Advice Needed RE EHCP And Starting Mainstream School, HELP!

[Dad101]

As per the title, our little boy has a recent diagnosis of ASD, he's 4 in November and we have applied to two local mainstream schools for him to join in September 2019.

He has language but it's basic at best and he really will need extra support. We had assumed that it would be good practice to try to sort out an EHCP in advance but his nursery (Who are actually quite good) have told us via Email that he does NOT need an ECHP to access support and the funding to provide it at a main stream school. They say that whilst some children do have an ECHP in mainstream school, it is not necessary to have one in order to ensure he is supported as the school can use their SEN budget and request top ups if they feel they need further funding... My questions are...

1. How accurate is this?

1. Is it good advice?

1. In spite of what nursery have advised, should we be looking to speak to the school RE an ECHP to start the ball rolling (Assuming they accept him) or should we be viewing it as something the school would do at a later date on our behalf if they feel they need to? In short, would school get the funding they need to support him without an ECHP or is it something we should be pushing for and arranging in advance?

Huge thanks in advance to anyone who can offer help/advice/guidance with this. Having just received diagnosis less than two months ago, deciding what is the best course of action in terms of education just adds another factor to what is already a bewildering and stressful time for out family so I'm really hoping someone her can help :)

Hi OP, my DS (12 and a wonderful boy ) has an EHCP for ASD and I remember how confusing those first few months after diagnosis were. Hang in there.

The nursery is correct that your DS doesn't need an EHCP to access support. All state schools have an inclusion budget which they use to support children with SEND and they can request top up funding without a child having an EHCP. However, it really depends on how much support your DS needs. This won't necessarily be clear until he starts school because will be different expectations there (academic/social etc), potential sensory issues etc etc. Does he receive extra support at nursery?

A school can start the application process for an EHCP after your DS starts there if the staff feel he needs considerably greater support than they can provide. However, my advice would be to meet with the school as soon as possible to discuss your DS's needs because the EHCP application process is lengthy and you want him to have a flying start at school, with everything he needs in place from the beginning.

Feel free to pm me if I can help any further. Good luck.

It's true that school have to support children with SEN irrespective of whether they have an EHCP or not. However, they have limited funding for that purpose and I would seriously question whether a school can meet your child's SEN without an EHCP: it sounds as if, for instance, he will need some specialist speech and language therapy which it can be difficult for schools to access without an EHCP. If your area allows schools to apply for top-up funding that may help the school meet needs, but the problems with this is the funding is non-statutory and could be taken away at any time.

You can apply for an EHCP yourself without waiting for the nursery. All you have to demonstrate for the first stage of the process, which is the decision whether to assess, is that your child may have SEN and he may need special educational provision through an EHCP. See www.ipsea.org.uk/ehc-needs-assessments for information on how to apply.

First things first, thank you both for the replies and also for the encouraging words :)

It's good to see two different takes on whether to go down the EHCP route at this early stage. I've been reading a bit about it here...childlawadvice.org.uk/information-pages/special-educational-needs/

By the sounds of things his school will be entitled to £6k PA to support him and also will be able to top up with extra funding potentially should this prove necessary. Part of me feels that the best option would be to see how he manages in school with their existing SEN budget and canvas them for feedback before going for EHCP (Hopefully with their help), although I can see the point of getting the ball rolling early too.

Good call RE speaking the SENCO's at both schools in advance in order to make sure he gets the best possible start, that sounds like a no-brainer. Thanks!

RE DS, he receives 10 hours of 1 on 1 support at nursery during the 5 mornings a week he spends there and also sees a speech and language therapist for an hour a week.

In terms of his skillset he can name most objects, tell you what colours they are, ask for food and drinks and is constantly singing/using delayed echolalia but other than this would struggle to answer most questions other than yes/no 'Do you want?' type stuff. He has a short attention span and shows little interest in his peers. We model strategies from Hanen's 'More Than Words' (Great book but was very expensive!) with him on a daily basis and would put him somewhere between the 'Requester' and 'Early communicator' stages from the book. He doesn't wear nappies at home and is dry in the day time but struggles to ask/tell you when he needs to go to the toilet so we need to take him every couple of hours as he will almost invariably deny he needs the loo if asked :) As such we haven't moved the use of grown up toilets across to nursery yet.

As mentioned this is a strange/confusing/sad time for us. Despite knowing in our hearts since before he was 2 that he likely had ASD, receiving diagnosis hit us like a ton on bricks. Sorting out schools/applying for DLA, deciding on the best therapies whilst simultaneously trying to come to terms with what the future might look like is leaving us totally overwhelmed and drained at the moment.

Hi OP, it's OTWBsmum here, I've just changed my user name (not for nefarious reasons, just because!). More than Words is fab, isn't it? When my DS was diagnosed I was full of sadness and apprehension about what the future might/might not hold for him. Give yourself permission to feel these things - it's a perfectly "normal" reaction. 8.5 years after his diagnosis, I can tell you that none of my direst predictions and fears for my DS have come true and he has delighted and confounded us all, as I'm sure your DS will too. Just make sure his needs are met and he's happy now, and try not to worry about the future (easier said than done, I know).

Bear in mind that the £6K figure is notional - it depends on a number of factors and few if any schools get that much. Also you need to check how easy it is in reality to apply for top-up funding, and how long the process takes.

Thanks both.

@Gersemi, After much thought we've decided that we'll take a 'temperature test' after a couple of months of reception and perhaps start the EHCP ball rolling then if we feel it will help and/or is necessary.

@betterwithasetter1/OTWBsmum, Yes, More Than Words is a fantastic book, worth it's weight in gold. Thanks again for another uplifting response, that really made me smile and apologies for the late reply on my part :)

Hi there, speaking as a SENCo in a primary school I would also add that when you are allocated a school (is it the 16th April this time round??) and arrange to go and speak to the SENCo. There will be things that can be set up prior to his arrival and extra transition to help him feel more settled.
Good luck. It’s not the easiest of roads to travel but a good SENCo will walk it with you and support the whole family.

OP did you talk to your paed about this, because the difference is, if you have an ECHP then legally the school and LEA have to support your child and if you don't have an ECHP then they can not support or do the bare minimum - please seek further advice on this before you come to a decision.

Both my two had an ehcp before starting school. If your son has Sen I would definitely get one. Means you can name the school you want and it’s a legal document. I find schools can be quite slack. The process also can take a while. I applied for both of our ehcp’s. Our nurseries didn’t back us or do anything but it was very important we felt to have it.

Thanks again all.

If I'm honest having read just about everything we could on the topic it seemed like applying for ECHP was something that DS's prospective school would be responsible for and it would be difficult if not impossible to do on our own and independently? Clearly that's not the case...

In light of the overwhelming responses to the contrary then it's something we need to start...

A couple of questions I'd have would be....

1. I've heard that initially almost all ECHP's are declined routinely and need to be appealed, how true is that?

1. I appreciate that we'd likely need input form an educational psychologist as well as various other experts. How difficult is that to arrange? Any advice around getting through that and dealing with the bureaucracy involved would be gratefully received. On average how long does the process of obtaining an ECHP take? DS will start school in September 2018 and the clock is well and truly ticking :(

As always, we're really grateful for the responses and any advice, this place is turning out to be a Godsend.

First dc it was turned down and we appealed and won right to the assessment. I think it’s just easier and cheaper for them to initially say no. Second went through no issues. Ours took about 5 months from assessment to finish. They do have to follow strict deadlines once you’ve been granted an ehcp. Get as many reports as you can. And try the ipsea website as it has template letters on for you to use to apply. It’s definitely worth trying. Good luck x

As a primary SENCO my advice would be to get as much of the ball rolling as early as possible. The money you spoke of allocated to each child would not be enough to fund additional support in the form of an adult 1-1. What the school can do in Autumn term of Reception is apply for Early Years funding to get extra support (though this will not cover full time) while they are applying for an EHCP.
Though they say and EP report is not always necessary, in my experience they are needed 99% of the time. They have to be within a specific date though for the school to be able to submit them with the request and off the top of my head I believe it is 6 months in Reception so you have some time if you wanted this in place before he starts.
With regards to them getting turned down it totally depends on the evidence you submit. My school very rarely gets them turned down because of how much evidence we submit with the application.
The key is getting all your reports in place otherwise the timelines just lengthen. If you can give the school all reports that you have, notes from the nursery and your letter of diagnosis, they will be in a much better place to start the ball rolling than as soon as possible.
This is a lengthy process though (20 weeks) and that is with having an EP report and all evidence ready to submit.
As PP have said, it is vital you meet with the school's SENCOs and you can discuss ways to support your child as soon as he walks through the door.
I know you feel like the clock is ticking, but Reception is generally a year where all the children are learning the routines etc. In my experience children with SN, especially ASD, cope with Reception well. It is when they go into year 1 and the expectations change that they find it hard. You have plenty of time to get him the support he needs :)
Good luck x

@craftymum01 do you mind if I pm you a question please? I don’t want to derail the thread.

Of course :)

Right, again thank you all for your contributions and advice. I'm actually slightly overwhelmed by it all, it's been lovely to have so many of you chime in, also, sorry for the slow progress in posting back here!

Having spent a gruelling 4 hours last weekend filling out DLA forms and gathering supporting evidence for that, we're now ready to grasp the nettle and start an application for an ECHP assessment.

We've downloaded the IPSEA model letter, assembled reports from the Paediatrician/diagnosis letter/Doctors reports/speech and language reports/child psychologists reports and also documents detailing DS's difficulties at nursery.

At this stage the only thing holding us back seems to be the lack of a report from the educational psychologist :( Nursery have made it clear they have no responsibility to help arranging this and that the onus is on us to do so, they've given us a number and we're now awaiting a call from the Ed Psych.

The question I have is should we wait until we have a report from the Ed Psych before requesting an assessment, or go ahead and request an assessment despite not having managed to get it yet...? Does anyone have any idea as to the lead time/wait time involved to actually have a child seen by the Ed Psych and then to get the report?

My worry is that it will be counter intuitive to request an ECHP assessment before we have the Ed Psych report but as always any views or feedback on this would be HUGELY appreciated, again we're feeling slightly lost as to what approach is best at this stage.

As always, thanks in advance all :)

You don't need an Ed Psych report in hand when you request assessment. Once the LA has agreed to proceed with assessment there is then a six week period where they have to gather professional advice and as part of that the LA will need to request a report from an Ed Psych. This link to the IPSEA website sets out what the LA is required to do www.ipsea.org.uk/what-happens-in-an-ehc-needs-assessment.

When we applied we asked for an OT report (sensory integration) as well, but the LA refused this (I think this can be fairly common). We could of complained, but in the end we organised a private report and had this included with the paperwork. It was fairly easy to organise in the time frame. It might be something to think about though particularly if sensory issues are a concern.

Meant to add my DS is still at preschool and we applied for his EHCP this year (applied Feb and issued in August). The most important thing was to get the right paperwork from preschool. Our LA requires two cycles of Assess, Plan, Do, Review and if this isn't in place then assessment will be refused. I know there is lots of variation between different areas, but if you look at your local offer this will give you an idea of what is required. We also had help from Early Support/Specialist Teachers and they supported preschool and looked over the paperwork before it was submitted. I'd contact your local SENDIASS too, they will know how the process works in your area and should be able to help to make sure everything is in order.

I might be late to the post but as a Fs2 teacher I can tell you if your child needs routine 1-1 (so 10 hours a week) getting an EHCP in place for him would be an amazing help. I have 11 SEN children (we are well known in the area for being very inclusive so tend to have high number of varying levels of SEN) in my class and they receive between an hour/ 2 hours a week 1-1 target time plus 10 mins a day target time with our speech and languagf trained TA. We have children who have an adult without funding but this is at the expense of losing a class TA and as it isn’t ring fenced can be pulled at any time (staff illness etc). The children who have 1-1(currently 1 staff member between 4 very high need children in my class) do so to keep them and others safe before a probable move to specialist provision. Also consider the ethos of the school you are sending him to, we are a very play based ethos which eases children in gradually, this often helps children with high level SEN as the flash points are fewer when they are only being directed for an hour and a half a day.