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EHCP Mumsnet experts pls

20 replies

pandyandy1 · 26/05/2021 22:41

Hi

Today I was informed that my DD was awarded an EHCP. (This decision didn't come after the 12 weeks, no, rather 22 flipping weeks!)

I haven't yet seen the draft, but based on the fact the case worker said the panel agreed band 4 (our LA's lowest band,) I already know (that for my own DD) it's not going to be worth the paper it's written on!

DD 11 who is autistic, with severe anxiety (beginning meds soon) hasn't managed to attend her small, supportive and familiar village primary full time for 9 months (and I have had to leave my job as a result,) but the LA's banding indicates that she will be able to attend a large mainstream high school, with large class sizes because she will have 'access to' 16 hrs support. They are living in cloud cuckoo land - I genuinely won't even be able to get her through the door!

My question is...
Is it possible for a proposed band to be changed BEFORE final issue (ie if I don't agree with things in the draft? Or, is this likely to be tribunal?

Thanks

Will it be possible to

OP posts:
pandyandy1 · 26/05/2021 22:50

Will it be possible to hold her back from the local secondary on health grounds (we have a vast amount of professional documents relating to the severity of her anxiety) until the band is changed? (Like I say I'm damn near 100 percent sure I wouldn't be able to get her in anyway.)

*We are sure another mainstream high, but in their tiny Communication and Interaction hub, is the place for her.

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MagratGarlikInDisguise · 26/05/2021 23:47

Likely to be tribunal I think but likely that you'll win as you need to prove why going to the smaller bespoke setting has benefits over the other one. Write a statement. Look on ipsea for the case law that you need to quote. You can do it!

Ellie56 · 27/05/2021 00:43

The EHCP is supposed to fit your child not the LA banding. Angry

Assuming it has been done properly, The EHCNA is supposed to identify all of your child's needs and the provision required to meet each one of these needs. These should be in the reports from all the professionals consulted.

You should have been given copies of all the professional reports.Go through all of them with 2 highlighters. Highlight all of your child 's needs (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 SALT 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.

Give the LA a copy of your records of missing information and tell them that everything that has been missed out needs 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" "opportunities for" 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.

9.51 of the Code of Practice clearly says:
“The evidence and advice submitted by those providing it should be clear, accessible and specific. They should provide advice about outcomes relevant for the child or young person’s age and phase of education and strategies for their achievement.
The local authority may provide guidance about the structure and format of advice and information to be provided. Professionals should limit their advice to areas in which they have expertise. They may comment on the amount of provision they consider a child or young person requires and local authorities should not have blanket policies which prevent them from doing so.”

Once you have your EHCP which accurately describes needs and provision, you look for the school that can meet those needs.

The LA is legally responsible for funding all the provision in Section F, regardless of any banding.

Ellie56 · 27/05/2021 00:49

And if your child is unable to attend school at the moment, the LA has a legal duty to secure suitable, full-time alternative education for her under Section 19 of the Education Act 1996).

Information here:

www.ipsea.org.uk/getting-temporary-education-put-in-placegs

Ellie56 · 27/05/2021 00:57

Sorry forgot- when you get your draft plan you should be asked for your representations and to name your preferred school. Under Section 38(3) of the Children and Families Act (CAFA) 2014, you have the right to name:

  • A maintained school or nursery (mainstream or special)
  • An Academy (mainstream or special)
  • An institution in the Further Education sector
  • A non-maintained special school
  • A section 41 school.

The LA has to name your preferred school unless they can prove one of the following applies:

  • The setting is unsuitable for the age, ability, aptitude or special educational needs (“SEN”) of the child or young person; or
  • The attendance of the child or young person would be incompatible with the provision of efficient education for others; or
  • The attendance of the child or young person would be incompatible with the efficient use of resources.

www.ipsea.org.uk/choosing-a-schoolcollege-with-an-ehc-plan

pandyandy1 · 27/05/2021 06:56

Thank you very much for replies.

I will do just that. I will wait for the reports/draft and get the highlighters out!!!

This whole thing has been a circus so far. Well behind the statutory timeline; the caseworker has given me VERY little guidance on the process; I asked for an OT report and they initially said that I would have to sort that out myself; they asked for my Dd's diagnosis (days before panel) because (although included in the EHCAR) they didn't have it (and it included views from several professionals!!!;) had to submit to panel without a social care assessment (because social care are apparently so far behind;) Ed Psych couldn't observe (because with a backlog of other children to observe we would be even further delayed, therefore he assessed on verbal and paperwork evidence;) Ed Psych couldn't get hold of the lady who did a recent 6 week intervention with my DD; the caseworker is practically uncontactable (ie she avoids me.)

And that is just the EHCP process! Over the last 4 years we have been passed from pillar to post and back to the pillar again because the LA, CAMHS etc are running on skeleton staffs and therefore always off work on mental health grounds themselves. In the whole 9 months of part time attendance at primary - no attendance department have been in touch, which I would actually welcome.

I am absolutely on my knees and as my Dd's crutch (as she really only expressed her feelings to me, if she can) if I'm not functioning, she's not.

OP posts:
pandyandy1 · 27/05/2021 06:57

Sorry 'have not been in touch'

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ShakeaHettyFeather · 27/05/2021 07:46

Admissions don't work from the banding.
If your child has a EHCP, she must be admitted before any other child to a suitable school you apply for. At which point the school will argue effectively for increased funds.

Do you have a suitable school lined up, and what do they say?

Ds's first EHCP had zero funds attached. But it meant we could get him into the mainstream school we were outside catchment for, with the right attitude. By the time he started they had got funding. It's gone OK.

Get a meeting with the Senco at your primary and every secondary you are considering. Take it from there (and good luck!)

pandyandy1 · 27/05/2021 08:14

We would like out DD to go to the brand new Communication and Interaction hub inside a really small, pretty local (10 miles away) v supportive mainstream.

Gosh you guys know your stuff. Surely this is what the caseworker should be telling me +if she ever spoke to me!)

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pandyandy1 · 27/05/2021 08:19

The band 4 guidance from our LA states band 4 met in mainstream 'with access to specialist provisions'.
We want her IN there and potentially accessing some mainstream provisions. So the other way around.

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Ellie56 · 27/05/2021 09:16

The way the EHCNA has been carried out doesn't sound great to be honest.

Is there any way you can fund private assessments if you have to go to appeal?

Ellie56 · 27/05/2021 09:19

Yes I know stuff now.

If I had known then what I know now, I wouldn't have spent so long waiting for our LA to do the right thing (they were never going to do the right thing Angry)and our son wouldn't have spent a year out of education.

Toomanyminifigs · 27/05/2021 11:43

My DS has been accepted into an ASD resource unit attached to a mainstream secondary for September. His Plan came with the lowest funding/hours possible - so it can be done.

I don't know how it works in your local authority but with mine, all applications for a specialist setting go to a panel. You actually don't even need to have a Plan to be considered (you do need an ASD diagnosis) - it should be about the needs of the child and the evidence.

Unfortunately as others have suggested, it sounds like you (and your DD) have been badly let down and you may not have the reports/evidence you need at this stage.
As others have said, you'll need to go through the draft plan and explain why it's not fit for purpose. You will also get copies of all the reports that fed into the EHCP.

It might be worth trying to get a phone appointment with IPSEA - they are very busy so you'll need to try their website daily. SOS!SEN are good too. Both will offer you free advice.

It sounds like you're doing a great job in supporting and advocating for your DD. The system is very hard to navigate but there are some really helpful people on these boards who can offer great advice and support.

pandyandy1 · 27/05/2021 12:05

More helpful replies - thank you.

It is good to hear that a place at the SEND hub, attached to the mainstream, isn't unachievable, and bands can be changed if the placement is supported and more funding requested.) I've emailed the SENCO at said school (and though I haven't heard back yet) I have hope that she will be supportive, as she seemed very passionate on our previous meetings.

I contacted SENDIASS this morning (our county version of IPSEA) and as well as the same advice (highlight the crap out of the assessments, and every flaw/omission of evidence, in the draft) and I'm just chomping at the bit to get it now!

SENDIASS also advise a formal complaint for all of the failures so far.

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Ellie56 · 27/05/2021 12:54

So to ensure she gets the provision in the Hub you need to be sure that the Hub is specified in Section F of the plan as the placement in Section I will just name the mainstream school.

Do you have any reports saying this is what she needs?

Information here:

www.ipsea.org.uk/News/asking-an-la-to-name-a-unit-or-resource-base-in-a-childs-ehc-plan

pandyandy1 · 27/05/2021 14:35

Thanks for the link.👍

I haven't seen the assessment reports yet, but head teacher, SENCO and class teacher all told me that is what they expressed to the Ed Psych. Even the Ed Psych said that the hub sounds like the right provision when we had our phone call.
Let's hope this is in written form though.

I wish the caseworker had never mentioned bloody bands. It has pepped me up to know that ShakeaHettyFeather and Toonanyminifigs said that admissions don't necessarily work from banding.

I will keep you all posted when I receive the draft.

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10brokengreenbottles · 27/05/2021 14:44

The LA are never going to inform you 100% correctly, if they did they would have to spend more money! For example, they aren't going to tell you you could have begun Judicial Review proceedings for failing to stick to the deadlines.

Forget about funding, it isn't your concern. Focus on getting section F specific and quantified with all the provision needed, then you can enforce the provision if necessary. If the school need more funding they should approach the LA.

Be careful with SENDIAS, some are brilliant, but not all, and they receive LA funding so will ultimately toe the party line. IPSEA and SOSSEN are better.

pandyandy1 · 27/05/2021 16:46

Good to know about SENDIAS! 👍

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Toomanyminifigs · 27/05/2021 17:03

When my DS's Plan was issued, I was also concerned about the whole funding/banding thing. I was told by IPSEA, his school and some others knowledgeable about this kind of thing that actually, the funding of a Plan isn't the concern of the parent/carer.

It doesn't matter to you/your DD how much money is or isn't attached to the Plan. What DOES matter is how the Plan (Section F especially) is written. This is the part that is legally enforceable.

A Plan needs to say things like 'DD requires an hour of SALT every week, delivered by a SALT therapist or someone qualified/trained in xxxx'. It's then up to the setting named in the Plan to deliver it. If the funding isn't enough then it's their job to argue about that with the LEA. That's why Section F is so important.

I knew of one parent who's child's Plan said 'DS should have access to SALT therapy'. The child didn't see a speech therapist for 5 years!

Ellie56 · 28/05/2021 00:25

@pandyandy1

I'd be complaining about the delay in issuing the draft plan. They should have issued it weeks ago. They are in breach of their legal duty not only in failing to issue the draft on time, but also the final EHC Plan.

While you're being kept in limbo, your right of appeal is being frustrated. I heard today that parents are getting appeal dates in October now. If you end up having to appeal, you'll be getting a hearing date next year at this rate.

Write to the Director of Children's Services in your LA and complain. Model letter here:

www.ipsea.org.uk/complaining-when-a-local-authority-does-not-send-a-draft-or-final-education-health-and-care-plan-on-time-model-letter-10

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