SEN Mediation
Parents/young people must have a mediation certificate before they can register an appeal about EHC needs assessments or the SEN element of an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). There is no requirement to consider mediation or to have a mediation certificate if the parent/young person is appealing only Section I (named placement) of the […]
Finding a school or college for a pupil with an EHCP
Pupils with an EHCP are not subject to the usual admissions process for school/college places. Instead, parents can request the placement they feel would best support their child/young person’s needs. Where can I find out about schools/colleges in my area and beyond? Local Offer Every local authority (LA) is required to maintain a Local Offer […]
EHCP Annual Reviews and Phase Transfer Reviews
Annual Reviews Local authorities (LAs) must review EHCPs at least once every twelve months, and should review every six months for a child under 5 years. The process and timescales for EHCP annual reviews are outlined in the SEND Regulations 2014. In most cases the LA requests the school/college arranges the annual review meeting, but […]
Content of Education, Health and Care Plans
As pupils prepare to return to school and college, we’ve put together a series of five articles on matters that parents/carers may need to address in the next year. In our first article, we examine the content of Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs). The EHCP sets out your child/young person’s identified needs and the […]
Annual Reviews and the Expired Loop!
An update to an article that we first produced in 2018 and following the recent case of R (on the application of L and others) v Devon County Council [2022] EWHC 493 (Admin) which has put to bed the Loop! A reminder of parent and young persons’ rights under Annual Reviews Section 51 Children and […]
School exclusions and pupils with SEN
Children with special educational needs (SEN) are 5 times more likely to receive a permanent exclusion than pupils with no known SEN. While the rate of permanent and fixed-period exclusions has come down, there is clearly more to be done to ensure that children with SEN are getting the right support in schools. We receive […]
Autism and Educational, Health and Care Plans (EHCP)
The National Autistic Society describes autism as a ‘lifelong, developmental disability that affects how a person communicates with and relates to other people, and how they experience the world around them’. Autism is a spectrum condition meaning it affects people in different ways. People with autism may experience differences and impairments in social interaction and […]
Plugging the gap on the never ending Annual Review cycle
The long awaited High Court judgment in R (L) v Devon CC [2022] EWHC 493 (Admin) finally provides clarity on the process of amending Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) after annual reviews. In short, if the local authority proposes to amend the EHCP after an annual review, it must send its proposed amendments within […]
All change: The Welsh ALN reforms
What are the ALN reforms? Pupils in Wales with special educational needs (SEN) are supported through early intervention/intervention plus; school action/action plus; and Statements of SEN. These are now being phased out in favour of a single statutory document, the Individual Development Plan (IDP), which will offer all pupils with SEN (now known as additional […]
Snap Care – cease to maintain education, health and care plans (EHCPS)
I spoke with SNAP Care on 9 February 2022 about EHCPs, and what you need to know about when a Plan can be ceased, and when one is ceased, by the local authority (LA). Here are some of the questions and answers: If a young person (YP) reaches 19 years old and they have an […]