Welcome to the world of EHCP's

On Wednesday 1st March we found out which secondary school Noah will be going to in September 2023 (#notready, #toosoon). It was our preferred school and the one nearest to us. Filling in the application form for this school was very simple and it got me thinking about how easy the schooling process has been for Noah.

January 2016 - Apply for a place at our local infant school. Application received. Allocated a place.

January 2019 - Apply for a place at our local junior school. Application received. Allocated a place.

Simple!

Over the last few months we have also had to apply for a school place for Asher to attend as he is due to start school in September. Has this been a simple process? No!

I'm really hoping that this blog will give you a bit of an insight into the process and the kind of questions we have to work through when it comes to applying for a school on behalf of a child with additional needs.

What is an EHCP?

Ever since we received Asher's diagnosis and the fact that he is still non verbal at the age of four, we knew at some point we would need to and most likely be encouraged to apply for an EHCP. So what exactly is an EHCP?

An EHCP (Education Health and Care Plan) is a legal document which describes a child or young person's special educational needs, the support they will need and the outcomes the parents/young person would like to achieve. Having an EHCP can allow for extra funding for the child, more additional support and open up more choices with regards to different school settings. 

Has this been a simple process? No!

What we have learnt with Micah and now with Asher is that you don't just get given an EHCP because your child has additional needs. First you need to apply to have your child assessed to see if they are eligible for one in the first place.

This process right from when a assessment is requested to when an EHCP is agreed and finalised takes up to 20 weeks.

A big part of the EHCP process is gathering information (evidence) from us as parents and all the professionals involved, outlining your child's additional needs. This will cover areas like speech and communication, cognition, social interaction, emotional, physical and sensory needs. The professionals involved can vary but for Micah and Asher we have had Preschool key workers, the school SENCO, a paediatrician, an epilepsy nurse, speech therapists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, and educational psychologists.

Early Help Assessment and TAC meetings

For us, in our situation before we even began the 20 week EHCP process we had already given our consent for Preschool to undertake an Early Help Assessment. This basically means the setting have identified your child as having additional needs and they want to initiate a plan which aims to record, monitor and evaluate the provision, intervention and your child's progress. This is normally done by having regular TAC (Team Around the Child) meetings which include the parents and any professionals who see your child on a regular basis. 

So... Our child has already needed an Early Help Assessment, regular TAC meetings where evidence collecting begins, an EHCP assessment which includes more evidence collecting and form filling and alongside this you have to choose a school.

Simple? No!

Choosing a school

Unlike with choosing a school for Noah, it's just not as straightforward as applying to the local school. Having a child with additional needs, there are so many more questions that need to be considered explored, and ultimately answered.

Local mainstream school?

• Can our child cope, and even more so thrive, within a mainstream environment?
• Can our child understand and access the curriculum?
• Does the school have the funding to be able to support our child?
• Does the school have enough staff to support our child?
• Does the school have the right staff, staff who have the training, knowledge and expertise to support our child?
• Does the school have enough physical space and resources to support our child?
• Can the school be flexible and adaptable to support our child?
• Do we want mainstream just because it's the 'normal' thing to do?
• Do we want mainstream so that Asher can be surrounded and immersed by Neurotypical children so that he can copy and learn how they talk, how they play etc.

SRP (Specialist Resourced Provision) within a Mainstream school?

In our town we have around seven SRPs, with each having a different need that they focus on. One out of those seven specialises in speech and communication.

• Does our child meet the criteria to have a place in an SRP?
• Do they have a space for our child?

It is increasingly common from the SRP's we have visited that they have a small class of maybe 10 children. Spaces are very few so they are full but the need is high so the waiting lists are long.

If this is the route for Asher, how do we find a place which suits his needs yet has such limited availability?

Specialist School Setting?

There are four specialist school settings where we live, each again focus in on a particular need:

• Specialist school #1: Child must have an autism diagnosis. No, Asher does meet the criteria.
• Specialist school #2: Child must have social, emotional and mental health difficulties. No, Asher does meet the criteria.
• Specialist school #3: Child must have severe or profound and multiple learning difficulties. No, Asher does meet the criteria.
• Specialist School #4: Child must have severe to moderate learning difficulties with other complex needs. Yes, Asher meets the criteria.

So out of the four specialist schools, only one would be potentially suitable for Asher. But do we even want him in this setting and again does this setting even have space?

EHCP Process continues...

Another part of the EHCP process involves all the information and evidence about your child getting sent to a number of different schools (some might be your preferred schools, some might be ones you have not wanted to consider). At this point the schools decide yes or no as to whether they feel they can meet your child's needs?

So even if we decide on a setting, will that setting feel that they can support Asher's needs?

Where are we in the process?

We are at the end of a very long and tiring 20 weeks. A school has said they can meet Asher's needs, and this school has been named officially on Asher's EHCP. But conversations are still on going and probably will be until May/June time to work out how exactly this provision will look due to Asher's 'complex needs'. 

The reality of an EHCP.

EHCPs. Are they good? An EHCP done really well can allow for there to be a real clarity of the child's needs which in theory would result in the correct support being provided in the correct setting.

But to be honest, and this is our second time doing this, it's a really hard process.

• Accepting your child even needs an EHCP in the first place is hard.
• In all of the meetings you attend, you are met with professionals talking about all the things your child can't do.
• All the evidence collected and reports written are all stating things your child can't do.
• You are trying to set short-term and long-term goals for your child which you as a parent don't even know are achievable or realistic.
• Professionals are not allowed to suggest or advise their opinion on suitable school settings.
• Ultimately the decision as to whether your child gets an EHCP or not is made by a panel of people that have never met your child.
• The school you think is right for your child might turn around and say they can't meet their needs.
• The schools that are more specialist are struggling with being at/over capacity.
  
• The schools are struggling because they don't have enough staff and therefore wouldn't be able to meet your child's needs.
• Schools are under pressure and sometimes you can feel like they are all trying to avoid having your child and this results in signposting you to other schools that maybe wouldn't be suitable.
  
• The support that is available to help you apply and complete an EHCP is seriously lacking and without this support EHCP'S can end up being quite vague and non specific meaning your child's needs might not be fully understood, resulting in your child not getting the support they need and deserve. 

So there you have it, a rather lengthy blog, hopefully giving you a bit of insight into a rather lengthy process.