As someone working in middle and secondary schools, I was by no means the first person to have come across a child yet I was often the first one to do anything about getting an EHCP. Does this sound familiar?
It certainly was to me and it became clear that something needed to be done. One vital thing was to build and maintain relationships with feeder schools. It is too easy (and often done) where we blame each other. I cannot understand this – an “us and them” mentality between primary and secondary schools does not help anyone. Of course we have our differences in all sorts of ways but that is not the same as right and wrong. It is just different and that is ok!
Anyway, back to building relationships – this is critical to provide continuity of support for all, especially those with SEND (EHCP or not). For pupils who do not have an EHCP, it is important to think ahead, planning not just for their needs whilst in Y6 but what is likely to change when they move into Year 7. If this requires EHCP-level support, work together to make the application and respond to the draft plan. I’ll be talking more about this in the upcoming webinar.
Let’s now take the example of a student who has arrived in your secondary school and clearly has needs which require more than you can offer at SEND support level. My first (and really only point!) here is to make the Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment (EHCNA) request as soon as possible!
You may well have heard your LA telling you things such as “they need to be in your school at least two terms first – get your APDR in place”. Perhaps you have been told that “they are not working far enough behind”. Both of these are unlawful criteria! In fact, the legal test for a needs assessment is very low and there are certainly no time scales in place that prevent you applying – you could literally apply on their first day in Year 7 if you needed to. I’ll go into more detail about this in the webinar where we will look at the legal tests and how you can show they are met (even when a child has not long been in your setting).
Next up is communication with parents. You may be telling them something they already know when you speak to them about making an EHCNA request and it may be something they wanted at primary school and it didn’t happen. Please do not fall into the trap of blaming the primary school for this – it won’t achieve anything and if the SENCO is struggling, they need support not criticism. Work with the family to move on from what has gone before.
There may also be families who do not think their child has a significant need or perhaps, things were not as obvious at primary school where the environment is usually much smaller with fewer transitions in the day and overall, less demand placed on a young person. These families will need your support with this process as it could be a shock to them and they may be struggling to support their child at home.
In my live session on 3rd December (click here to register here), we will take some time to think about how we can support those who are in Year 7 and would benefit from an EHCP. We will cover:-
- The legal criteria for a needs assessment
- Sharing information when pupils move schools
- Developing a more collaborative approach between each phase of schooling
- Why there is no time like year 7 to make your EHCNA request!
The information we cover will not just give you the legal basis for making EHCNA requests (which applies to all year groups, not just Year 7). It will also help save you a significant amount of time as we look at how to make the request efficiently. By following the law rather than LA lengthy forms, your workload can be drastically reduced and should you wish to, you can also use information already available rather than creating lots of new documents.
End the first term of this academic year with the knowledge of how to make those EHCNA requests for your Year 7’s without further delay.
Join me on my webinar to discuss this topic further click here to register here.
