more delays!

[kojackscat]

HI, Im a semi regular poster, but have name changed.

We were expecting a draft EHCP in 1st Dec. It was delayed. We moved LAs just before Christmas, and the new one said they would take it on as a matter of urgency.

I spoke to them 2 weeks ago, and was told a draft would be done in 2 weeks.
I spoke to them again today, and was told that there were further delays. They have a statutory duty to convert certain Statements to EHCPs by the end of Feb, so DS's case won't be looked at until after that has all been done.

We submitted this application in July 2014, after fighting for the schools support since Sept 2013.

I can't believe how long it is taking, and I feel that it is somehow our fault, for moving house during the process.

And his 1-1 support that the school has had in place since he begun in year R in Sept 2013 has finished this week.
So now he has to struggle until the EHCP is sorted.

Can you phone ipsea and see if they have a legal obligation to finalise within a set time?

I will do. But I am worried they will say they have to go back and begin again with 20 weeks.

I'm pretty sure they can't can they? My la was dragging heels over handing over my nil as I couldn't appeal without it. They broke their time limits. I made a formal complaint higher up and cc'd my mp.

Hey presto - one nil issued three days later

Is this a new ehcp? Ie nothing in place before?

If so the law is pretty clear when ehcps ( or at least it was with statements!) should be issued after assessment is agreed. Pretty sure it's about 26 weeks.

Remind them of the law.

Yes, its a new one, not a conversion from a statement.
Our first la did all the work, it was just pending a decision when we moved house. Initially the new la said they would take it from where it was, so we expected them to use all the evidence gathered by the previous la and just read it and make a decision. Now they say they are not sure about what timescales they have to stick to, seeing as they have only had it for 4 weeks. They don't seem to be in amy rush.

Check with ipsea or Sossen but I'm sure it's 26 weeks start to end

2boys, In the new system it's 20 weeks, but I am not sue if a new LA has to stick to old LA timescales.

For example, what if the old LA took 19 weeks and hadn't done anything, the new one couldn't be expected to complete it all in 1 week, so there must be some exceptions to the 20 week rule.

It seems no-one knows, I can't be the only person ever to move house during the process.
Ill call IPSEA tomorrow.

Hmm, I had this with my nil. No one could comit to a timescale ( parent partnership, ipsea, my la). I was told by a friend that they had to stick to the overall date from saying yes to asses - to issue nil and I complained with that. It worked

Well, the 20 weeks was up today, but la claim the conversions are more important and all gave to be done first, then will look at ds's after them, and the end of Feb. I'll definitely call ipsea tomorrow and get back to la to moan. I'll set the school on them too. School will not be happy, they finished his 1-1 last week, assuming the ehcp would be in place by now.
My main worry is how he will cope without someone to tell him when he is "about to crash" and take him out to do his OT work. He just can't tell by himself, he doesn't understand his own emotions, but a caring adult can spot the signs and intervene before it gets too bad.

Good luck, it's their mess. As you say it's not in the school ( therefore the la) interests to leave it floundering. Let us know how it goes

kojak there is no way a legally imposed timetable can be usurped by an internal policy to convert statements to ECHPs.

If they have set an internal deadline and cannot meet it without breaking the statutory time limits for your case then they need to hire more staff or abandon their internal deadline.

IPSEA to get you straight on the law and maybe try an MP's letter to the head of education to get them to spot where they have mislead themselves

Thanks senvet. However, they claim the conversion is a statutorily requirement and must, by law, be done by the end of Feb. Oh, its such a mess, isn't it.

Ask IPSEA but even if it is, they cannot use the inability to break one law as an excuse to break another!

"Sorry m'lud, I was not allowed to break the speed limit so could not appear in court on the date and time ordered by the court"!!

I have a call booked to ipsea this morning. I also have parent partnership and the head teacher looking in to it.

I am sick of the head teachers attitude though. We were talking about how ds would cope now he has no 1-1support. She promised me she would "call me to collect him before she looks at exclusion again". So no offer to help him, no positive suggestions, she just assumes he will revert to struggling and instead of offering support he will need to be excluded. That is so negative.

I had the same problem before Christmas, my decision was due start Nov, draft statement/NIL was due mid Nov, finally got the draft in mid Dec, been promised the finalised one this week. They're citing the same problem, EHC plan conversions. I'm still in the statement process, having applied this time last year, now wishing I had opted for EHC plan as I now have conversion to contend with too. I didn't escalate my complaint, but kept ringing them every week and firmly making sure they knew that I was aware of exactly how much they were going over. My DS isn't at crisis point though, if he was I might have felt the need to. Good luck.

Strangely, the word 'cope' appears absolutely-freakin-nowhere in the law.

Meet Needs under the old law
Best Possible under the new.

THE CHILD'S NEEDS MUST BE MET!!! Lord knows I could scream

So, (now calmer) a nicey nicey letter to the head attaching a draft letter for her to sign TO the legal dept at the LA saying that she is unable to meet her legal obligation to give DC a full time education that meets DC's needs without the funding. Please re0instate funding as a matter of urgency as she does not want to breach the law by further exclusions caused only by the lack of provision'

Or something along those lines that fits the facts.

If you do not have a pending tribunal (or court) case then local telly or radio can be good.

I heard a radio show where a child had moved and had no school, and by the end of the radio phone in the LA called in (with a sick-making flourish) saying they could now announce that a place was available! South East LA that was

Good Luck

Well, ipsea are looking into this mess, and will get back to me.
In the mean time, ds was sent home again today. I had a little set to with the head teacher. I have decided I want him out of that school, but still need to wait for his ehcp before we can find a suitable placement.
So I am waiting for ipsea advice. They think that the new LA will not have to take into consideration evidence from experts engaged by the old LA, so may want to start the whole process again. Aaarrhgghhh

God I hope you don't have to start again. How can this be allowed? I'm disgusted for you :0(

thanks 2boys.
The really annoying part is that before we put the house on the market I spoke to the old LA and the new one, to find out what they would do if we did move.They both assured me that the new LA would take it over from where ever it stood. I asked several times, just to clarify, and was repeatedly promised it would be an easy transfer.
So I assumed that this was something they have come across before.

We have only moved 5 miles, not to the other end of the world.

This is a disgrace! I hope ipsea can quote some law that you can send up a few levels as a formal complaint to get things moving.

I had to write to one of the big cheeses at my LA cc'ing my mp ( a rather famous one) as a formal complaint. I won no brownie points that day but I did my nil in a few days after waiting weeks with a apology.

Its not nice but maybe it's something to consider? Find the email of both LAs, sum up what the issue is, what both have said to you in the past eg it would be simple, you have it by xyz. Then say " I expect this to be finalised by ( ten working days??) or I will be writing to both LA head of SEN as a formal complaint.

I don't know what to suggest really except please don't let them get away with this. I know people are struggling with ehcp hand over, however I keep thinking " it's not my problem" either.

Sorry I just wish I could put my boot up your LA backside for you. I bet your worn out with this

Do you have anything in writing about the assurances from the LAs?

As veterans of the SEN system on these boards know, make notes of everything, and any calls - follow up eg by email to the caller with a brief summary, so that there is a record

Even if you just had phone calls, do you have any notes of the dates and times and who you spoke to?

Anything like that is a bonus.

I am not very clear on this, it is a job for a solicitor (law centre?) but if they gave you an assurance, you spent money moving house, relying on it, and you are now looking after dc at home because they didn't stick to their word, then I think you can take them to court for failing to keep to that assurance.

Try solicitor's pro bono unit.

It would be a mighty shock for them to be seeing solicitors' letters before action for the costs of their failure to keep to their word.

They might just pull their fingers out and get on with the ECHP.

Don't want to raise false hopes, but if you do have something from them in writing from them I think it is a route worth thinking about to get the Education department off the treadmill.

Well, it looks like they can delay looking at it. The timetable is 20 weeks unless there are "exceptional circumstances". Moving LAs comes under that. Damn!

Looks like we will just have to wait, and hope he is not excluded too many times in the meantime.

Does this link help you? Maybe you could jump on this path - go to the man directly via snj?

Did ipsea tell you the above re specail circumstances?

www.specialneedsjungle.com/state-play-interview-sen-minister-westminster/?utm_source=

I haven't heard back from ipsea yet, it was parent partnership who told me this. I'll wait to hear from ipsea (hopefully tomorrow) and ill read through that link, thanks 2boysnamedR