Spent £700 on EP report for Tribunal and it's worded no better than LAs

[zen1]

I feel utterly sick. It's all "opportunities for" and "access to", and I specifically stated to them that part of my reason for appeal was that I wanted provision quantified and specified as the LA failed to do this. To be honest, most of it's a load of wordy crap that doesn't mean anything and will give the LA ample opportunity to say "but we are already providing opportunities for blah blah".

I'm going to have to go back to them and say it's not good enough, but it's the last thing I feel like doing. I just don't understand why they've written it this way

Does the EP do tribunal work? If so, then they should be fully aware of the need not to use vague and woolly wording. Though, even if it's you paying for a report, they don't have to completely take your side if they don't agree with you. All the same, if it's needed, they should say so. Clearly.

Yes, the EP was recommended to me by a charity and does tribunal work. They do agree with me insofaras my DC needs a lot more support and the tests they carried out revealed significant difficulties in all areas. However, the recommendations are woolly and can be interpreted any which way.

E.g they have recommended 1:1 speech therapy with a qualified SALT, but haven't said how often or how many hrs / mins per week etc.

It would be up to a SALT to recommend that one. EP would be looking at ways to improve other skills, motivate etc.

So, am I expecting too much of the EP to actually quantify in terms of provision? (I am getting a SALT report done as well).

They wouldn't be able to quantify outside of their own area of expertise.

tbh I have paid that much for reports for me or the school. For the tribunal, the EP cost £4,500 (assessment and report, school visit and expert witness for hearing including VAT).

Ouryve is right - I also had to get SALT and OT to have provision specified and quantified.

Tribunal is free

at £4,500. Yes I'm getting OT report as well. This is a steep learniing curve for me!

Have they sent the report to you as a draft? If so, it is for consultation and they will expect you to have queries/corrections. Though you're right, someone with tribunal experience should know better than to use terms like "access to" etc.