Help needed with getting everything we need into the statement/EHCP!

[Ineedmorepatience]

So, I have had a few days to absorb the news that we won our tribunal and now I realise I have to start getting together all the information we need to go into the statement/ehcp!

The judge ordered that a statement should be written as we are stuck in the old system so I am guessing we will go with that and get it as close to right as we can without going back to tribunal and then let them convert it to an ehcp when they get round to it!

Do I need to read through all the original statutory assessment paperwork and make sure everything was in the NIL and add the stuff that wasnt!

I know for a fact that nothing in the reports is quantified or specified so what do I do about that?

Did they produce anything like a Note in Lieu? It might be an idea to get an electronic copy of that and use it as a starting point.

Did you get any reports of your own? Can you get your experts to advise on specific and detailed support? If not, I suppose you could try going back to the LA experts and asking them to do so - they can't reasonably refuse to, given that the legislation under both the old and new law is clear that support must be specified. But I fear you may end up having to get your own reports anyway.

in a way probably best its a statement rather than an ehcp as everyone knows where we are with statements and you battle is now clear cut. my LA were going to issue an EHCP but came clear that they would then assess her and then not issue an EHCP - as you know my LA are crazy!

you can try and ask that the reports are specified and quanitified but how likely they will is another debate. all you can do now is make sure the statement is the best it can be and get as many hours/support into it as you can. post my NIL tribunal the statement was converted and gave dd just 11 hours so expect your LA may do something so ridiculous to you to keep under the 6k funding limit so they don't have to give the school top up funding

Yes ici we do have a NIL and the judge said that everything on it needs to be on the statement as a starting point!!

Our indie EP report is specified but none of the NHS ones are.

bjk I will pm you!

I don't think you will have much input until they send you the draft statement as they will use the reports they have already. You will then have the opportunity to pull it to pieces when they issue the draft statement. Each time they send it back you have two weeks to ask for amendments. I guess you have to decide how much you will fight the wording given your long term goal and I assume wanting it in your hand before the end of term? We got a few amendments put in like playtime support but accepted a fairly woolly statement for both I must admit.

Ineed - I may be going bonkers, but don't the LA have to produce a draft for you to comment on by a set date?

Obviously, you can get prepared by starting on the Note in Lieu, but the Statement may differ slightly, unless you are in Herts, in which case it will hardly change at all, and probably be very long.

So whether you get started on the Note in Lieu, or wait for the draft statement, you can set to and sort out what you want amended.

Your indie report will be a particularly useful source.

Check for anything difficulty that is understated, or ability that is over-stated.

And anything that says "access to", "opportunities for", "regular" or "would benefit from" hit with specific alternatives eg "DC will be given...." and say how often, for how long, and who by.

Someone here said to get highlighters:-
One colour for things the LA have put in that you want taken out
Another for things that are in any reports and that you want put in.

I would add:

Number the paragraphs of everything that might be contributing to the Statement, and of course to the Statement itself if it arrives without numbers!

Whenever you see something in a report that you want to add to the Statement do two things

1. make a note by the report of the paragraph in that Statement that you are adding it to, and
2. put a note in the Statement next to the inserted text about which report and paragraph it has come from.

And if you want a whole paragraph added to the Statement of SEN then whatever you do, call it 21A, rather than letting the word proacessor re-number and leave you with a tangle!

Good Luc

Thanks one and senvet, maybe I will take another week off and then start again