Final EHCP/ new school/Mediation

[Sweetpeasweetpea]

Hi, I’m looking for some advice, if anyone been in this situation. I would be so grateful 😊big they could share their insight.

Honestly I feel exhausted and fed up with the whole journey. It often feels like you have to know the law yourself just to make sure your child gets the support they need, and when you use the law, your still get fogged off! it’s hard to know who to trust.

My daughter is in Year 2 and has a final EHCP, and we are starting at a new school. We also have mediation scheduled next week regarding Sections B and F. Section F states she requires daily adult support, and her primary area of need is cognitive learning. She struggles with attention, working memory, and retention, and she also masks her difficulties. We also have a new diagnosis ADHD to include, and we’re currently awaiting SALT assessment.

During a recent school tour, I was told that TA will be shared with another child who also has an EHCP,
That's absolutely fine. There are also other children in the class with additional needs. Just trying to get my head round this how the support for my daughter will play out.
when we met the teacher, the teacher said she will find her a seat, maybe over there, where there is a space.

I had assumed that because her EHCP specifies daily adult support, she would be seated near the TA. I’m now worried about how this will work in practice and whether she will actually receive the level of support outlined in her EHCP. I can see this wording won't work for my child, I am
Concerned that the wording in her EHCP is so vague, and daily support is exactly what she may or may not get.

I asked LA caseworker many times to make section F SMART, my request was rejected.

I hate having to now go into mediation with all these concerns, when this school agreed to meet need, did they agree because section F is worded vaguely.

Has anyone else experienced shared TA support when Section F states daily support? How did the school ensure your child’s provision was properly delivered? Did mediation help clarify or strengthen the wording? And how does “daily support” actually work in reality?

Thank you. I just want to make sure she gets the support she needs to access her education and thrive.

You need to look at the exact wording in F. It needs to be detailed, specified and quantified.

The wording you have used here is far too vague and woolly to be enforceable. It isn’t worth the paper it is written on. For example, ‘requires’ doesn’t mean must receive. What ‘adult’ (job title, not name) and what will their training/qualifications/experience be? Adult could be the receptionist, site manager or cleaner. What ‘support’? Ratio? When? Where? How long for? Frequency? ‘Daily’ could mean for 5 mins once a day. All DC in schools receive support daily from an adult.

It does not mean support will be sat near a TA. It doesn’t mean 1:2 ratio.

Go back to look at the reports. Are they vague and woolly? Provision in EHCPs is taken from the evidence. If the evidence is poor, the EHCP will be too.

Sadly, LAs often use mediation as a delaying tactic. You don’t have to actively partake in mediation. For future reference, you can request the certificate and submit straight to SENDIST.