EHCP - Anything more I can do?

[UpsideDown12]

Good afternoon,

I applied for an EHCP for my son in January 2024 (application accepted on 20th February 2024). The decision to assess was communicated precisely at the 6-week mark, and there was plenty of correspondence with his nursery and us in early April.

Since then, I’ve heard nothing despite sending countless emails to the SEN team requesting updates (their phone lines are never answered). The 16-week deadline passed on 10th June 2024, and I’ve now emailed the Director of Children’s Services, indicating that I will pursue a judicial review if I don't receive an update by this Friday.

Is there anything more I should be doing in this situation? My son is 4 and starts school this September. I don't want him to miss out on the additional support he desperately needs.

Of course, if I hear nothing, I shall be contacting SOS!SEN regarding a letter before action.

Thank you for any advice you can offer.

If DS is attending nursery, you could ask them if they will also chase the LA.

Emailing the DCS, threatening JR and should those fail looking at a pre-action letter are the right things to do. If you need a pre-action letter, if funds allow or you are eligible for legal aid, you may want to look elsewhere because SOSSEN has a wait.

Thank you for the advice. Unfortunately, we're not eligible for legal aid, but we might be able to fund it out of pocket if necessary. We'll definitely consider looking elsewhere if it comes to needing a pre-action letter, especially given SOS!SEN's wait times.

The staff at his nursery setting, who are amazing folks, don't seem to like pushing the LA. They've told me to be patient, explaining that the LA has more cases than usual. While I understand this, I also believe my son shouldn't suffer as a result.

I received responses from both the Director and the SEN Manager. They informed me that a plan will be issued (good news), apologised for being outside their legal obligations, and assured me that a draft would be sent, though they didn't specify when.

I originally gave them until Friday to receive the draft copy of the plan and I intend to hold them to this date.

Glad you have at least been acknowledged. I would reply asking when a draft will be issued since they are already in breach of the timescales.

Well, it looks like the LA is either reading my thread here or they’ve finally pulled their finger out. I received confirmation that the draft plan has been created, and that part of the plan involves naming the setting we believe would provide the best care and support.

I understand this forms part of the draft plan, so I hope to receive a copy tomorrow.

So did they assess him or have I missed that in your posts? Did you meet with an Ed psych, see their report and input into the plan at all?

@openupmyeagereyes makes a good point. When you said the LA were issuing an EHCP, I assumed the plenty of correspondence you mentioned included all the necessary advice and information. I shouldn’t have assumed.

We were able to persuade the Educational Psychologist to assess our son before we officially requested an EHCP. Although the assessment didn't happen until after the 6-week mark, we now have the report. It confirms the EP's suspicion of ASD, but the recommendations in the report are somewhat vague and lack specific, actionable suggestions (SMART goals).

We have provided input, including our goals and ambitions for our son. I've not yet seen the draft plan.

You should go back to the EP and ask them to make the reports detailed, specified and quantified. Provision in EHCPs is taken from the evidence. A vague and woolly report will mean the provision in the EHCP isn’t worth the paper it is written on. Did you request the LA seek advice and information from anyone else such as SALT and OT?

Maybe I'm being too harsh on the EP. The report recommendations are below - though I still don't see how they can be measured. SaLT has also contributed towards the EHCP, though it's much of the same recommendations as the EP.

**
Recommendations
To help prevent any possible discomfort T*' current developmental differences may cause, and to promote best outcomes for him in life and education, the following recommendations have been suggested:

Sensory Profile

• The development of a sensory profile could be explored to better understand T**' sensory seeking and sensory avoidant behaviours. This may help to make him feel more at ease, better enabling him to be open to other interventions.

Social Communication and Interaction

• Mediating interactions with other young people during shared activities can help provide T** opportunities for social success with his peers, developing relationships, confidence and social skills.
• T*' play and own interests should be seen as a valuable way of teaching him an array of new developmental skills, particularly language skills, abstract concepts (such as size, shape, colours etc.), physical skills and social skills. These will need to be done by following T*' lead, copying his play, using lots of associated language, and eventually demonstrating play skills that extend his observed play skills. This should include the following:

- Deliberately introducing T** to play activities that he is not drawn towards when in free play. - Presenting T** with fixed choices, using PECs, symbols, or other suitable methods. - Continuing to use hand-over-hand modelling with T** as appropriate. - Narrating T**' play skills, so that he begins to link language to his direct experiences. - Wherever possible introducing ‘school readiness’ concepts such as colour, size, shape, via the use of matching / sorting games alongside pointing out these features when T** is playing.

• T** needs a high level of kinaesthetic and visual learning experiences. He will need adult support throughout the session from a consistent adult who can utilise his learning style and preferred motivators to enable him to access learning opportunities.
• Considering that T** is pre-verbal, staff could promote language development in him by using simple words associated with his repetitive actions and the objects used during his play, for example, “pick up the block”, “the block fell”, “you did it!” Modelling language can also be done outside of play, for example, “good waving”, “uh oh!”, “yum!” For more information, see Supporting children's early communication skills - Speech and Language UK: Changing young lives.
• Staff should discover T*’ interests and motivators and use these to encourage communication. For example, using approaches at least once a day intervention from Intensive Interaction (which staff informed the EPS they currently implement) to develop T*’ joint attention (e.g., allowing T* to lead in play-based activities, with the adult responding to T*’ actions by imitation, joining-in, or mirroring; using facial expression or body language; using bursts of speech; or providing a running commentary of what T** is doing). Intensive Interaction training for parents and/ or staff may be beneficial.
• T** will need a total communication approach, with use of pictures, objects of reference, symbols, and Makaton if appropriate.
• Adults working with T** should engage with him in tasks of his choosing and initially follow his lead and gradually introduce adult led actions. He should be positively reinforced for engagement with the adult through use of his interests and motivators.
• T** will need to start to develop his understanding of basic emotions (happy, sad, angry) using adults modelling and visual props such as photos, puppets, and Communicate in Print symbols. This could start by using mirrors to explore his own face.

Unfortunately, that is quite vague and woolly. Go back to the EP and ask them to include all needs and corresponding provision and outcomes for each need. Ask them to make it detailed, specified and quantified amending the vague and woolly wording they have used such as ‘could be’, ‘could promote’, ‘should be’, ‘should include’, ‘such as’, ‘opportunities for’, ‘may’, ‘can help’, ‘for example’, ‘adults’ ‘adult support’, ‘high level’… (not a complete list of the parts that are not detailed, specified and quantified). It needs to be watertight - who, what, when, where, how, how long, how regularly, training/qualifications/experience…

Just a follow-up: I've reached out to the EP to request an addendum.

Despite being informed that the draft report is ready, I'm currently awaiting its delivery as it appears the case worker is on annual leave.

If you mean the draft EHCP is ready, someone else at the LA can send it even if your caseworker of on A/L so chase them. It's another delaying tactic.

I've certainly made that point clear to them already - I'm expecting it to come through at 16:55 today.

@BrumToTheRescue would you kindly share th link to the other ehcp thread you normally post on. I have posted on it before under mummytodo but lost my login details and now can't find the thread. Thank you please :)

@Mummytodw you commented on the most recent thread and I replied to you under another name.

Ooh thank you ahahaha