Professional Educational Psychology reports are essential to ensuring a robust and effective EHCP. These reports inform key sections, such as B (needs) and F (provision), directly influencing Section I (placement). However, the quality of reports can vary significantly, and parents often face challenges with local authority-funded assessments. This guide explores how to navigate these challenges, ensure reports are EHCP-appropriate, and leverage independent experts when necessary.
Professional reports are a pivotal part of every single EHCP, and so it follows that the quality of the report will inform the quality of the EHCP.
Let’s go back over our favourite equation – B + F = I
B = your child’s needs (difficulties)
F = your child’s provision (the help your child will receive)
I = the placement where your child will receive their education and training.
Sections B and F can only include professionally evidenced information, and yes, we as parents and carers know our children and young people better than anyone else, and no – unfortunately this knowledge counts for the square route of bug*er all when it comes to enforceable information and evidence.
It’s unfair.
So, we must rely upon those who may only observe, make a quick assessment or have the briefest of chats – should we accept this as being ‘good enough’?
It’s often not enough, but it may be as good as you are going to get, so then what should you do?
It is often the case that you wait months for the LA EP to make their assessment, you have your chat and ask the questions (see our YouTube clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfcUykKCVH8) and the assessment seems to have gone well, and the EP nods in agreement with you, on your child’s difficulties.
Then the report comes back and it’s resembling a Bull’s meal from yesterday.
WHY? Here’s some food for thought...
1. The LA have funded the EP.
2. The EP’s findings must be placed into the EHCP – Sections B and F.
3. 9.69 (F) of the SEND Code of Practice 2015 states very clearly that ‘provision must be made for each and very need identified in Section B’.
4. The findings - AKA evidence must be provided.
5. So, if the need hasn’t been noted in the actual report – even if you have had a long talk about these – that need doesn’t exist.
6. Spoiler Alert – if the need isn’t there, there’s not going to be any provision being made.
7. If provision isn’t needed, then the £££££ won’t be needed either.
8. The named school in Section I must be able to make all of Section F provisions – can you see where we’re going here?
9. Poor identification of need + no or unenforceable provision = cheap as the proverbial chips EHCP = a win-win for the LA.
A conflict of interest? Not biting the hand that feeds? You decide, we couldn’t possibly comment…
We request that LA funded reports are made EHCP appropriate all the time. The response from the LA invariably is that ‘this is out of our remit’, ‘not our policy to go back to the professional’, or the classic ‘it’s not in the child’s best interest to have a specified and quantified EHCP as its too restrictive’.
Oddly enough, once at appeal they seem to have an epiphany, and not only do Educational Psychologists appear ‘as if by magic’ (think of Mr Benn’s Shop Keeper – if you’re old enough for this reference!), but as Local Authorities are at appeal every single week (okay maybe not Christmas, but there’s capacity given the current wait times) it’s really not as if they don’t know how B and F must be evidenced and stated – they have Judge on repeat telling them to do just this.
Anyone may come to a conclusion that it’s not because they can’t, it’s because they won’t unless they are forced kicking and screaming into it. You decide.
How should the report be worded, and can you make ‘requests’?
Anything with a pre-fix of ‘mum wants/thinks/says’ will be ignored.
This is Section A, that unenforceable section material. It ‘may’ find its way into B, as a ‘tease’ but it won’t have provision. You have said this is what your child needs, not the professional – be careful how you word your conversations.
To make sure that your concerns are taken into account – and you really do know your child best, instead say:
“I see that he really struggles to remember information and recall information he has previously known, can you please assess for this or say if you agree?” “If you agree, can you please identify how this must be supported so that he reaches his potential?”
Or:
“her attendance is very poor, because she is really struggling, I have her attainment scores here and her attendance from school for the past year, can you please state if you believe, in your professional opinion, that this gap will close without additional support, and if not, can you please state the amount and type of support she needs and how often this must be made?”
They may or may not oblige, (ditch any private EP that won’t, we’ll come to that next!) but they will know that you ‘know’ and so that accountability has been identified.
What happens if the LA report is a not good enough when it finally arrives?
You must request that it’s written appropriately (see page 157 SEND Code Of Practice 2015 9.51):
‘The evidence and advice submitted by those providing it should be clear, accessible and specific. They should provide advice about outcomes relevant for the child or young person’s age and phase of education and strategies for their achievement. The local authority may provide guidance about the structure and format of advice and information to be provided. Professionals should limit their advice to areas in which they have expertise. They may comment on the amount of provision they consider a child or young person requires, and local authorities should not have blanket policies which prevent them from doing so.’
However – as with rubbish report writing – that word should is often seen as ‘if you feel like it’.
SEND Code Of Practice 2015, page 164
‘B, all of the child or young person’s identified special educational needs must be specified’, followed by page 166 F ‘Provision must be detailed and specific and should normally be quantified, for example in terms of the type, hours and frequency of support and level of expertise, including where this support is secured through a Personal Budget.’
So, you could well ask, if this is so, an Educational Psychologist – four years bachelor’s degree, then three years BPS Doctorate should really know how to evidence for an EHCP?
And maybe they do, just maybe somewhere along the line something, or someone is putting the brakes on? You decide.
This then becomes additionally interesting when you look at the legislation that underpins the SEND Code of Practice – in this instance the Children and Families Act 2014 (Section 42)
As confirmed by the Upper Tier Tribunal, the ‘duty under Section 42 to secure the special educational provisions of a child or young person is absolute. It is not qualified by reference to a local authority's budget or available resources’. [2021] EWHC 281 (Admin) at 27.
So anyone attempting to judiciously ‘look’ at a report and ‘quality assure’ it for Local Authority ‘policy’ or ‘panel requirements’ would, in fact be acting way out of their legal remit – ‘should’ such a thing be happening behind the scenes.
Surely, the LA caseworker and Department managers won’t have the same qualifications as a fully qualified Educational Psychologist, so wouldn’t have this knowledge – would they? You decide, we couldn’t possibly comment…
Many families then consider Independent Educational Psychologists, so are they worth it?
In the majority, yes, they are. They are fully independent, and their reports will be more than observations – but it is your responsibility to ensure this is so, before you engage anyone. Ask:
· Please can I see an anonymised example of your work?
· Are your reports Tribunal Appropriate (we at Empowering Families frequently see professional reports with a caveat in small print at the very end ‘not suitable for Court use or EHCP’s’ – a terrible waste of parents’ time and resources, so please make sure you have covered this before engaging any professional).
· Do you support parents as expert witness at any potential Hearing?
· Will you provide a draft report for me, before you sign off the Final?
· Can you let me know the type of assessments that you will be undertaking, and how long you will be spending with my child/YP?
· Will you refer to other professional reports that I have, and specify where needs interweave and will you state how this, if necessary, impacts upon the difficulties you identify?
· I am aware that you cannot state in your report the school that I have named, however can you please give me your professional opinion after your evidence gathering, if you agree with my school choice?
· I am aware that the report may become out of date, with the current appeal times, are you able to agree to provide an addendum to this report, should this be necessary to enable this to still be used at any potential appeal?
· In addition to the above, use our YouTube video mentioned above.
We are, and always will be, Stronger Together.
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Resources:
Sarah recommends John McKeown, Educational Psychologist, who has been working with her family for over 13 years, supporting with diagnosis, EHCP EP evidence, Annual Review reports, Expert Witness at FTT, EOTAS, Expert Witness report for Judicial Review, Expert Witness report for UTT and councilling.
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