Delay entry to reception

[Authenticity2020]

I have a 3.5 year old, waiting to be referred for an assessment for autism. Started nursery in Sept, school advise delaying his start to reception by a year due to delays.

thoughts on this? Has anyone done it? Considering it? Thanks x

Yes I did. With the benefit of hindsight I’m not sure it was the right thing for the following reasons.

His birthday is July but looking back (he is 7 now) developmentally he was no different when he started school after deferring the year to if he had started the year before. He started in MS. I know some people say oh, there were huge development changes in that deferred year which made him more ready for school but for DS there wasn’t.

He struggled through MS for 2 years so reception and year 1 and we then moved him last Sep to a SS. To my mind he’s therefore year 2, but this SS (and others I understand, plus some MS if he stays in MS at secondary level) immediately put them in chronological year group. So he’s behind anyway but suddenly he’s ‘lost’ a whole year! Others had told me this could happen and it has for us which is very frustrating.

looking back he’s gained nothing from the deferral. He may as well have been placed in the right school environment as soon as he was eligible.

I wouldn’t defer for the development reason Carrie posted. The gap is still likely to be present even compared to the deferred year, and may well widen. Instead I would go for ensuring there is as much support in place as possible, so I would apply for an EHCP now.

Carrie you can get being educated outside of the chronological year group written in to the EHCP. It’s worth looking at. Don’t forget EHCPs can go until 25 or 26 in some cases.

@JustKeepBuilding we don’t have a diagnosis. Can we realistically still get an EHCP? I was under the impression they were challenging to get and that we would need a diagnosis

Theoretically you don’t need a diagnosis but it does make things easier. What professional input have you had so far? Do you have any paperwork detailing any issues & delays?

The actual bar for requesting an assessment is very low, that the child has, or may have, SEN. But most LA’s refuse to assess as a matter of course and you need to appeal.

Sorry, I mean an EHC needs assessment, not for ASD.

If needs are such that DS has already been referred for an ASD assessment and school are telling you to defer, I suspect needs are such that it is worth applying for an EHCNA. Obviously that’s based on the brief information in your OP and may not be the actual case, but a diagnosis isn’t necessary, they are based on needs.

You may have to appeal, although that may still be the case even with a diagnosis, but the vast majority of appeals are upheld. The only thing you need to prove initially is DC a) has or may have SEN, and b) may need SEN provision to be made via an EHCP.

Just keep building… oh I didn’t know that re age groups. I wonder if they would write it in retrospectively? I mean if they are now saying he’s year 3, do you think he’s any chance of getting that changed if it’s then at next review (sadly we have just had one) asked/ agreed to include?

Open, I have to say I’m surprised when I read about how hard it is to get an EHCP, hope it’s not because DS is so terrible but it was incredibly easy for us. So DS at 3 was non verbal, no communication method, smiley, happy sociable but poor interaction skills, not toilet trained, no interest in toys. No behavioural issues at all beyond being rather hyperactive in nursery but to be fair at 3 I think he was still in his v lethargic stage pre hyperactivity stage.No diagnosis of anything beyond Development delay. Nursery said with that presentation there was zero chance he would NOT get an EHCP. And he did with absolutely no issues.

carrie we had no issues getting one either, though we did have an ASD diagnosis at that point. I have been around here long enough to know that many people do struggle though. Many kids at ds’ school have only got an EHCP the year before they started.

An ECHP isn’t about behavioural issues though, it’s about support that the child needs in school over and above a typical child. In that respect your ds ticked a number of boxes.

Carrie you say you’ve just had an AR, have you heard whether the LA are going to amend and if they are the draft and then the final version? If you haven’t you could still request it be amended this time round.

If you already have the final or the LA aren’t going to amend you could try next time, nothing to lose.

I think whether an EHCP is issued without a fight is due to a mixture of factors, including the obviousness of the SEN (e.g. those who mask often find it harder), parental ability to know the law and enforce it, and LAs now forcing more to appeal than in years gone by (why would they not when it saves them money and there’s no punishment) mixed with a dose of luck depending on whose desk it lands on.

My 2 DC with EHCPs were issued relatively easily. I think that’s because DS1 was in a CAMHS day unit already receiving much of the provision in his EOTAS package. The biggest argument for his was who was funding physio at the tripartite panel. Then DS3 because they knew we as parents knew the law and would enforce DS3’s rights and fight them all the way and he was already receiving 1:1 and some interventions via high needs top up funding. Plus they have had their EHCPs years when less were forced to appeal.

Just keep building re timelines the AR was mid Dec. School amended the EHCP and pushed for us to approve before Xmas which was fine, there was nothing controversial in the amends so we approved, pretty much day before schools broke up. Have heard nothing since. I could ask I guess tho I’m conscious this SS places no real emphasis on year groups, they just teach as ability dictates. Is DS3 in MS or SS? Im sorry if you have said before, your DS1 is in my head at the moment from our conversations but not DS3!!

Carrie in that case you can still pursue an amendment to include being educated outside of DS’s chronological year group. It is the LA that amend the EHCP. If by 4 weeks the LA don’t either tell you they aren’t going to amend or they are going to amend and send the draft email the Director of Children’s Services. Once you have the draft you can then request being placed out of chronological age is added.

DS3 is in a lovely supportive MS with a personalised timetable and a huge amount of provision, which many say isn’t possible in MS.

That’s great JustKeepBuilding. It was the non verbal/ no communication and to a lesser extent toileting that I think was the killer blow for MS. And just not following their instructions. Maybe things beyond those challenges are better suited to MS. Plus the school and Head themselves plays a big role. DS Head firmly believed SEN above a certain level meant SS was categorically best and he was very open in saying so.

The school and head (or maybe more the SENCO in secondary - I jokingly told the one at DS3’s school they aren’t allowed to leave until DS2 (supposedly NT but has a medical condition he is known to the SENCO for) and DS3 leave!) play a significant role. DS3 wouldn’t cope in MS if it wasn’t for them being very supportive and an excellent EHCP.

Defer AND get an EHCP

OP there are pros and cons to deferring. I honestly think all you can do is research it and make the best decision you can at the time with the information you have. You will likely only know what the right decision was in hindsight.