I’m at a Loss with EHCP

[Willowmum2]

I think this post might just be to vent, because I’m sure many are going through similar. But we applied for dd (diagnosed ASD with speech delay) EHCP in May 2022. They said yes straight away they would assess but we didn’t get a draft until November 2022. We didn’t agree with the draft and we wrote a long letter of why and what we wanted included. The LA acknowledged letter but went ahead and finalised anyway without amending the draft. They said this is because they needed to tell the school we’d named on the EHCP. They sent a one sentence email to me as to why they couldn’t fulfil the amendments we had asked for, ignoring most of what we had said she needs.
I have contacted a legal advocate who suggested we go for mediation. I have now been told if we end up going to tribunal, the hearing won’t be for another year. Dd due to start primary school in September 2023 and I feel will be unable to cope in a mainstream school without the appropriate support in place.
I feel at a complete loss, I keep crying all the time and I just don’t see how she can start school in September.

Don’t bother with mediation. Just get the certificate and submit to SENDIST. LAs use mediation as a delaying tactic, if they are going to concede they will do so regardless of whether you actively partake in mediation or just get the certificate and submit to SENDIST.

Provision in EHCPs is taken from the reports, what are they like? You need evidence rather than just saying what you think DD needs.

In future if the LA breach statutory timescales you can enforce them, via judicial review if necessary.

Thanks @FloatingBean Yes lawyer said to get the certificate and not bother with the meeting so I think I’ve got my terms mixed up.
I think the evidence is good - we’ve had reports from nursery, health visitor, private SLT’s x2 (private because she’s never seen an NHS SLT) special advisory teacher from the council all agree on the support she needs at school - all have written reports to support this. We currently pay a 121 to go into nursery part time and there’s a report stating what she is able to do with the 121 present and compared to without the 121 in all the areas of education.
Ed psych from the council is the only one who didn’t mention 121 support.
I threatened the LA with legal action on the timescales and they literally don’t care, they don’t take it seriously at all. I formally complained and got an email saying sorry but that’s it, it’s not changed anything.

You can enforce the timescales via judicial review. Sometimes the threat of JR to the Director of Children’s Services works. If it doesn’t most of the time a pre-action letter does (SOSSEN are reasonably priced). Very few actually get to a hearing.

If the evidence is detailed, specified and quantified rather than woolly and vague with wording such as “access to”, “would benefit from”, “regular”, “or equivalent”, “opportunities for” you should have a good chance.

Think about whether you need independent assessments for Tribunal, particularly OT as you don’t mention that and EP if the LA’s wasn’t good. How old are the independent SALT reports? Are they recent enough to be considered up to date?

Thanks again @FloatingBean I’m not sure how quantifiable the evidence is. I’ll go back and reread. We are trying to get 121 support and I think the reports are very specific about that.
I’ve never been able to get even an NHS OT referral and having paid for so much else, we didn’t get a private OT report. I would definitely consider doing this if it’s needed, I just can’t believe how much it’s all costing.

The reports were completely up to date when we applied in May last year so now they are going to be a year old.

Unless the provision is quantified it is too vague.

Did you request an OT assessment as part of the EHCNA?

Unfortunately, by the time you get to a hearing the SALT reports may well be considered out of date. In the past reports were considered up to date for around 2 years, but over the last few years SENDIST have considered reports much younger out of date.

If you need further independent assessments but can’t afford them Parents in Need can sometimes help. Check whether you are eligible for legal aid too.