EHCNA request / SEND support plan advice

[EdPops]

My DS's nursery SENDCo is in the process of completing an EHCNA request form. DS is almost 4 and starts reception in September. Arriving at this point was quite a protracted process (a potential for SEN support was first acknowledged by the nursery in November 2022) and i'm fairly certain the steps taken by the nursery weren't in line with whatever protocols are in place when SEN support is a potential requirement in an early years setting.

I had a meeting with the SENDCo yesterday to go over what forms she had (finally) completed and along with a SENIF form she produced an Early Years Send Support Plan that had just be written yesterday to act as a supporting document to go along with the EHCNA request form.

The support plan loosely covers the following 3 areas:

1. DS Profile (Overall observations, his likes, his needs, his family history, home life and friends, aspirations, goals etc.)
2. Staff Support Plan (What staff will do to support Edison, activities they'll carry out etc.)
3. Parent reviews and signatures

We have never seen this plan before, in fact the SENDCo admitted it only existed yesterday when she wrote it up to go along with the EHCNA request form.

Surely this plan should have been in place from as early as November 2022 when we were first made aware of the potential for SEND support, and our involvement in the plan (approval, reviews etc.) required?

I mean i have to sign it now so the EHCNA application can be sent right, but it then looks like we've be on board with this plan which of course we haven't as it never existed.

Advice?

There should have been some form of assess, plan, do, review document when it was acknowledged DS required SEN Support. Although the document many not be called an Early Years Send Support Plan. You should have been involved, but your approval/consent and signature isn’t required.

No such assess, plan, do, review document existed as far as myself and OH are aware, just this hastily drawn up plan that's written as if it's been something the nursery have been following for months but has only existed since yesterday,

Are there official steps nursery's are obliged to take in a situation like this that ours may not have followed? Or is it just loose guidance given that nursery's can follow as they see fit?

I feel our nursery SENDCo has handled the whole process poorly, I'd like to raise it with them but I'm not sure where I stand really in terms of any official protocols or legal structures existing that should have been followed?

I've tried calling IPSEA a number of times but can never get through.

Have a read of the IPSEA’s website and SENCOP. The school should have a SEN plan (whatever they call it) and they must make their best endeavours to meet a pupil’s SEN.

It is good they are supporting an EHCNA request, many don’t.

Given how late they've left it though and the fact my DS will finish nursery at the end of July it's probably unlikely that any assessment will take place within the next 6 weeks within his current nursery setting right?

If the EHCNA request hasn’t gone in yet any assessments won’t be before the end of July. Many nurseries wouldn’t have started the ball rolling with doing the paperwork, they would have left it for you/the primary school to do. If the LA agree to assess the LA will still request information and advice from the nursery.

The nursery may have been giving the type of support that's written on the suddenly-appeared plan even though they never wrote it down before doing the EHCNA. Does that make sense?

You're right that it's not correct procedure, but if you're only finding out at this late stage then I would worry that if you object to it then it could be something the LA use against your case to agree to conduct a NA.

Nurseries don't like doing applications for NAs, it's a lot of work and admin. So presumably they must recognise that your child really does need one.

What I would say is ask the nursery SenCo to copy you into the email submitting the application to the LA. This way you can be sure the application has been submitted (horror stories around where parents have been told the nursery submitted the application but never did).

Yes makes sense thanks. It just annoys me that there's clearly a page within the plan that has a chart on it for parents to sign each time the plan is reviewed and updated, but of course the chart is empty as we were never told about the plan or included in any reviews as I've come to understand other parents at other nurseries have been.

Anyway I've told the SENDCo to go ahead and submit the application now along with the 'plan' rather than hold things up any further,

With regards to being copied in as it's sent, the SENDCo told me it was an online form rather than an email application so I'm not sure there's the option to be cc'd. Apparently.