The EHCP is like a ‘menu’ for your child, and it is unique to your child, written exclusively for your child and one which must be fully descriptive of everything that will be delivered. Each part of this ‘menu’ must state what your child will receive, how often, and for how long, and must be as individual as they are, with each part fully costed and funded. Well, that is the theory...
Is my EHCP fit for purpose? How will I know? This is the most important question to ask when you receive it. If we have undertaken a draft check, we will be able to let you know as soon as we see the amended draft/final plan. However, the question is...
How will you know?
Knowledge is powerful, and you must take every opportunity to Empower yourself with as much insight as possible.
Here’s what you must look for:
· Has the LA correctly identified Needs (in Section B) and Provisions (in Section F)?
· Has the LA included all the evidence regarding all Needs, with specified and quantified Provisions to meet these Needs from all your professional reports in Sections B and F?
· Has the LA correctly placed Needs and Provisions into the appropriate sections of the EHCP?
· Can you readily identify who will be responsible for delivering the provision?
· Can you readily identify the qualifications and experience of the adult responsible for the provision?
· Can you readily identify when the provision will be delivered?
· Can you readily identify the length of each session of provision?
· Can you readily identify the appropriate strategies and programs that will be delivered – are there examples and reasons why these are appropriate, as identified in your professional reports?
· Can you readily identify the adult-to-child ratio?
If the answer to the above is a categorical yes, then the odds are that you have an EHCP which will meet your child’s SEND needs.
It is important to remember that the quality of the provision and type of placement will always depend upon the quality of the professional reports used.
A poorly written EHCP is like going into a restaurant, where other diners are comfortably seated with a full meal that they know they will enjoy, and extra helpings to make sure they are adequately fed, but all that’s available to you is leftovers. You may just get by if someone offers you some of theirs, or you have some extra money to buy something else on your way home.
So, we’ve established that knowledge is key. Next is the importance of where you gain this knowledge. To return to the menu analogy, you must be careful not to end up with just a plate of mushrooms because your EHCP has been kept in the dark and fed on the evacuated remains of another’s delicious dinner.
If I need help to ensure an EHCP is good enough, how do I know that someone offering support and advice is reliable and trustworthy?
Advocacy is unregulated, so caution is paramount when looking for both paid and free support, guidance and advice.
These key questions must be asked before trusting any support.
· Is the source reliable? How do you know? Do your homework!
· Is information available to all?
· What are the skills, experiences and qualifications of the person/people offering the support?
· Is information available in a variety of accessible formats?
Before paying for advice or support there is more to consider:
· Is the person offering support traceable, with a clear business presence that demonstrates reputability?
· Are testimonials traceable, valid and reflective of the service provided?
· Has the provider made their experience and qualifications publicly available?
· If their Employers Liability, Business Insurance, ICO Registration and Limited Company registration number publicly available?
· Are costs transparent and do you have a written agreement of what work will be undertaken for what cost?
· Are you being asked for payment upfront, before you have seen the quality of the work undertaken?
Be cautious, because SEND myths, and the perpetuation of myths as they are passed from one to another in unregulated spaces can become ‘facts’ which mislead, confuse and result in unnecessary delays in children and young people achieving the provision and placement that they so desperately need.
Empowering Families of Children with SEND Ltd strives to enable the acquisition of high-quality SEND knowledge to all.
Here’s how we do this:
Department 1 – Empowering Families - SEND & EHCP Help & Support
This is our free advice and support services on our dedicated Facebook Group, currently at 18,000 members as of May 2024. Please ask to join if you are not already a member - Empowering Families - SEND & EHCP Help & Support | Facebook
Department 2 – Empowering Families - Events
Our not-for-profit ‘Events Department’, provides webinars and full support packs which always include SEND law and how to use this to protect yourself from unlawful LA policy. If you attend live, additionally, the opportunity to ask your own questions.
Prices cover administration costs at £10 for full ‘Events’, and £5 for ‘Drop In Events’ where time is put aside specifically for you to talk directly to Anna and Sarah and listen in to the SEND/EHCP discussion topic of the session. All events are available as recordings via our Events Library - All Events (thinkific.com)
Department 3 - Empowering Families - SEND Advocacy with Anna & Sarah
Our bespoke 1:1 paid-for services, including everything from professional report checking, Teams meetings and our industry-renowned draft checking service, to full Tribunal support.
We ‘Empower our Families’ by providing the most accessible affordable and professional service, our testimonials speak for themselves and are all traceable.
It is our strong company ethos that high-quality professional EHCP support must also empower parents and families to advocate for their own children and young people, and the sharing of knowledge is something we take huge pride in.
Our families go on to advocate for their children independently, using our Facebook Group to keep their knowledge up to date as the child/young person progresses through their educational journey.
Every single member of our company has direct personal experience with EHCPs and SEND. As well as highly experienced professionals, they are also parents or siblings of young people with additional needs or have SEND needs of their own. It is this lived experience, along with professional knowledge and experience that enables us to support our families, with the same commitment that we provide to our own children and young people.
Where can you find us?
We have put together a number of support packages to help you to navigate the Tribunal process.
Our blog library is a good place to start and includes blogs to help you to navigate the following:
Checking a draft or final EHCP
Top 10 words and phrases you don't want in your EHCP and why.
Find out blog library here
The following easy-to-follow EHCP checking webinars will provide additional support. Anna and Sarah talk you through, step by step how to make a basic wording, needs and provision check to your EHCP to ensure sure it is fit for purpose, worded legally and contains all necessary professional advice.
The accompanying support package provides examples and ‘fill in the blank’ templates to make the process as uncomplicated as possible.
Find our EHCP checking webinars and the accompanying support packs here.
These are part of our not-for-profit Events Department, which aims to provide affordable support for upskilling. We Empower Families to have knowledge and thereafter the confidence with SEND and EHCP issues to advocate for their own children and young people.
Empowering Families of Children with SEND Ltd also provide an industry renowned bespoke individual draft checking service. For details click here:
Bespoke 1:1 support from Anna & Sarah
You can find testimonials to our bespoke service on our website and Facebook business page - here
We are, and always will be Stronger Together.
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