This is the page you will see when you click on the link above. We haven’t managed to complete all of them yet but do keep checking back as we are aiming to do these as quickly as we can. In the meantime do continue to contact us if you cannot find what you are looking for in our resources.
We are excited to announce that we have added some new guide pages to our website.
These guides build on our existing leaflets to provide more in depth information and advice on various SEN & EHC Plan related topics as well as new ones that we have not previously covered.
When you call or email our service looking for information and advice, we work hard to provide this as quickly as possible. However, we are aware that it can sometimes take a few days before we are able to contact you and we know that this can be frustrating, especially if you are just wanting to know something quickly (for example, what your options are, check information you are being given is correct or how to go about doing something specific).
These pages have been created with this in mind – to empower you by giving access to information and advice without having to wait for an adviser to contact you. Of course, if you feel that these are not for you or you need some specific advice about your situation that these pages do not cover, then you can continue to contact us directly.
Image you will see on our ‘Guides’ page.
You can access the pages via ‘Guides’ (under our ‘Resources’ tab).
As always, the information we provide is based on the what the Law and Statutory Guidance says, but in addition, (depending on the subject), we will also provide some local information and practical tips that we hope will be of help (such as how to write a parental EHC needs assessment request or appeal, how to check your draft EHC plan or how to share concerns about your child’s SEN with your school).
New pages will continue to be added and existing ones will be updated as time allows so please let us know if we haven’t covered anything that you think would be helpful.
Please note: As we want to create a website that is accessible and as helpful as possible, we welcome any comments or feedback from you that will help us achieve this. If there are any areas of the website that you feel we can improve on, please do let us know by either commenting on the page, or contacting us directly.
Thank you from the SENDIASS team here in West Sussex.
‘Top Tips’ series for 2021
Happy New Year from the SENDIAS team!
Here we are in 2021 and I’m sure you will join us in hoping that this year will be better than the one just gone – for many reasons, and for many people. Last year seemed to be crammed full of information – about all different subjects, not least those relating to the impact of COVID-19, and our blogs were no exception. This year we thought we would write a series of simpler ‘TOP TIPS for…’ and ‘Guides to…’ blogs instead, which we hope you will find useful.
We have seen an increase recently in requests for help and support to make an EHCNA request, so we thought this might be a helpful one to start the series with. So without further ado:
Top Tips for ….
Making a parental request for an Education, Health & Care Needs Assessment (EHCNA)
Introduction
An Education Health & Care Needs Assessment (EHCNA) is the first part of the process to potentially obtaining an EHC Plan. Parents (or school) first have to request the Local Authority (LA) undertake an EHCNA. If this is agreed, the LA then use the evidence gathered during this process to determine whether provision should be made through an EHC Plan (or continued through SEN Support).
Before making your request:
Talk through with the school or college your reasons for wanting to request an EHCNA. It may be that they are already collecting the information or can explain their reasons for disagreeing. (However, it is your parental right to make the request yourself if you feel your child meets the criteria)
If your child or young person attends school or college, let the setting know that you are making a parental request (as they will need to still get all the information together and submit it within 15 days of being asked by the LA).
Gather all the information you have that will help provide the Local Authority with an holistic picture of what is happening with your child and their learning.
Contents of your request
For an EHCNA to be agreed to, the law states there are 2 criteria that the LA should consider (section 36(8) of the Children and Families Act 2014) – whether the child or young person has or may have special educational needs (SEN); and whether they may need special educational provision to be made through an EHC plan. If the answer to both is ‘yes’ then the LA must carry out an EHC Needs Assessment.
Break your request down into the 2 sections:
Part 1…. your child has or may have Special Educational Needs (SEN):
Set out details of: the child’s special educational needs, who identified or diagnosed them and when (where known). This may be through school assessments and reports, paediatrician, early years, Portage, LBAT, Aspens etc.
What are the difficulties your child has that make learning / learning in school hard for them? (behaviour, reading, paying attention, listening, following instruction etc).
If your child has any needs that are not known, or have not been identified, set out details of what you think the special educational needs may be and the reasons for thinking this.
Part 2 – they may need special educational provision to be made through an EHC plan:
What has been tried at school to support your child or young person?
What has worked / what has not worked?
How do you think an EHCP will help your child?
Gather as much concise evidence as you have, to support what is being stated in the request:
School reports, (including ILP / IEPs), costed provision maps
Early Learning Goals,
Phonics Testing and school assessment results,
Specialist recommendations and any other professional reporting evidence.
Also –medical reports or referrals, any GP communication, and relevant emails that illustrate what you as a parent are stating in the request.
Where possible, evidence should be quoted from at the relevant points in the request, and all evidence should be listed in- and submitted with- the request. To note: If quotes or reports are used, try and include the name and date of the report plus page number next to the statement i.e. : “*** is unable to sit still for more than two minutes (see EP report p.9)”.
Remember, the people on the decision panel who look at the request, do not know your child, nor the circumstances and therefore can only make judgements on what information and evidence is presented to them.
Once you have gathered all the information:
You can apply online, by letter or by phone
Keep a copy of the letter (or the information you used if you made the request online).
Keep a note of the contact name and phone number from the acknowledgement you receive from SENAT (Special Educational Needs Assessment Team) as it is likely you will need to make contact with them.
Contacting SENDIAS
As with all the resources we produce, our aim is to provide you with information and advice to help you navigate the different processes you may be considering or currently experiencing. However, we are aware that this process can seem rather daunting at times, so if you feel you need more support, please contact us and we will get someone to help you as soon as possible. Please bear in mind that this might take a few days. The person who calls may be one of our SENDIAS Advisors or one of our SENDIAS volunteers. Telephone our helpline 0330 222 8555 (please leave us a message if it goes to voicemail) or email send.ias@westsussex.co.uk.
When you contact us please include some details:
Your name:
Your telephone number:
Your child’s name:
Your child’s date of birth:
Where do you live (nearest town / village):
Brief message about what help you are looking for
Further Information:
We have recently produced some more detailed guides to help you make a parental request:
We have also recorded a webinar on the EHCNA process which you may find helpful.
Guidance on temporary legislative changes relating to coronavirus (COVID-19) & EHC Need Assessments & Plans
A joint ministerial letter from the Department of Health & Social Care and the Department of Education was issued on the 30th April 2020, to all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), their parents/carers and families, and others who support them.
The letter sets out a temporary change to the law in 2, key ways:
1) A notice was issued under the Coronavirus Act 2020 confirming that local authorities and health commissioning bodies (e.g. Clinical Commissioning Groups) must now use their reasonable endeavours to secure the provision set out within a child or young person’s EHC plan. This means that local authorities and health bodies must consider, for each child and young person with an EHC plan, what they need to provide during the period of the notice. This may result in a child or young person’s provision being different from that which is set out in their EHC plan, but local authorities and health services will still seek to support the needs of the child or young person in the new circumstances we find ourselves in. For example, they may offer support virtually rather than face to face.
2) Where a reason relating to the incidence or transmission of coronavirus applies, the usual timescales in regulations for various EHC processes will be replaced by requirements on local authorities, health care professionals and others to act as soon as reasonably practicable (or in line with any other timing requirement in the regulations being amended). These changes will be in force from 1st May to 25th September 2020 and will be kept under review.The Special Educational Needs and Disability (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 (the ‘Amendment Regulations’).
What will remain unchanged?
These temporary changes to the law (under section 2) above), only affect various statutory timescales for processes relating to EHC needs assessments and plans. All of the other requirements of the EHC needs assessments and plan processes remain unchanged.
A local authority must still consider requests for a new EHC needs assessment or a re-assessment.
Where the local authority decides to carry out an EHC needs assessment, it must still secure all of the required advice and information in order to be able to issue a plan.
Section 19 of the Children and Families Act 2014, which requires local authorities to have regard to the views and wishes of a child, the child’s parent or a young person when exercising its SEND functions under the Act, remains in force.
A local authority must continue to have regard to the guidance on the handling of delays in paragraph 9.43 10 of the SEND Code of Practice. Where the circumstances relating to coronavirus (COVID-19) set out in the Amendment Regulations apply to more than one process, then an exception may apply to each of those processes. If a process with a statutory timescale begins where a delay relating to coronavirus (COVID-19) is likely, the local authority should advise the parent or young person of this.
One of the timescales relating to EHC plans is giving parents or the young person at least 15 days to give views and make representations on the content of a draft plan. There is no change to the law here. Local authorities will wish to be alert to the circumstances of parents and young people in the time of the outbreak and to take this into account in setting the deadline. It may be harder for parents and young people to contact early years providers, schools and colleges, for example, to gather information relating to deciding their preference over setting. Parents and young people may themselves be ill or otherwise directly affected by the outbreak.
A final EHC plan must still include all of the required advice and information.
The provision set out in the final plan should be in line with the statutory requirements for any EHC plan and not be limited because of the circumstances of coronavirus (COVID-19).
Reviews and re-assessments of EHC plans must still take place (although there can in some circumstances be flexibility over the timing of an annual review, see paragraphs below)
Decisions, including those over the content of any EHC plan, must continue to be made in accordance with the statutory framework and be based on the individual needs, provision and outcomes for the child or young person. Local authorities must not apply blanket approaches in relation to EHC needs assessments or plans processes and decision-making. For example, local authorities cannot implement a general policy of refusing to consider new requests because of coronavirus (COVID-19). Neither can they make blanket decisions based on particular age groups of children and young people, those with certain types of need, or based on whether they are at home or in school.
Annual reviews of EHC plans – requirements remain in place
However, the government has legislated to provide extra flexibility for local authorities over the timing of these reviews. Where it is impractical for a local authority to complete an annual review of a plan within the prescribed timescales for a reason relating to the incidence or transmission of coronavirus (COVID-19), then the local authority must complete it as soon as reasonably practicable13 .
Annual reviews may, in the current circumstances, need to take a different form. However, it is important that they continue to ensure that the child or young person is at the centre of the process and can engage with the process in a meaningful way. A review meeting, even if by necessity briefer than usual, can be reassuring for parents, children and young people, through ensuring that their EHC plan is up-to-date so that they can receive appropriate provision.
The duty on education settings to admit (section 43): no change
Whilst the Secretary of State for Education now has powers under the Coronavirus Act 2020 by notice temporarily to disapply the duty to admit, he has not issued any such notice at this point in time. An early years provider, school, college or other setting named in an EHC plan must accordingly admit the child or young person.
Where a setting is temporarily closed, the setting must still admit. In the case of a school or college, the child or young person must be placed on the roll and treated in the same way as other pupils or students in the setting. The government’s advice on SEND risk assessments is that during the outbreak local authorities should consider the needs of those with an EHC plan, and make a risk assessment, consulting educational settings and parents or carers, to determine whether these children and young people can have their needs met at home and be safer there than attending an educational setting. In addition, the local authority must make reasonable endeavours to secure the provision in the EHC plan.
The timescale for education settings to respond to a proposal to name them in an EHC plan: no change
The expectation in the SEND Code of Practice that local authorities give early years providers, schools and colleges up to 15 days to respond to a proposal to name their institution in an EHC plan remains in place. The request to consider a placement that is sent to the setting for consultation over the naming of that setting will include the draft plan and all of the advice and information received as part of the assessment. This provides considerable levels of information about the individual’s needs, provision and outcomes. In addition, the proposed setting can, as part of its consideration, make direct contact with the parent or young person to discuss the admission.
In most instances, settings should remain able to engage effectively in this aspect of the EHC plan process and families might still reasonably expect this to happen as part of the timely completion of an EHC plan. We recognise, however, that staff absence because of illness, self-isolation etc may affect the speed with which a setting can reply. In such circumstances, the setting needs to communicate with the local authority about a possible delay in responding.
Communication during this part of the process is key to effective decision-making. We recommend that in parallel with sending the proposal to the setting, the local authority also makes phone contact. While settings may remain closed to pupils or students, we look to them to make arrangements that enable them to continue to respond to consultations on future admissions during this period.
Complaints and rights of appeal of parents and young persons: no change
Clearly these are unprecedented times. One aspect of this is that the vast majority of those with EHC plans are not currently attending their usual education setting. This may make it more difficult for the local authority or health commissioning body to secure or arrange the full range of provision in an EHC plan. It may also not be appropriate during the outbreak for local authorities, health bodies, educational psychologists and other professionals to provide their usual level of service delivery in relation to the EHC needs assessments and plans processes. This is why the law in relation to these matters has temporarily been modified.
In most instances, families and the local authority or health body and their partners will be able to work together to agree a mutually satisfactory arrangement for the time being. However, where a parent or young person may be dissatisfied about the actions of a local authority or health body over how they have discharged their modified s42 duty or about the timeliness with which processes relating to EHC needs assessments or plans have been progressed, then effective ways of resolving disagreement are crucial. In the current fast-changing and complex situation, it is particularly important that there are effective ways of resolving such disagreements swiftly, wherever possible using established decision-making mechanisms within the local area. The complaints mechanisms described in Chapter 11 of the SEND Code of Practice are unchanged, although the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has temporarily suspended all casework activity. In the first instance, families will often be able to use the local authority’s or health commissioning body’s complaints procedures. Local authorities and health commissioning bodies will need to ensure that these procedures remain effective for the current context. SENDIASS will continue to have a key role to play in supporting families in finding the best way forward.
Rights of Appeals to the First-tier Tribunal (SEND): no change
This non-statutory guidance provides a summary of these legislative changes and sets out the key implications for all those who play a part in the processes relating to EHC needs assessments and plans.
NOTE: Given that the changes to legislation are temporary, The Department for Education will not be updating the statutory guidance, the SEND code of practice: 0 to 25 years. They recommend, therefore, that anyone referring to the SEND Code of Practice about EHC needs assessments and plans also reads this guidance. It is also important to refer to the Amendment Regulations for the full detail of the changes.
West Sussex County Council response
West Sussex County Council have responded by saying “our SEN Assessment Team and other teams within Inclusion are working through the implications and requirements to ensure the Local Authority remains compliant. They are doing this with colleagues in the health service and the West Sussex Parent Carer Forum.”
We are aware that there is a lot of information circulating at the moment so we want to keep this blog short but wanted to highlight a letter that was issued on 24th March 2020 by Vicky Ford MP Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families as well as signpost you to the local information document recently issued by the Special Educational Needs Assessment Team (SENAT) here in West Sussex.
Included in the letter:
Government is working with Partnership organisations including National Network for Parent Carer Forums and the Council for Disabled Children
FAQs about supporting vulnerable children available
Household isolation advice available for those living in residential settings
Risk assessments for those with EHCPs re being at home or at school/college
Legal requirements on local authorities in fulfilling their duties in relation to EHC plans, modified.
DfE Coronavirus helpline
Council for Disabled Children, in partnership with Contact, to ensure that their websites and forums regularly update both families and services on information.
For local information about processes for EHC Needs Assessments and Plans in light of the COVID-19 virus, please see the West Sussex SEN and Assessment Team’s ‘information for families‘ document on our relevant Local Offer information page under ‘West Sussex Specific Information and Guidance’: :
Letter from Vicky Ford MP Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families:
Dear colleagues,
This is an open letter distributed through as many of our partner organisations as possible. I would be grateful if you could circulate it as widely as possible to children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), their parents/carers and families, and all others who support them.
This is an unprecedented, uncertain and testing time for all of us due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. It is particularly challenging for children and young people with SEND, their families, and those who work tirelessly to support and care for them.
This is why, over the past week, we have made announcements and issued guidance about how we will meet the needs of children and young people with SEND during this challenging time. As the Minister responsible for SEND, I wanted to write to let you know that we are committed to doing everything possible to support you during this difficult time.
We are working in partnership with many organisations, including the National Network for Parent Carer Forums and the Council for Disabled Children, to make sure we are focusing our efforts in the right places. In all our decisions, the needs of SEND children and young people and their families and carers, and safeguarding these vulnerable groups, are at the forefront of our minds.
The guidance on supporting vulnerable children states that local authorities, nurseries, schools, special schools, colleges and other training providers should undertake a risk assessment to establish the individual needs of each child or young person with an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan. This assessment should incorporate the views of the child or young person and their parents. This will inform the decision about whether they should continue in school or college, or whether their needs can be met at home safely.
If needs are best met at schools or colleges, we will support their school or college to meet their needs, wherever possible. For those on SEN support, schools, colleges and local authorities have discretion to use the same risk judgement to decide whether home or school is the safest setting for these children. It is, however, important that as many children as possible remain at home during this time in order to help reduce transmission rates.
On 19 March, the Government introduced new legislation into Parliament, in the form of the Coronavirus Bill (‘the Bill’), in response to the outbreak.
Our overwhelming aim for SEND, through the Bill and the proposed changes to regulations that are to follow, is to balance the needs of this vulnerable group to receive the support they need with managing the demands on local authorities and health bodies to respond to this outbreak. As a result, we have included in the Bill temporary emergency powers to enable us, where necessary, to modify the legal requirements on local authorities in fulfilling their duties in relation to EHC plans.
In practice, this will mean that where a local authority is, because of the outbreak, unable, for example, to put in place stated provision, they will need to use their reasonable endeavours to do this, but won’t be penalised for failing to meet the existing duty as set out in the Children and Families Act 2014. These emergency powers will only be exercised for the shortest period and where necessary, will be regularly reviewed. We will also be seeking to amend regulations on the timescales for EHC plan processes where this is appropriate because of COVID-19. I want to reiterate that these decisions are not taken lightly but I believe strike the right balance in these difficult times.
I encourage you to keep up to date by regularly checking the gov.uk webpages and raise awareness of the DfE Coronavirus helpline we have established for local authorities, providers and parents to get information on the latest Government advice. The number is 0800 046 8687, and lines are open 8am-6pm (Monday – Friday), and 10am – 4pm (Saturday and Sunday).
I realise that the impact of these extraordinary circumstances on this group of children and young people can be particularly acute. This is why I have asked the Council for Disabled Children, in partnership with Contact, to ensure that their websites and forums regularly update both families and services on information, which is available to support them. I have also asked them to collate any questions and queries from stakeholders so that we can maintain as many routes of contact as possible into Government to ensure our actions continue to be focused on prioritising where help is most needed.
The challenges we are now facing serve to further highlight the importance of ensuring the system of support for children and young people with SEND is as effective as possible in the future. Rest assured that completing our review of the SEND system remains a priority for me and for the Government. In light of the current situation, we will think carefully about the right way and timescale to do this. Right now my focus, like yours, is on managing the current situation and keeping vulnerable children safe and supported.
I know that by working together, we can ensure that children and young people with SEND receive the support they need during this difficult time.
Yours sincerely,
Vicky Ford MP – Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families
Read more
Dec Blog – How to apply for an EHC Needs Assessment.
How to apply for an Education, Health & Care Needs Assessment and what to include.
Some children and young people with special educational needs may need more support than a mainstream education setting (schools, colleges, nurseries) can offer and may need to have an Education Health Care Needs Assessment (EHCNA) to work out how much and what sort of help they need.
There may be several reasons why you as a young person or parent are looking to make a request yourself for an EHCNA (Education, Health & Care Needs Assessment). Ideally if there are still concerns despite ongoing support (see previous Blog) then we would hope to see the school making the request directly but this may not always be possible i.e.
Child or young person is not attending school / college
School say they do not have the time or staff to make a timely request
School do not think that your child / young person’s needs will meet the Local Authority’s (LA’s) criteria,
School have not collected the evidence required by the LA.
However, if you feel that your child’s needs (or your own needs as a young person) meet the criteria set out in law (Children & Families Act 2014 and the SEN Code of Practice 2015) then you have the right to request an EHC Needs Assessment from the Local Authority.
How to apply for an EHCNA:
The following people have a specific right to request for an EHC needs assessment:
A child’s parent1.
A young person themselves if over 16.2
A person acting on behalf of a school or post 16 institution
1For children under 16, the parent makes the request. This includes children from age 0 to 5, where parents should make a request if they believe that the child will need extra help at nursery or when they start school.
2Where a young person is between 16 and 25, they can make the request themselves. If the young person is not able to understand, remember or communicate decisions about the educational support they need, their parent or carer can make the request on a young person’s behalf.
Anyone else can bring a child or young person who has (or may have) SEN to the attention of the Local Authority, particularly where they think an EHC needs assessment may be necessary. For example; foster carers, health and social care professionals, early years practitioners, youth offending teams or probation services, those responsible for education in custody, school or college staff (other than the senco) or a family friend.
Bringing a child or young person to the attention of the local authority would be undertaken on an individual basis where there are specific concerns and should be done with the knowledge and, where possible, agreement of the child’s parent or the young person.
The process should be the same whether a formal request has been made or they have been brought to the LA’s attention i.e. The LA should be contacted through SENAT (Special Education Needs Assessment Team) and they will seek views and evidence to decide whether an EHCNA should be done. In practice the majority of concerns will likely be discussed with the parent or young person directly and they themselves will make the request (if school do not). Only where parental agreement cannot be sought and there are ongoing concerns around education or parents are not able to make the request themselves that this is likely to happen.
Children and young people under 19 in youth custodial establishments also have the right to request an assessment for an EHC plan themselves.
Lawfully speaking there should be no specific way to make a parental request (i.e. you should be able to call the LA and state over the phone that you are requesting one). However, it is important for the LA to see as much explanation and evidence as possible so it is helpful to put it in writing if possible.
What should I include in my request
As discussed in the previous blog, an EHCNA request should be accepted by the Local Authority where there is or may be SEN and it may be necessary for special educational provision to be made for the child or young person in accordance with an EHC plan.
For a young person aged over 18, a local authority must consider whether he or she requires additional time, in comparison to the majority of others of the same age who do not have special educational needs, to complete his or her education or training [CAFA 36(10)]
At this point, to determine whether an EHCNA is necessary, only needs that affect a child or young person’s learning will be considered. Where there is only health or social care needs, an EHC Needs Assessment would not be considered (however, other assessments may be required instead i.e. social care assessment). Once an EHC Needs Assessment is agreed then all other health and social care needs will be included in that assessment. It is still worth recording all health & social care needs in your request but we would advise making those that affect learning clear.
A note about mental health
It is worth noting here that although it has ‘health’ in the name, Mental Health comes under the SEMH (Social, Emotional & Mental Health) category of SEN and should be treated the same as any of the other 3 categories. If a child or young person suffers with anxiety and provision is able to be met at school to meet this need then an EHCNA would not be required. However if their mental health difficulties mean that Special Educational Provision is needed and school or college are not able to resource that provision or a different kind of provision is required then they would be expected to provide, then an EHC Needs Assessment should be sought.
If you are writing as a parent, it is also important to record a child and young person’s views where at all possible. A helpful way to do this could be through a WIKI
We have put together a list of suggestions of things to include that may help you to write your request either as a parent or as a young person.
Some of these may be evidenced through professional reports; through ILPs or equivalent (individual learning plans), yearly reports or communications that demonstrate any barriers to learning.
What else to consider?
One you have sent your request The LA must reply within six weeks of receiving it (this is required by regulation 4(1) of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014). They should always reply to you as a parent or young person – even where the request was made by the school or college.
Within this 6 weeks, the LA (SENAT) will contact the school or college (if on roll) for their views and evidence which will be considered along with the information sent with your request. As mentioned previously, we would advise you to speak to the school or college to let them know that you will be making your own request for an Education, Health & Care Needs Assessment as they will need to get their evidence ready for the LA (and they only have a short amount of time to do this).
Before you make your request, you may want to see what evidence the school or college holds, in case they have something that may help or could prevent you both submitting the same evidence. However, if this is not forthcoming and you feel that it may be helpful for your EHCNA request, then you may be able to make a SAR (Subject Access Request) to obtain this information.
One of the pieces of evidence that the LA will expect from the school or college is a costed provision map. This is simply a timetable of support that the child / young person receives with related costs (i.e. 1:1 / small group staff time; cost of involving specialists, counselling or therapies; cost of specialised software or equipment etc). The LA will often use this to see whether the school or college could use more of their own resources so it is important that they include ALL the support being given, with correct costings).
Who can help?
SENDIAS can help if you feel you:
Need further advice on what to write in your request
Are not sure if you / your child meet the criteria for an EHCNA
Want some help or advice to communicate with the school about your concerns.
Nov Blog – When should I start thinking about an EHC Plan?
When should I start thinking about an EHC Plan?
Is your child struggling at school and you are wondering about asking for an EHC Plan (EHCP)? Perhaps you’ve heard people speaking about an EHC needs Assessment (EHCNA) and would like to know more? This month’s blog explains what these are and when you should consider requesting one.
Please note: quotes from the SEN Code of Practice 2015 or the Children and Families Act 2014 uplifted directly will be in blue.
What is an EHCNA and EHCP?
An EHCNA (Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment) is an assessment done by the Local Authority of the educational, health & social care needs of the child or young person (CYP). This is a legal process used to determine whether an EHCP is needed.
An EHCP (Education, Health and Care Plan) is a legal document that describes the aspirations, desired outcomes, the Special Educational Needs (as well as Health & Social Care needs) of the CYP and the support (Provision) required for them. It also names the education setting that the CYP will attend (and sets out any personal budgets that have been agreed).
The legal circumstance for considering an EHCP?
If a CYP has a learning difficulty or a disability which is holding them back at school or college, and the school or the parents of the CYP (or the young person themselves) believe that the school or college is not able to provide the help and support which is needed, then a request should be made to the Local Authority (LA) for an EHC needs assessment.
For the Local Authority to agree to undertake an EHCNA, 2 criteria must be met:
1) That the child has or may have SEN (Special Educational needs)and
2) That it may be necessary for special educational provision to be made for the child or young person in accordance with an EHC plan.
The definition of Special Educational Needs (SEN) and Special Educational Provision (SEP) are set out in the Children & Families Act 2014:
20 When a child or young person has special educational needs
(1) A child or young person has special educational needs if he or she has a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her.
(2) A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if he or she—
(a) has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age, or
(b) has a disability which prevents or hinders him or her from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 institutions.
21 Special educational provision, health care provision and social care provision
(1) “Special educational provision”, for a child aged two or more or a young person, means educational or training provision that is additional to, or different from, that made generally for others of the same age
(2) “Special educational provision”, for a child aged under two, means educational provision of any kind.
(5) Health care provision or social care provision which educates or trains a child or young person is to be treated as special educational provision (instead of health care provision or social care provision).
What should happen before making an EHCNA request?
When looking at SEND, the main thing that is considered is a child or young person’s desired outcomes. These outcomes should be based on their needs. The provision required will then be decided upon, in order to meet those needs. Whilst diagnosis can be important and the process of diagnosing should offer insight into a CYP’s needs; SEN Support or an EHCP will not be given based on diagnosis alone.
Every school is required to identify and address the SEN of the pupils that they support. Mainstream schools (including academies etc.) must:
use their best endeavours to make sure that a child with SEN gets the support they need – this means doing everything they can to meet children and young people’s SEN
ensure that children and young people with SEN engage in the activities of the school alongside pupils who do not have SEN (6.2)
(for more information on what ‘best endeavours’ means, follow link to IPSEA website)
Schools should make regular assessments of progress for all pupils and should be able to identify any pupils making less than expected progress given their age and individual circumstances. (This should include national data and expectations of progress to compare the results against). This can be characterized by progress which:
is significantly slower than that of their peers starting from the same baseline
fails to match or better the child’s previous rate of progress
fails to close the attainment gap between the child and their peers
widens the attainment gap
To note: It can include progress in areas, other than attainment – for instance where a pupil needs to make additional progress with wider development or social needs in order to make a successful transition to adult life.
Where a pupil is identified as having SEN, schools should take action to remove barriers to learning and put effective special educational provision in place. This SEN SUPPORT should take the form of a four-part cycle known as the graduated approach.
Note about school funding
Schools receive SEN funding in the form of notional SEN budget and it is expected that this should be used to make the special educational provision (support) (i.e. 1:1 support, small group work, specialist equipment, pay for needed therapies, consult with specialist services etc).
Note: Although the Government currently suggest that schools should provide up to the first £6,000 of this provision, there are many factors involved in this and not all schools will have the ability to spend this amount on your CYP’s needs (especially if they have a lot of children with complex needs etc). Whilst Local Authorities are allowed to develop criteria as guidelines, such as this, they must be prepared to depart from these criteria where there is a compelling reason to do so (SEND CoP 2015 9.16). Bottom line, a child should not miss out on needed support because the school does not have the resources and should not have an EHCNA request refused just because the school have not spent £6,000 on your CYP.
Reason for applying even if school are using best endeavours:
Lack of progress – If school have been giving support but expected progress in those areas of concern is not being made, then an EHC Needs Assessment request should be considered as more resources or more specialised resources may be needed to meet your CYP’s needs. School would be expected to make the request themselves but as parents, you also have the right to make this request directly (but please make sure the school are aware as they will still need to gather and upload evidence).
Moving to next level of education – A young person who was well supported … while at school may move to a further education (FE) college where the same range or level of support is not available. An EHC plan may then be needed to ensure that support is provided and co-ordinated effectively in the new environment (CoP 9.15). This could also apply to moving from primary to secondary.
If there is a concern then have a conversation with any colleges / secondary school you may be considering, to discuss how they may be able to support your CYP should they attend there. The college is then able to decide if an EHCP will be needed to make all the required provision. If they are stating that they would not be able to provide the right support without one, obtain that in writing as you will be able to use that as evidence when making your EHCNA request.
What if you feel that school are not using best endeavours?
If you feel that the school are not doing all they can and your child is still struggling, then further discussion with the school may be needed to explore this further. If all other avenues have been exhausted and you feel that their duty to make best endeavours to provide support is not being fulfilled, then you may consider making a complaint to the school (please follow your school’s complaint policy).
The LA would expect schools to fulfil their duties first before agreeing to do an EHCNA and therefore would likely refuse any request in these circumstances (although of course you would have a right to appeal to the SENDIST tribunal against a refusal).
If you still feel that an EHCNA is needed
In the meantime, keep any records of ILPS or equivalent (Individual learning plans), yearly reports or communications that demonstrate any barriers to his/her learning, what the school have done about these and whether the provision has worked / not worked (and the reasons why). These can then be used to evidence that support over and above what the school would be expected to provide is needed.
Coming up next – How to make a request for an Education, Health & Care Needs Assessment (EHCNA). Please sign up to our blog to receive automatically.
