Is it me or would it be easier to predict the lottery than get an Education Health Care Plan (EHCP) for your young person that you know definitely needs one? I’ve always liked the phrase ‘hen’s teeth’ and it strikes me that sums the EHCP process up quite well.

It’s careers fair season, as you may have noticed from the photos we’ve been posting on our socials and one of the questions that we always have to ask is, ‘Do you have an EHCP?’ because ridiculously on top of everything else, that’s where the funding sits. So, it’s really hard to get an EHCP and then specialist organisations can’t work with you if you don’t have one. Talk about knocking someone when they’re down. That’s a whole group of young people that as a society we’re essentially failing.

EHCPs were in the news last week. The article on the BBC website quoted Dame Rachel de Souza, Children’s Commissioner, as having said that, “At such a crucial time developmentally, every day a child waits for support could permanently alter their life”. You can read the full article over on the BBC.

Last week, at one of the careers fairs, a parent asked me what an EHCP is, to which another parent passing by replied, “You’d know if you’ve got one.” Meaning that you’d have the battle scars to prove it. And it’s not just the trauma of having to argue your case repeatedly with an over-tired looking SENDCo, of Head of School, it’s the time and admin associated with it too. You feel like you’re a qualified educational needs practitioner yourself after a while.

Here are our SENDCo’s top tips for getting an EHCP.

  • Parents OR school can apply for an EHCP. If your school won’t apply, put in an application yourself and school will then be legally required to provide their evidence and information. Doctors cannot apply.
  • Get your evidence ready. Collect anything and everything you can do and submit it together. Don’t leave the EHCP reviewer to access evidence, send it all to them with the application – they just don’t have the time to put to each and every one that comes across their desk.
  • Even if someone is coping with interventions that are in place, do not assume that these would be able to continue and/or be replicated at the next setting they move to, for example moving on to a new school. Be clear about what your young person needs and what life is like without the interventions.
  • Give context and timelines – be really thorough with what has happened and when. Don’t just think about what’s happening at the moment.
  • Likewise, make sure that you provide information about all areas of need as this is often left off, and can be one of the reasons that people are not successful.

There’s a lot of information on completing forms and applying for your EHCP on the Leeds Sendiass website.