Still no ehcp

melia88

Hi I've just joined to try and get some advice from anyone who can help me, my son is waiting for his ehcp and to be seen by ASD panel. My son has been place reduced timetable since the beginning of September. At first i thought the school was doing all it could but as time has gone on, I now feel they just want him put as they can't cope. Is it right that my son has only been allowed at school for 2hrs and during the time at school he is not allowed out at play times, can some please help me as I feel like its discrimination but have no idea what to do or where to start!  TIA

janer1967

Hi and welcome to the community I am sorry I dont really know anything about this but I am sure other members will. 

Have you looked in our section on parents of disabled children this may give you some answers or have you spoken to your GP or social services 

KarenO_Scope

Hello @melia88. Welcome to the community and I am sorry to hear you and your son are having such a difficult time with education and school. I work for Scope's Family Services in Leeds. Every local authority should have a SENDIASS team (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information Advice and Support Services), you should be able to go to them for advice on special educational needs and schools, and they should be able to help explain the laws and regulations around access to education. They can also help liaise with school to move things forward in situations like yours when a child is not in full time education.

The school should also have completed a risk assessment that they should have shared with you, detailing the reasons why it unsafe to have your child in school for more than 2 hours or access play time. Most local authorities also provide funding for support (generally used to provide teaching assistant support and specialist training) without the need for an EHCP, it is usually banded in areas e.g. behaviour, communication, medical needs etc. Generally to access this funding the school would have made contact with the local authority education department or invite in their area educational psychologist to assess your child. I know from supporting parents in our local authority the systems around EHCP and support have dramatically slowed down due to Coronovirus, which is very challenging for parents.

I would start by making contact with your local SENDIASS service, there is also IPSEA (Independent Provider of Special Education Advice) a charity that provides independent advice on rights of children with special educational needs. You could also make contact with Scope's Parents Connect, this is a Leeds based service that has been providing additional support to parents outside the area during Lockdown, and they have had a number of workshops on EHCP and advocating for your child. There may also be other local forums for parents of children with special needs and autism, even without a diagnosis making contact with these parents groups may help you with getting advice around the systems and support in your local authority.

I hope you are able to move things forward and get the support your child needs to progress in his education.

Chloe_Alumni

Hi @melia88, just wanted to check in to see how you were getting on. I hope @KarenO_Scope has been able to help.