Does anyone else find EHCP wording too vague to understand?

[SharonMcClean]

Honestly, the EHCP process can make you feel like you need a law degree just to advocate for your child.
I've spent so much time confused, why does the plan feel unclear? Why is something as simple as "speech therapy" so open to interpretation?
My DS's EHCP says "regular access to speech and language therapy" and "support as needed" but when I ask the school what that actually means in practice, I get different answers depending on who I speak to.
Does anyone else feel like their child's plan is full of vague phrases that could mean anything? How do you pin down what support your DC is actually entitled to?
I'm not trying to be difficult, I just want to know what my child should be getting!

If written correctly, the provision in F is not open to interpretation. The wording needs to be detailed, specified and quantified. Think about things like who, what, when, where, how… Then you know exactly what must be provided, and if it isn’t, it is enforceable.

Whereas, vague and woolly wording means it doesn’t have to be provided and can’t be enforced.

"regular access to speech and language therapy" and "support as needed"

These are far, far too vague. What is regular? ‘Access to’ doesn’t mean it will be provided. What ‘support? What does ‘as needed’ mean? Who decides if it is needed.

If you still have the right of appeal, you need to appeal. If you don’t have the right of appeal currently, you need to request an early review, then appeal if necessary.

AS (yes, I know AS isn’t the done thing but there was something about how this was written that prompted me to AS) shows you already know EHCPs need to be precise and that the wording you mention is inadequate and unenforceable, so I am surprised you are asking what vague wording means in practice.

Well, the school didn’t write the EHCP, so they have no more idea than you do! It’s a bit like when Amazon delivery say they have the same information as you can see, the school only has the same EHCP as you do. The only way you can get specified provision is to ensure that it is written into the EHCP. If it’s at draft stage, get it specified now, if it’s a current one, make sure the review is a detailed one.

Thanks everyone, this has been really helpful.
I think the main thing I wasn’t quite getting was the difference between wording that sounds supportive and wording that actually commits someone to doing something. The replies here have made that much clearer, especially the point about Section F needing to be detailed, specified and quantified.
I also read this after posting, which explains the same issue around vague wording and “hidden gaps” between the needs in Section B and the provision in Section F: https://www.brightheart.co.uk/understanding-hidden-gaps-ehcp/
The example about “access to speech and language therapy” versus wording that says who provides it, how often, for how long, and when made it click for me. I’m going to go back through the EHCP and check whether each need in Section B has clear provision matched to it in Section F.

Sadly most EHCPs are so vague and badly worded they're not worth the paper they're written on. If you're still in the appeal window, you need to appeal. What I found helpful when reviewing DD's prior to issue was to highlight every wooly phrase (I found a list online somewhere of words to watch out for like access to) to go through with the case worker in the review meeting.

I worked for a while as one of the professionals assessing and writing EHCP recommendations. We were told we had to be vague and not too specific! I left as it didn’t sit right with me

I have just sent the draft EHCP back to my local authority with lots of queries and questions on exactly this type of thing. I have asked for it to be amended with specific and quatified targets. Took me a week to go through the damned thing, cross reference all the reports and evidence and ask for mistakes to be rectified (especially the one referring to my daughter as 'him' - obvious cut and paste job going on). It us like they either do it on purpose or don't have a fucking clue.

@ILovePeggySue just so you are aware, EHCPs contain (SMART!) outcomes in section E rather than targets. A subtle but important difference that many LAs pretend to not to understand.

Thanks scoop, I did remind them of the SMART goals, just waiting to see what comes back!