How to get my son an EHCP before secondary school? — Scope | Disability forum
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How to get my son an EHCP before secondary school?

kelly52
kelly52 Community member Posts: 2 Listener
edited January 2019 in Education
Hi I have just joined the group not sure of the first thingish to do to get my lad an EHCP as he is ok academically but not without ta being behind him and will get help with sats but my biggest worry is Secondary school in September x

Comments

  • Sam_Alumni
    Sam_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 7,671 Disability Gamechanger
    Hi @kelly52
      

    You can ask your local authority to carry out an assessment if you think your child needs an EHC plan.

    A request can also be made by anyone else who thinks an assessment may be necessary, including doctors, health visitors, teachers, parents and family friends.

    If they decide to carry out an assessment you may be asked for:

    • any reports from your child’s school, nursery or childminder
    • doctors’ assessments of your child
    • a letter from you about your child’s needs

    The local authority will tell you within 16 weeks whether an EHC plan is going to be made for your child.

    Creating an EHC plan

    • Your local authority will create a draft EHC plan and send you a copy.
    • You have 15 days to comment, including if you want to ask that your child goes to a specialist needs school or specialist college.
    • Your local authority has 20 weeks from the date of the assessment to give you the final EHC plan.
    Scope
    Senior online community officer
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Community member Posts: 53,365 Disability Gamechanger
    HI,

    Having been through all of this myself just last year with my daughter at college.  i'll be honest with you, it's not easy to get this assessment. You'll  need the help of the school to start with. Unless there's specific signs that your son does have issues then they won't even begin the assessment. There's specific criteria that needs to be met before they'll even agree to start the assessment.

    If they do agree then you'll need to attend multiple meetings at the school to talk about your son. Evidence from school, reports etc will be needed.

    They say within 16 weeks, it took them 21 weeks to reach this stage with my daughter. Finally we were told that the EHC draft plan would done. I received a copy of the draft plan 2 weeks later, which i had to read and agree to. Then 3 weeks after that the final EHC plan was sent to me.

    It took me 4 years to get them to agree to this but finally my fighting paid off.

    I hope you get the help and support you need. Good luck.

    I would appreciate it if members wouldn't tag me please. I have all notifcations turned off and wouldn't want a member thinking i'm being rude by not replying.
    If i see a question that i know the answer to i will try my best to help.
  • kelly52
    kelly52 Community member Posts: 2 Listener
    Thank you. I am debating whether to wait until he goes to Secondary school so they can apply and I will have their backing ( although I am still aware things could go dramatically wrong at the start) BUT I am confident senco at secondary will have Alex under her radar.
    also I have a report from outreach to present to them, there will be a report which will detail ‘Alex’ and his issues, we are also in the process of cbt speech and language fir Alex . Not forgetting all the reading and courses we take on ourselves. Alexs main issues is understanding unwritten social rules and lacks empathy sometimes. I will of course mention to the new senco we may go down the EHCP route.
    happy to hear your thoughts ? Thank you x
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 0 Courageous
    edited March 2019
    Hi @kelly52

    It sounds as if you've got a great relationship and strong communication with the new SENCO already which is fantastic. Transition between school settings can be very well supported between both school SENCO's without the need for a EHCP.

    SENCO's should have a meeting before transition to discuss children that will need ongoing support. However, it may be worth speaking to the current SENCO and ask to arrange a meeting that you can attend with both school SENCO's and any other professionals that may be supporting; such as health professionals, etc. This may provide an opportunity for you to discuss transition and support you feel he will need and for the new school to have as much relevant information as possible. It may also provide further feedback to include in an application for an EHCP if you do decide to apply for one.

    Best Wishes .

Brightness

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