School not delivering EHCP speech and language support, what can I do?

[MyHonestRedBiscuit]

My child has speech and language, quantified and specific, but the local SLT has stopped doing face to face assessments in school which is detailed in the EHCP. I have been asking the SENCO for updates and got fed up and emailed the SLT directly and was informed via them. The school have had the money for this but don't seem rushed to get another, perhaps private, SLT involved. All my child's EHCP states 1:1. I spoke to the TA this afternoon and she openly admitted she doesn't give 1:1, although the teacher has put it in their end of year report. I can't get any idea of what banding my child gets even though I have emailed the finance department directly as caseworker would not tell me. She just told me if the school wasn't getting enough they would be letting us know. I am just so tired of everyone's dismissive attitude. Headmistress is pleasant but just says go to the SENCO. Any advice.

Focus on the provision in F over the funding.

If the provision detailed, specified and quantified in F isn’t being provided, email the Director of Children’s Services. As per section 42 of the Children and Families Act 2014, it is the LA who is ultimately responsible for ensuring the provision in the EHCP is provided. If chasing the LA doesn’t work, you need a pre-action letter.

Remind the school the provision isn’t optional. Assuming this is a state MS (I think it is from the way your post is written?), they must make their best endeavours to meet DC’s SEN.

If the LA don't respond where do you get a pre-action letter? A solicitor? The local authority has asked the SENCO to sort a private SLT as the school has been given the funds but they have just dragged their feet. The annual review is soon and concern they will just wipe SLT out and considering it was the main reason my child got it the EHCP won't do much as my child is just struggling like they were before the EHCP.

Even if the LA asks the school to sort it, the LA is still ultimately responsible. That duty is absolute and non-delegable.

Yes, you can look for a solicitor.

Some advocates do them, but I wouldn’t go down that route. Firstly, while there are some good advocates, there are also some who do more harm than good. Secondly, some LAs sometimes ignore them because they know you still have to find a firm with a legal aid contract with the capacity to take your case.

SOSSEN do them, but there is a wait.

The LA are passing the buck here. They have the duty to provide section F, not the school. Funding is not relevant if there are no SLTs to hire and in many areas, there are not. LAs know what they are doing...

Ok yes the law is the law.
however, how much do you love this school or not.
If you are not fussed then rock the boat.
If you are grateful then accept everything won’t be perfect.

Yes get a pap the la will admit fault and then you have to jump through more hoops to get to a JR as LA are generally 💩

Decide what you want and what is meaningful to you.

You can fight all day and night against a LA to make you ill. Decide on what you need to fight

Good luck

And what type of school is it? And is it a named school (not that it should make a difference but potentially I do think it does regards independents you don’t always necessarily push too much if you are happy for 90% of the time) n

Mainstream.

Don’t worry if the LA &/or school claim there isn’t available to deliver the provision. There is if they try hard enough. It might be more expensive than the LA would like to pay and it might not be one of their preferred providers, but it is possible. As LAs have been shown time and again, lack of staffing, resources and funding are not lawful excuses for breach of s42.

This is why LAs do what they do. They make parents feel as though they have to be grateful for scraps of support. It isn’t about perfection because no-one is entitled to the best possible provision via an EHCP and anything in it has been judged to be reasonably required.

Personally, I always enforce my DSs’ EHCPs. They need the provision. If my LA sees they get anyway with acting unlawfully, they take liberties and more creeps in. Give them an inch and they take a mile.

Escalate the matter-you have to contact the LA directly as they are responsible for section f provision. Copy in head of children services and your coordinators manager. Have a look on the ipsea website.

Thank you everyone. I think complaining is my only option now. Just found out that there is now only going to be 1 TA between 2 classes of around 30. My child isn't going to be getting anything in September let alone daily speech therapy practice through a TA even if they can find a speech therapist. All the SENCO says is that schools don't get any funding anymore.

The normal complaints process timescales take too long to be a suitable remedy. If SEP detailed, specified and quantified in F isn’t being provided and chasing the LA hasn’t worked, I would look at a pre-action letter then go down the JR route if necessary.

How specific is provision in your ehcp? In section f does it how many hours of 1-1 and who it will be delivered by? Same with your salt is it x will receive one hour of speech a week with a trained slt or TA?

Speech therapy very quantified and specific, they just can't deliver due to cuts. The rest on every task says 1:1 with TA (qualifications of TA listed in EHCP) or the teacher. I don't expect them to be glued to my child but I know they don't stick to a task nor ask for help if the TA is over the otherside of the class or in a different classroom to ask for help. They will quite happily just sit there and stare at the wall or just go off and write something that they want to write and nothing to do with the task and then get told off. My child is currently 3 years behind his peers.

Is the speech therapy with a TA? If its SLT then LA should be organising one to come in. You keep on mentioning cuts and budget but that's nothing to do with you or your child. Always keep that in mind otherwise you'll fall in the guilt trap.
You need to contact the LA in the first instance and keep on escalating until it's delivered Section f is the responsibility of the LA and your SENCO knows this.
Please look at how to do this on the ipsea website. You might need a solicitor to write the PAP letter or you might be able to get it sorted from constant emails to your coordinator then copying in their supervisor and then start addressing it to children's services.
If the 1-1 is throughout the day then that's what should be happening.

Forget about the cuts. Staffing, resources and funding are not lawful excuses for LAs breaching section 42 of the Children and Families Act 2014. There duty is absolute. Don’t be fobbed off.

Thank you for all your advice. It is appreciated.