EHCP - I sure DC (age 6) doesn’t get allocated support

[Thirdwhirl]

And I feel like complaining is futile.

DC is allocated 29 hours per week.

He is very quiet, compliant and reserved - he is easily overlooked.

I have a home/school communication book where - all term - it’s recorded that DC has eaten well.

Last week I was told he hasn’t been eating : and it felt like he generally doesn’t eat.

He is supposed to get 25 minutes daily 1:1 support eating in the lunch hall.

I’m sure this doesn’t happen. It sounds like the recoding of his food intake has been incorrect all term : and now someone has picked up that he isn’t actually eating.

I don’t know how this could have happened with 25 minutes 1:1 support daily?

Yesterday DC did a show. No adult interacted with him at any point during the show.

DC has a friend who was prompting him.

DC was fine, did really well. A reactionary assessment could be ‘DC wasn’t really engaged” - however with aduly support he would have been more engaged. DC’s friend did a marvellous job of promoting him, but that’s not really DC’s friends job to do that.

I’m sure that his 29 hours funding is taken and then spent elsewhere.

Do I leave it - or do I fight?

If it was me I’d make it very hard for them not to put the effort in by making it harder to hide the lapse. So I’d start by requesting a detailed list of everything consumed. Create a tick chart of the school dinner or your lunch box and ask for his 1:1 to mark off if he has tried, eaten 1-2 mouthfuls, eaten half, eaten all of each item. Ask also for a smile/neutral/sad face to record his mood and put a space for comments so additional upsets/distractions can be recorded (eg had a cold, or very noisy in hall today). I would then take that week or twos data and look closely at what he’s actually eating and what can be done to optimise.
i would position his as a response to then highlighting he’s not eating and as a precursor to asking for additional support if necessary. In my experience all people work harder and better for our children when working towards something and the exhausting job of keeping everyone focused and purposeful is ongoing. Say to yourself “I am going to be part of the team to make this really work for my dc”.

When ds starts eating more and things improve highlight what an amazing job that member of staff has done. It is extraordinary how little recognition of the effort put in people get as TAs and really hard for them to keep going striving for excellence. In my experience you can support real change. Be aware your input will be invisible. The reward is effective support.

@Ohthatsabitshit

Thats a very, very good idea and a wonderful response.

The TA has recorded smiley face every day for his eating : and it’s not her fault that this is perhaps - incorrect. I don’t want her to be blamed. It’s miscommunication that’s at fault.

It is about being positive, proactive and working together with the school.

I’m not even sure it’s that much of an issue, because he eats well at home!

It’s all the little tweaks that can really help you ds get the best out of school. A little more food at lunch might mean a teeny bit more concentration in the afternoon. Every tiny bit builds to a whole. Totally exhausting for the mum so build in help for yourself in the same way. It wouldn’t hurt to make sure you are getting a good lunch too.

@Ohthatsabitshit

Oh my goodness - do you know me??

That’s exactly how it is! I actually emailed the school this morning and was going to use the word ‘tweak’ so it didn’t sound like a complaint!

No, I didn’t eat til 5pm yesterday - and that was a sandwich in the car! I will eat today!

Thank you, there are some wonderful, astoundingly knowledgeable and empathetic gems on Mumsnet - you are definitely one of them!

Look at the wording in the EHCP.

Is the wording in F detailed, specified and quantified or is it vague and woolly? Because the former has to be provided and can be enforced, but the latter does not have to be provided and cannot be enforced. Focus on the wording rather than the funding. 'Allocated 29 hours per week' doesn’t say what will be provided. 29 hours of what? What support? Who by? Doing what? When? And depending on the exact wording, '25 minutes daily 1:1 support eating in the lunch hall' may also be too vague. What support? Who by (TA, midday supervisor, receptionist, estate team…)?

If the wording is detailed, specified and quantified, remind the school the EHCP is a legal document and the support must be provided. Also, email the LA because they are ultimately responsible for ensuring the provision is provided. Then, if the situation continues, again remind the school the EHCP is a legal document, the support must be provided, you have tried to rectify the situation previously and should the situation continue, you will be forced to pursue legal action. Alongside this, email the Director of Children’s Services again. This time threatening judicial review if they persist in breaching section 42 of the Children and Families Act 2014. Then, if it continues, post back on MN for the next steps.

If the wording is too vague and woolly to be enforced, request an early review in order to try to tighten the wording up. On their website, IPSEA has a model letter you can use.

@BrightYellowTrain

So I did fight this week. Firstly about DC’s lunch support/show. Apparently a staff member was off sick which was why a staff member wasn’t supporting DC, but then apparently was for the next show. However I think the support was provided as a result of my complaint. There were plenty of staff members around, even in the same row but they didn’t interact with DC at all.

Then what blew my top on Friday was he came home with two reading books. He has had one of the books 6 times now, and he first got it in June (6 months ago). He is allocated 10 minutes 1:1 reading support daily, but his reading record is rarely written in (maybe 5 quick comments all term). He has also only had his library book changed once this term. Even without additional support, I think that’s pretty poor. I questioned why he hasn’t made progress since June, this is due to his understanding. Thing is he does understand, but he can’t vocalise. He can write the answer but now say it.

I then asked about the 10 minutes reading support and the teacher wasn’t aware he was allocated that. She also had not seen the provision map that details how much support, when and who with. I emailed it to her. It also states on their weekly provision and funding for a Therapy Dog. I asked, and the dog hasn’t been in all term.

This isn’t great is it?? Emailing SENCO is my next step. But I will follow your advice for where to go after that. Thank you!!!!

If the provision is detailed, specified and quantified in F, it should be being provided even if the usual person is off.

However, you really need to read section F of the EHCP. Obviously I haven’t seen the exact wording but 10 minutes 1:1 reading support daily is vague. What support? Who by? (It needs to be in F, not just on the separate provision map.) Where? When? It doesn’t quite say what I think you think it does. It doesn’t mean the person has to listen to DS read 1:1 and write in his reading record. The 10 mins 1:1 reading support could be met by 10 mins reading support in class during the normal class English lesson/work.

Ask for a copy of the timetable showing the times when the LSA is working with him, and send a questionnaire based on section F asking the LA to say exactly when and how they give all the support detailed in that.

@BrightYellowTrain

I know that’s what they’ll say. But then if DC is still getting the same reading books that he got 6 months ago and the same book 6 times, I would think it would have been noted that there is an issue here and allocated the support accordingly. Similarly, DC loves the library but has only been once this term.

Also the teacher was unaware that the provision map exists and didn’t know about the time and funding allocation for a Therapy Dog, 1:1 reading support.
DC gets 29 hours, so that’s pretty much 6 hours a day 9am til 3pm.
My hunch is that the money is taken and not used for DC.

In fact, I spoke to someone who told me about a child who hadn’t been attending school for a long time, but the school were still taking the money allocated for the child’s EHCP.

The funding should go directly to benefit the child. Surely?

DC not being able to attend school but the school continuing to get funding isn’t uncommon. Under section 19 of The Education Act 1996, ultimately the duty to provide education for CSA pupils unable to attend school lies with the LA, not the school. It is also a completely different scenario to what you are discussing.

As I said, you need to look at the exact wording in section F because 29 hours of support and 10 mins 1:1 reading support without further detail, specification and quantification are too vague. They don’t mean what I think you think they do. The wording in F needs to be detailed, specified and quantified. If it is vague and woolly, it isn’t worth the paper it is written on because it doesn’t have to be provided and can’t be enforced.

Focus on the provision in F, not the funding. The provision has to be provided and can be enforced.

Visiting the library once a term is normal in some classes.

Thanks @BrightYellowTrain I will take note of that.

The library is such a valuable resource, lovely seating and great books. The school has clearly put a lot of effort into this area.

That’s such a shame if it’s only used once a term. I used to teach many years ago. I didn’t have a TA, but we visited the library as a class once a week. This was manageable. I wonder what has happened in education to make a once a term visit the norm.

Schools have changed significantly over recent years. Less funding, more pressure, more SEN, more DC with more significant SEN in MS who would have previously been in SS, higher absence rate and persistent absences, more DC with other needs (e.g. EAL, poverty)…