A little advice for those contributing to EHCP assessments

[Upsy Daisy]

This is an article on the Special Needs Jungle website about how some LAs are trying to abdicate their responsibility to write effective EHCPs.

 

http://www.specialneedsjungle.com/great-ehcp-swindle/?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=socialnetwork

 

 

[SueJ]

Thanks Upsy - she writes in a "tone" that I quite understand ;-)

[Mouseketeer]

I am so fed up with this 'pass the buck' attitude recently, and more and more often now the buck stops with us, as we are expected to complete the EHCP's and organise multi agency meetings, it is so b****y hard to get everyone in the same place at the same time, all you get is 'I only work on this or that day' and the next person you need doesn't work on those days :-(

[Upsy Daisy]

The more I interact with our LA's SEN services department, the more I realise that they are absolutely not a service that is about meeting children's needs. Even the job description for the case officers mentions lots about promoting a positive view of the LA but nothing about ensuring children's needs are met or working in partnership with families. They actively take steps to prevent parents from having any legal recourse to ensure that their children's needs are met, completely in contravention of the DfE Guidelines. They are slashing SEN budgets and, the more they get away with this, the more the budgets will be reduced.

The contract for our specialist teaching services specifically targets them to reduce the number of EHC assessments and plans issued which I believe is highly unethical but is a clear indicator of our LA's intentions.

It's all very short sighted. It doesn't save money. It simply increases the load on educational settings, CAMHS, welfare benefits, the wider NHS and, in the long run, adults services and the criminal justice system.

Edited May 5, 2016 by Upsy Daisy

[SueJ]

Following on from the fun and games I am having with my LA and their "pan-local authority" box filling protocol - I have just completed the amendments required in order to re-submit the EHCP Assessment request. The document is full of duplicate information as phrases like "See enclosed report" where all the original information is listed in detail is not sufficient as it does not meet the box filling protocol.

 

Unfortunately I have also taken a bit of a "tone" and added comments in red such as

 

"This information is readily available from XXXX's assessment records -copies of which are required with this document. Please therefore note that this section has now been completed with the duplicate information solely to satisfy the pan-LA NAME box filling protocol".

 

 

It has taken me all day and a few hours of the past few evenings to complete these amendments (leaving no box unfilled) and print the assessment request form which now runs to 37 pages of A4. If you add in the photocopied reports - some of which were produced by LA staff and are already held at the LA a wad of paperwork 1.5cm thick is going to be delivered to the "Inclusion??????" department (a misnomer if ever there was one) tomorrow - along with a somewhat acerbic covering letter.

 

I am still drafting my response to the "Cutting the Red Tape" consultation - you can bet that my thoughts regarding this matter will be in there somewhere now that I have time to contribute to that particular consultation - having wasted precious hours of my life meeting the needs of a jobsworth in the LA.

 

And breathe ................................................

[Mouseketeer]

Love it SueJ, I spent about 16 hours completing one of these a few weeks ago, hours pulling information from all the other professionals reports as that is what the boxes wanted only to be told by the person I sent it to that it wasn't necessary as everyone will be asked to give a report ....including me ...WHAT !! you mean this close on 30 pages isn't my report, and yes I know we do it to get the best for the child but who is paying us to spend these hours on these EHCPs ? we might end up lucky enough to get inclusion funding for these chn to cover a staff members hourly rate for them but who is then paying their 5.6wks holiday ? it's not our counties is it ....and it wasn't complete because I was meant to tick the yes/no boxes once printed off to say whether or not I'd included this or that but forgot so had to resend that page, I wanted to just say 'If it isn't in the envelope it's a 'No' and if it was it's a 'Yes' :wacko:

[Guest]

Hi. just looking through this thread and wondered if anyone has had experience of writing the EHCP at the end of the foundation stage. A lot of my children have achieved their outcomes and Im wondering how (or if??) I now have to set outcomes for the end of KS1. Has anyone else come across this? Thanks for any responses.

[Mouseketeer]

Hi, I've just submitted one for a child moving on to school and the outcomes we had to set were for the end of ks1.

[Guest]

Thanks. Im in a special school and my reception children have achieved the outcomes set for end of foundation and I'm struggling to set outcomes for the next transition which will be end of KS1. I was hoping that the LA SENDO may be the one to set these with school. Not too sure as everyone seems to be struggling with the new paperwork.

[Mouseketeer]

I've just found out that you're expected to do it all and no one wants to help or give advise, they just expect you know what you are doing and get on with it, the pressure to get it right is immense :-(