Should I apply for an EHCP

Uh-oh, don't get me started on EHC Plans...  We have one for our Asperger's child.  It was fairly easy to get the LA to agree to give her an EHC Plan, because she was in a psychiatric ward in a hospital with mental health problems and had not attended school for months.  We just sent all the CAMHS reports in and the the ASD diagnosis letter, and they agreed to give her the plan.

But that was just the start!!  The whole process is supposed to take 6 months maximum, but it took us 9 months to get a final plan that we agreed to.  I rang and e-mailed the Council SEN team every week, at least, chasing up this and that, but they hardly ever responded.  They are completely overloaded.

The key thing if you are pursuing an EHC Plan is to get your school on board. if you want to name that school on the plan.  Make use of all the help you can - there is free help.  The first thing to do is to contact your Local Council SENDIASS - they can actually help you to fill in the application form and can guide you through the process.  

You can also contact IPSEA, who can give you great legal advice, but they are very difficult to contact - you have to book a phone call and it's not easy.  So also try Contact A Family, as they seem to be easier to phone.

Also, I'm afraid that it's ALL about money.  Seriously.  Forget the nice words and sincere promises about how the EHC is there to support children, etc.  The SEN team has one primary objective, and that is to spend as little as they can.  Supporting children with SEN is expensive, and their budgets are fixed.  As soon as you suggest anything that will cost extra, they will steel themselves and protest reaons why it's impossible. 

It was a long battle to get what we wanted in our EHC Plan, but I'm grateful every day that we did, and I just wish I'd got it sooner.

Uh-oh, don't get me started on EHC Plans...  We have one for our Asperger's child.  It was fairly easy to get the LA to agree to give her an EHC Plan, because she was in a psychiatric ward in a hospital with mental health problems and had not attended school for months.  We just sent all the CAMHS reports in and the the ASD diagnosis letter, and they agreed to give her the plan.

But that was just the start!!  The whole process is supposed to take 6 months maximum, but it took us 9 months to get a final plan that we agreed to.  I rang and e-mailed the Council SEN team every week, at least, chasing up this and that, but they hardly ever responded.  They are completely overloaded.

The key thing if you are pursuing an EHC Plan is to get your school on board. if you want to name that school on the plan.  Make use of all the help you can - there is free help.  The first thing to do is to contact your Local Council SENDIASS - they can actually help you to fill in the application form and can guide you through the process.  

You can also contact IPSEA, who can give you great legal advice, but they are very difficult to contact - you have to book a phone call and it's not easy.  So also try Contact A Family, as they seem to be easier to phone.

Also, I'm afraid that it's ALL about money.  Seriously.  Forget the nice words and sincere promises about how the EHC is there to support children, etc.  The SEN team has one primary objective, and that is to spend as little as they can.  Supporting children with SEN is expensive, and their budgets are fixed.  As soon as you suggest anything that will cost extra, they will steel themselves and protest reaons why it's impossible. 

It was a long battle to get what we wanted in our EHC Plan, but I'm grateful every day that we did, and I just wish I'd got it sooner.