back to this thread since the most recent statistics from the 24/25 academic year were released a couple of days ago.

Interestingly, when you look at the A level data by SEN status, DC with EHCPs had a higher proportion of Astar grades than those on school level SEN support and those with no identified SEN, although a lower proportion than those for whom the SEN status was unknown.

The Astar-A percentage was also higher for those with EHCPs than those with school level SEN support.

(I have typed the word star because of MN formatting.)

That's really encouraging data! I'm glad to hear this. I'm still weary that EHCPs specify too often interventions and settings that are long term harmful for pupil's academic development. But if a parent and school are knowledgable and fight for the right setting and support, and, like you would with children without SEND, support at home, it can be of course a great help. I still found the freedom of not having to deal with LAs invaluable. One of my children, AuDHD, OCD, DCD, e.g. really struggled at school and needed a boost for his confidence. We decided to take him out of school and travel and backback for several months, and he was a different child when we got back. We continue to do regular 'geography' and 'culture' trips, and it's helping enormously, and the only way we can afford this is to do it outside of school holidays, but because we home ed, we can then catch up in the holidays. So for us, the freedom to home ed is a god sent we don't want to give up yet. There are probably ways to do all this with an EHCP and EOTAs package, but if we don't really need one, it feels wrong to take money from other taxpayers and also to devote so much time to a process that I could better spend with my children, and it will leave resources (LA's time and money) for those who need it more than we do.

That is, of course, a perfectly valid choice. It is brilliant you could afford the support DC need. The vast majority of parents cannot afford to fund the level of support an EHCP can provide.