No ehc plan but Sen support - how does it work??

[anya1985]

Hello all,

Just wanting some advice on special education needs at school.

My son was diagnosed with autism back in the summer. His nursery applied for an ehc plan but we were turned down and said that his school which he has just started out at will have to implement a Sen support plan which should be reviewed three times a yr to see if he's meeting targets etc. when we went to the council (Ealing) the advisor advised us that each school is given a budget for special needs children and if they can't meet his needs we reapply for an ehc plan.

Today the senco had said to apply for an ehc plan. When questioned she said he's doing so well he's settled well and is from the top in class on phonics and maths etc and doing very well. He is not disruptive at all, is blending in well and has no behaviour issues.

I can't help but thinking that she is fishing for extra funding?? That she doesn't want to use any of the schools budget just wants extra. I want to know what she is doing for him before asking for extra funding and on what basis if he is doing well?

How weird!! The authority would turn a parental request down if the senco said he was settled, not disruptive and behaving well, unless he is not learning!

I would go back and ask her if he is making progress and what support is in place for him!

Yeh she literally said that 'local education authorities entertain parental requests more and take them into consideration! She even said all kids at the school with autism have an ehc (this is a lie as when we met her first back in June she said ehc's are hard to get and a boy in year five in her school has lots of needs but was turned down, so not all kids with autism in her school has one!)

I think she wants extra funds coming into the school so she is pushing us to apply

She did not apply initially it was his nursery and I could have appealed but I didn't.

I don't want to apply as at this present time he is doing well and doesn't need it. The very slight issues he does have the school can easily help him with by doing small group work etc

I agree about the right of appeal zzzzz but if the senco did the request and did it properly it should go through if the little boy needs it!

I think its odd that she has said how well he is doing and then told the OP to apply for an ehcp

As I said a parental request will be turned down anyway if the senco says he is doing so well and yes parents can appeal but most dont and its hard work!

Seems very odd to me

Ehc's are given on a needs basis not a diagnosis. I am just saying he doesn't need one at this moment in time. I am not a fortune teller so would not know if he needs one later on in his education which is why I am keeping a close eye on him as I have nothing to show he is struggling and needing extra help the school can't provide. I have had private as well as NHS assessments which have both showed him functioning generally appropriate for his age so was advised that he would not qualify for an ehc but rather extra Sen support at school with a few issues which the school can help with. I just feel they don't want to do anything even slightly extra without extra extra funding that comes with an ehc.

I just wanted to know if they are obliged by law or anything really to help children with Sen from their own budget and to make records of this and termly meetings as we were advised?

In theory they are obliged to support children with special needs from their own budget, many if not all councils have devolved funding down to schools to provide this support. However this funding is not ring fenced and can be used for decorating the staff room if that is a priority!

We have recently been to tribunal where the issue of money came up! I said there was no evidence of money being spent on Dd3 other than 1 hr group SALT per week! We had been told that she should be able to access up to 15 hrs of support each week before needing a statement /ehcp! Her school said in tribunal that the hadnt spent the money she was entitled too despite her regularly refusing to attend and us virtually begging for help for her!

Your council probably have some complicated policy whereby schools are required to spend the childs AWPU and a specified amount on top before they can request an ehcp!

However having said all that, that is not what the law says, the law says that if a child has sen which requires provision over and above provision which is normally available for children of his age then he may need a formal assessment! Also is a child is not making progress at the same rate as his peers or his progress has slowed or stopped!

I would contact IPSEA if I were you and talk to them!

Good luck

Oh and meant to say, schools do not seem (again in my experience) to be required to provide evidence of how sen money is spent on individual children!

Thanks for the replies guys! The council is trying to shift the responsibility on to the school and vice versa! As well as the mixed messages from the senco who is also the head teacher, I have requested to meet her sometime next week with my husband to see what they have put in place for him