In the UK, it’s the responsibility of local authorities (LAs) to ensure that all children receive an appropriate education up to the age of eighteen. If a child has any kind of SEN – physical, emotional, mental or neurological – it’s down to the school, along with the backing of the local authority, to make sure that the young person gets the right support to enable them to participate in that education, whatever form it takes.
If a school believes they need extra funding to be able to meet a child’s needs, they will often apply to the local authority for an Education and Health Care Plan (EHCP). This is a legal document which gives precise details on the young person’s challenges and exactly what kind of help they will need. This could include, for example, one-to-one support in the classroom or sessions with a specialist speech and language therapist, though each child is different and so their plan will be tailored for their individual needs.
Not Always Easy to Obtain the Necessary Help
Unfortunately, families all over the UK sometimes report difficulty in obtaining an EHCP. Occasionally, the child’s school refuses to apply for one – in which case, parents may do so themselves – though more often, the difficulty is that the local authority refuses to conduct an initial assessment of the child’s needs. In other instances, the local authority will assess but still refuse to grant the EHCP. Because local councils are notoriously short of cash and every EHCP issued provides a school with a ‘pot’ of money for that pupil, some people speculate that this reluctance is primarily a financial decision.
And even where an EHCP has been granted, families sometimes want to challenge the details of the plan – for example, the number of hours of individual support, the kind of support offered or the school placement the child has been allocated.
How to Challenge Decisions About Your Child’s Education
In any situation where parents disagree with the decision of the local authority, they have the right to challenge this. If the local authority won’t make an EHCP assessment or refuses to grant a plan, families can take the matter to a tribunal. This is a free, legal hearing where an independent adviser will consider the family’s concerns and decide whether the local authority has followed SEN law. According to government statistics, in 2022, more than 95% of hearings ruled in favour of the families.
If you want to change the contents of the EHCP, according to the charity IPSEA (Independent Provider of Special Education Advice) you can also take the matter to tribunal if the plan has been issued, renewed or updated within the last two months. If you are beyond that timespan, you can either ask for the plan to be amended at the next Annual Review or ask for an early review if the next one is some time away.
If you would like to add more information to your child’s EHCP, you can request that the local authority conducts another needs assessment.
Making a Complaint about the Local Authority’s Conduct
If you are unhappy with the way the local authority has behaved, the first step is to make a formal complaint to the LA themselves, following their procedure which should be outlined on their website. This will usually need to be in writing – either to an email address or via an online form. Be sure to keep copies of any correspondence whether on paper or online.
IPSEA recommends that in addition, parents send their complaints to their local authority’s Director of Children’s Services as well as the monitoring officer (a senior person who is appointment to make sure that correct standards are maintained across all the LA’s activities.)
If the complaint isn’t resolved to their satisfaction, families can then ramp it up and send the matter to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.
FURTHER INFORMATION
IPSEA offers lots of free advice and template letters – https://www.ipsea.org.uk. The organisation is also running a virtual training day for parents and carers looking to obtain an EHCP later in the summer. Follow this link for details – https://www.ipsea.org.uk/Event/ehc-plan-masterclass-obtaining-a-plan-12th-august
