EHCPs in 2019: Bedded in, or bogged down?
Early Thursday morning, whilst thousands of families and allies were preparing to march to draw attention to the national crisis in SEND, the Department for Education published their annual set …
Category: Education Health and Care Plan
Are EHCP Annual Reviews being unlawfully delayed by too-busy LAs?
When my sons had their first annual review after their Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), it happened roughly on time. However, we never received the report after the review. …
Phase Transfer deadline: what to do if your child’s EHCP isn’t finalised on time
The transfer deadline day for all settings except post-16, is fast approaching! If your child is transferring between phases of education, then the statutory deadline by when your local authority …
Getting Help with EHCPs: Be Careful Out There!
Just before Christmas, we took a look at some of the latest figures to come out of the Special Educational Needs & Disability Tribunal (SENDIST). Those figures shone light on …
Matching needs with provision to make a dog’s doodah EHCP (Part 2)
This is the follow up post about the dog’s breakfast EHCPs produced by Oldham. In part one, I outlined what’s wrong with Oldham’s EHCPs, its autism SEND provision and why. …
Taking a stand against the dog’s breakfast EHCPs of Oldham (part 1)
I’ve seen a fair few EHC Plans now – those of the pupils at Bright Futures School (BFS), those of children whose parents are seeking a place for them at BFS, …
Ten top tips to get a ‘good’ Education, Health and Care Plan for your child
Many of you will have seen Nadhim Zahawi MP – the current Children and Families Minister, talking on BBC Breakfast a couple of months ago about how the SEND …
EHCPs in 2018: Are we ‘bedded in’ yet?
It’s the second May Bank Holiday – and for sad people like me, that means a special treat. Because that’s when the Department for Education (DfE) unloads its annual statistical …
One parent’s seven steps to success for her autistic son’s EHCP
We have another useful post for you today. Many parents find it difficult to navigate the SEND system and we hope that this site can help. One parent, Fiona Jones, …
The DfE replies: EHCP issues
Today is the second instalment of your answers to the questions you put to the Department for Education last year. Yesterday, we brought you their replies to questions about SEND …
Refused an EHC assessment or unhappy with the plan? Read our next steps
“The Local Authority refused to assess my child for an EHC Needs Assessment,” “I have an unacceptable EHC Plan”and “The Local Authority has taken away the provision my son receives” …
Nancy’s tips for writing an EHCP parental statement
One of the things I get asked regularly, in my capacity of mother of an older child with Down’s syndrome, is how to write the parental statement part of the …
Zombie Statements: Councils to miss legal EHCP transfer deadline for thousands of children
After a turbulent 2017, we’re all hoping for better things for the world of SEND this year. But however things pan out, 2018 should be a milestone year for one …
NHS liaison: The Designated Clinical /Medical Officer for SEND
As some of you may know, I have been doing my bit to help improve local SEND where I live in Surrey – right now I’m running their new Local …
Hayley’s EHCP Save-Our-Sanity SOS plan
It seems that at every milestone and crossroads in your child’s life, your pride, relief and excitement at their achievements is met with an equal measure of stress and worry. …
Who’s writing your child’s EHCP? Your outsourcing questions answered
About six months ago, SNJ began looking into something that local authorities have become increasingly keen on – outsourcing the producing of draft Education, Health & Care Plans (EHCPs) to …
Explaining the Annual Review for a child with an Education, Health and Care Plan
Although Statements of special educational needs have been around since 1981, for many parents, the Annual Review (AR) remains a bit of a mystery, even for those of us who …
Draft Plans and Working Documents in an EHCP
Working Documents (WD) and draft EHC plans are quite similar, although with a draft plan you can negotiate on all of it whereas a WD only (currently) relates to sections …
Not co-production: Was your child’s Education, Health and Care plan outsourced?
Tania’s note: Matt Keer, the parent of children who are deaf, is a whizz at figures. He’s written for us before and helped SNJ numerous times. Happily, he’s joining now our team …
Is there a crisis looming at the SEND Tribunal?
New figures out from the Ministry of Justice have shown a big jump in the number of appeals registered at the SEND Tribunal. It’s not totally unexpected; earlier this year, writing …
