The EHCP Process in brief:
Firstly, not every child with Special Educational Needs will benefit from an EHCP. All children need the correct support, and being on the SEND Register with a SEND Support Plan might be enough for your child to flourish. However, for some children, an EHCP is vital because of the nature and/or extent of the support that they require.
The Local Authority first has to agree to a Request to Assess. This is a request that can be sent in by a school, or by a parent.
The LA will want evidence of what the child’s needs are and what support has already been offered. They will ask the school for copies of all paperwork and will be looking to see if the school has followed the Graduated Response. Sometimes an LA will say that they want evidence of at least 4 cycles of Assess, Plan, Do, Review before they will agree to an EHCP Needs Assessment. The law doesn’t ask for this, but if the school has followed the graduated response above, there will be plenty of evidence of cycles of support. However, if things have escalated quickly or the child is new to the school, it is still possible to prove that the child requires an EHCP Needs Assessment.
An LA panel will look at the evidence provided in the Request to Assess within 6 weeks of it being received. If it meets the threshold, they will agree to continue the EHCP process.
If the LA agree to assess, they will organise for your child to be assessed by professionals across Education, Social Care and Health. Some parents also employ private professional to assess their child so that there is even more evidence.
The professionals’ reports are used to write a statement of the child’s needs, the provision that is required to meet those needs, and the setting (school) that can make this provision.
This provision will be funded by the LA in which your child lives. The whole process should take 20 weeks- from the request to assess going in, to the final report being drafted.
What this means practically, is that as soon as you, or the school, identifies that there might be an issue, start the graduated response process and ensure you have evidence or paperwork that proves what the school has tried to do. This gives you and the school time to go through the graduated response, collate the evidence necessary, and apply for a Needs Assessment knowing that everything that it is reasonable to do within school has been done. It sometimes requires four school terms, and then 20 weeks on top of that, to get a Final EHCP.
Often, your child will continue at the school they are already at. This will then be named in the final EHCP. However, the LA or parents/ young person might think that an alternative type of setting would meet their needs better eg. a specialist school. Parents can choose the school they want to be named although the LA might not agree.
In that case, the LA will consult with relevant schools and give them a chance to say whether they feel they could meet the needs as outlined in the EHCP. If the school is mainstream, it is very rare for it to be allowed to refuse to admit a child, no matter how severe the needs.
This process can be very lengthy and can lead to delays in children having their needs met in the interim.
The local authority must comply with your preference and name the school or college in the EHC plan unless:
it would be unsuitable for the age, ability, aptitude or SEN of the child or young person, or.
the attendance of the child or young person there would be incompatible with the efficient education of others or.
it would be an inefficient use of resources.