EHCP next steps

[vinoandbrie]

Hi.

I had a thread last year but lost it!

My DD (6) has ASD. She is at an independent school and was diagnosed privately at the end of 2019.

We applied for an EHCP in the autumn of last year. Six weeks later, we received confirmation that they would assess her.

We were given a further six weeks to provide any more up to date reports / info, which we did.

What happens next? I’m worried, naturally, that they will not agree to provide the help she needs. We’re still a while off when they are legally obliged to respond to us by, which I understand is 26 weeks from the date the application goes in.

It's not 26 weeks, the whole process from request to finalised EHCP should take 20 weeks at most.

Has DD had assessments yet e.g. EP, SALT?

Here are the timescales.

Thanks for clarifying, I don’t know why I thought it was 26 weeks. We are therefore six weeks closer than I thought we were.

DD has had SALT assessments (done privately by an educational psychiatrist), and I think the report from the NHS was done by an EP - this is hopeless of me, I should know this, I just refer to it as ‘the NHS report’ as opposed to ‘the private report’.

School has not arranged an EP report, I believe that because it’s an independent school, the school does not have access to an EP in the same way a state school does. If an EP report has not been done, will the council arrange for an EP assessment, given they have a duty to ask various people for their take?

The LA should seek advice from

"a) the child's parents or the young person;
b) educational advice (usually from the head teacher or principal);
c) medical advice and information from a health care professional;
d) psychological advice and information from an educational psychologist;
e) advice and information in relation to social care;
f) advice and information from any other person the local authority thinks appropriate;
g) where the child or young person is in or beyond year 9, advice and information in relation to provision to assist the child or young person in preparation for adulthood and independent living; and
h) advice and information from any person the child's parent or young person reasonably requests that the local authority seek advice from."
SEN regs 6(1)

A SALT assessment should be undertaken by a qualified SALT, not an EP. An EP is not an expert in SALT. I would be surprised if the NHS advice was from an EP, too, it is more likely to be from a paediatrician.

Where an existing report exists, LAs don't have to seek new advice if they, you and the report writer agree the report is sufficient and still up to date.

School won't arrange any assessments, it is the job of the LA.

If you are already more than 12 weeks in assessments should have been carried out by now. If the LA is going to issue an EHCP they need to send a draft by week 14.

That’s great then, I think they will have all they need. I shall just have to wait and see what transpires, but the wait shouldn’t be as long as I thought it might be. Thank you for your help.

Well, we are past week 14 and we have heard nothing from the LA.

Any advice as to what I can do to try to move this along?

IPSEA have a model letter you can use to complain.

To update, the delay is due to no EP report - which I thought was the LA’s responsibility to arrange.

At my prompting, the LA has said they will chase the EP. I’m a bit wtf to be honest. Why have they not chased by now?

Would it be better to find my own EP and get a private report done? Would that be acceptable to the LA, or would they still commission their own?

That is not good enough OP.

Under SEND Regulation 8 (1) anyone who is asked for information and advice must respond within 6 weeks.

This is a legal duty which must be complied with; it cannot be avoided because there is a long waiting list or because there are staffing shortages. If an LA is genuinely unable to obtain one of the necessary pieces of advice during the time frame, they would be expected to obtain an independent report in its place.

www.ipsea.org.uk/what-happens-in-an-ehc-needs-assessment

I'd adapt the IPSEA model letter to complain about the unacceptable delay in seeking EP advice:

www.ipsea.org.uk/complaining-when-the-local-authority-does-not-seek-the-correct-advice-during-an-ehc-needs-assessment-model-letter-7

Make sure you send your letter to the Director of Children's Services or equivalent in your LA.

You can commission your own report, but that could take ages too. Good EPs tend to be booked up for weeks, if not months.

The LA must notify the parent or young person of their decision whether or not they will issue a plan within a maximum of 16 weeks from the request for assessment (Send Reg 10(1) or if they decide to issue a plan, the final plan must be issued by week 20 (SEND Reg 13(2), so the way things are going, the LA is in danger of breaching their statutory duty either way.

Thank you for the helpful responses.

I received a draft EHCP this morning, so will be looking through it carefully, with a view to making updates. I have a few questions from my initial skim of the draft, and would be grateful for any advice:

1. There is a specific amount of top-up funding that has been written into the plan. Does this mean that whatever changes I make, they may say ‘fine, but we’re not going to give you any more money to make that happen’?

2. It says DC should have ‘a dedicated teacher (with training, expertise and experience of working with children with (DC’s condition)) to support her during the entire school day including unstructured periods such as break time and lunch time and to support homework’. Should I update this to specify that the dedicated teacher should be 1:1, and the number of hours per week?

3. We are to put in the preferred school, which will be her current school. It is an independent school, and she has been there since she started in reception class at age 4. Are the local authority likely to accept this? I do not want her moving schools as the school she is at is perfect for her.

4. SALT hours are specified for her. Does this have to be paid from the top up funding amount, or will the council provide this above and beyond, ie will it be NHS SALT that the LA will arrange, and so would not come out of the top-up funding?

Thank you in advance.

Don't worry about funding, focus on getting provision in section F specified and quantified. Then if it is not provided you can enforce it. If the school need more funding they should approach the school.

The provision you quoted in 2 is woolly. Yes, 1:1 should be specified and quantified. It should also detail what training, expertise and experience otherwise you may find it is actually someone you perceive to be unqualified and inexperienced. Do they mean teacher with a teaching qualification or a TA?

If the LA think state MS can meet DD's needs they are likely to name that. Do you have evidence indie is needed e.g. smaller class sizes? It is possible to get LAs to fully fund independent MS placements but it often requires parents to go to tribunal. Some LAs will come to an agreement with parents where you pay the fees and the LA pay for the SEN provision. Others say you are making suitable arrangements to educate DD and they are relieved of their duties.

Is SALT in section F? It should be, if the NHS can't or won't provide it the LA must commission a private provider.

Useful info here including EHCP checklist:

www.ipsea.org.uk/what-to-do-when-you-receive-your-draft-ehc-plan

www.ipsea.org.uk/Handlers/Download.ashx?IDMF=afd8d11f-5f75-44e0-8f90-e2e7385e55f0

Thank you very much for all the help.

I’ve drafted a letter specifying exactly what I want adding in, and stating why, ie ‘as per paragraph Y, page X of the appendices’ which they sent through with the draft report, and which set out the advice they’ve gathered.

I’m concerned that they’ve gone through and stripped out all references to one to one provision, when this has been referred to time and again in the reports. I doubt they will just roll over on this, but all I can do is push back and see what happens. Has anyone any experience or words of advice on this?

I’ve named the school she is at now for section I, I hope they don’t push back on that as it’s a private school.

It feels like one step forward and two steps back.

10 broken, yes the SALT is listed and hours specified in section F, which I was pleased to see.

Re the school, both the Ed psych that the LA commissioned and the private report we had done specifically state that she should continue to attend the school she’s at. I hope that’s enough for them, but fear it won’t be!

Make sure you go through all the reports (appendices) with a fine toothcomb and two highlighters.

Highlight all of your child's needs (difficulties & barriers to learning eg poor organisational skills, difficulty with time keeping, slow processing) in one colour and then all the provision to meet the needs in another colour.

For example you might have a Speech and Language Therapy report which says "X has great difficulties with social communication." This would go into Section B of the EHCP. The SLT might go on to say "X needs a social skills programme devised by a qualified Speech and Language Therapist and delivered for one hour each week." This would go into Section F of the Plan.

When you have done this for each one of the reports, go through the draft plan and make sure all the needs you have highlighted in the reports are in Section B and make a record of any that have been omitted.

Then make sure all the provision you have highlighted in the reports are in Section F and again make a record of any that have been omitted.

There should be provision for each need identified. If there are needs identified with no provision make a note of these too.

Give the LA a copy of your records of missing information and tell them that everything that has been missed out needs to be included in the final EHCP.

If any reports are vague or woolly and use phrases like "requires access to", "would benefit from," "regular," "high level of," tell the LA they are not acceptable and they need to go back to whoever wrote the reports and make them more specific, so that the EHCP can be amended with the specific information.

The SEND Code of Practice (COP) sets this out in 9.51 (P 157)and 9.69 (Pp 164 & 166) so quote these in your letter.

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/398815/SEND_Code_of_Practice_January_2015.pdf

That is actually quite strong evidence, there's no arguing its interpretation. I am surprised an LA EP included such a statement.

Ellie has given good advice on the wording of provision. Vague wording allows LAs and schools to wriggle out of providing provision and you have no way of enforcing it. If the reports specify 1:1 push the LA to provide it and go to tribunal if they've won't.

Thank you, I really appreciate your advice - it gives me the confidence to keep going and keep pushing for DD.

@vinoandbrie

No problem. I really wish that when we were going through all this crap with our LA, that I'd known then what I know now.

Have you got an update @vinoandbrie? Going through something similar at the moment...

Hi MrsDuBeke, I am still waiting to hear back from the Local Authority. I am hopeful I will hear back soon, and will update here on what they’ve changed / not changed. I’m really worried, and fear we’ll get into a stalemate where they refuse to make the changes, and I insist the changes need to be made.

What’s your situation, have you received a rather late / lacking draft EHCP as well?

Vino if the LA won't make the changes you want to the draft, rather than go back and forth, potentially for months, push for them to finalise and submit to tribunal.

We received the final EHCP yesterday and the council has now specified more money, and 1:1 provision for her to cover the entire school day. Very pleased and somewhat disbelieving that they have just rolled over!

They have also named the independent school she is currently attending in section I.

I think I’m in shock!

Huge thanks to those who have taken the time to provide advice and support on this thread.