I received my son's EHCP complete with an EOTAS package yesterday from our borough. They are now working on the DP part of it as we have a personal budget. However (now that I've got this legal document in place) we are moving our son to another borough (we already have a residence here there). Should I tell the issuing borough this already, before they set up all the PB details or inform my new borough straight away?

We were in the middle of an EHCP application when we had to move boroughs for my other child (child A) to attend a SEN school. Rather than stop the process (we were due to go to tribunal but thankfully the LA asked us to reconsider and we were able to work out a great eotas package), we maintained our property in the old borough and essentially split the family so that one parent was with child A in the new borough for his school and one parent was with child B in the old borough whilst we worked on finalising his EHCP.
Yesterday we finally received the completed EHCP with advise that the DP team will be in touch so we can start putting section F into effect.
My question is - Do I tell the issuing borough not to go ahead with setting up the DP as we are moving child B to be with the rest of the family in the new borough?
Or does that look suspicious; should I let them go ahead and set it up and then inform our new borough of the move?
Also, I am aware it will take time to get the DP set up in the new borough and that they might even choose to question the EOTAS package. I would ideally like to start using some of the location non-specific funds e.g. resources and subscriptions asap as opposed to tutors and clubs. I have already spent two years fighting for this and time is of the essence now to get my son the support he needs.
Any advice or input would be much appreciated.
Many thanks for your support.

Timing of annual reviews (s44 CFA2014). Is it correct that an annual review should be 12 months after the date an amended EHCP was issued (following a tribunal appeal)?

s44 CFA2014 requires an EHCp to be reviewed within 12 months of being issued and then within 12 months of the date the EHCp was last reviewed.

The last review of my 9 yo daughters EHCp was/was completed on the 1st July 2022. We appealed to the FTT who ordered amendments to the EHCp, and the amended document was issued on 30th April 2023. The LA now claims that the next s44 review must be completed by 30th April 2024 and not 1st July 2023 as s44 requires.

Do hours need to be specified

We have EOTAS following tribunal, with provision specified in section F. It is now five weeks since we received the tribunal order and the provision ...

... is not in place - ie we haven't received the personal budget. We have received a pb contract, but it doesn't include all the provision in section F. Some of which is really clear (eg 38 weeks instead of 39) and some I think the LA would consider open to interpretation, though seems pretty clear to me. I don't want to sign a contract that isn't correct, but I do need the money ASAP to pay the providers. Is my best option just an official complaint? Is there any wording to quote to potentially speed things up? Thank you

Please explain public task as lawfulness for data processing in context of EHCPs that a ) LAs and b) Schools rely upon? I believe the public task ...

... of the LA is to have processes in place for dealing with EHCPs i.e. NHS commissioning agreements, assessment processes etc. But PUBLIC TASK does not mean that sensitive specific individual data can openly/ without parental or child consent be processed with whom the LA deems appropriate ie. school consultations or third parties.This would need to be agreed. PUBLIC TASK in terms of EHCP/SENDIST means that processes are in place.

LAs quote public task as lawfulness to share and obtain your individual data with third parties without your knowledge in EHCPNA and SENDIST. I don't agree and no one can explain this to me in simple SENDIST/ Education terms. Please can some one explain this as I believe LAs and schools are misquoting to obtain and share data strategically in sendist to blindsight parents

Can Section A only be amended at annual review? I have just successfully appealed Sections B, F and I of my child’s EHCP at Tribunal. The Tribunal ...

... has ordered the LA to amend Sections B and F. The LA is in the process of doing so. My question is whether the LA is precluded in law from making the amendments I have requested to Section A at the same time?

The LA has said it can only do what the Tribunal has ordered it do it and that I will have to wait a year for an annual review to ask for amendments to Section A. My understanding is that as Section A can’t be appealed and does not come within the jurisdiction of the Tribunal, there is nothing in law to preclude the LA from making amendments to Section A now - when they are working on the EHCP to amend Sections B and F. Is this right?

I know I may be wasting my time arguing a point of principle here, but it feels an important one as the Draft EHCP was very poorly drafted and didn’t even include the full views my daughter had written out herself nor the full information she had given to the LA’s Ed Psych as part of a sentence completion activity. I therefore felt that in not including them in Section A her voice had been ignored, which was contrary to the whole principle of the Code of Practice. I have been asking for these amendments since the poorly written Draft was issued.

The LA ignored my requests to make the amendments during the exchange of working documents and has now come back with a ‘No’ and an email saying, ‘This can be amended following a future annual review. Legally [we] must stick to the working document and what the Tribunal have ordered us to amend.’ This feels unnecessarily unreasonable but is there anything in law to support their point?

Any advice gratefully received. Thank you.

The cost of an EHCP disagreement. Can you outline the costs for parents of taking the LA to tribunal?

ehcp delays mean that by the time my sons ehcp is completed there will be no special school places available. Is there a way I can prevent this?

Our son will be 5 in October and has complex drug resistant epilepsy with epileptic encepathopathy, GDD and ASD. His nursery has been amazing but has had very little support and guidance, he has 1:1 at nursery and extra funding.

He can have up to 100 seizures a day, these can be extremely violent and throw him forward often causing head and facial injuries, he has very limited communication and cannot communicate his wants or needs, he is still in nappies, he has no awareness of danger, he will put anything and everything in his mouth. mainstream would be unsafe for both him and everyone else.

We are on week 16 of the ehcp and my son has just been allocated an educational psychologist.
The LA has a shortage of EPs and have said his outcomes meeting will be on the week beginning the 29th of may. (although they did say this would be brought forward once ep had done her report)

Our 2 nearest schools between them have about 20 places. I'm worried that the ehcp will be too late and he will not have a place. He's an October baby so I can defer him for a term but only if the nursery has space for him.

Is there any way to speed up the LA or somehow have them hold a school space? They have reports from SALT, OT, neurodiability, PNI teachers, GOSH etc etc seems silly to wait for one report when they already know he will need a place at a special school.
What happens if they don't complete the ehcp within the 20 week timescale?

Can LA and college make secret deals about funding post 18 education?

My son is 20 and making great progress at college, EHCP outcomes still to be acheived, he enjoys going to college, college enjoy him and the transport is fine, so I thought everything could stay the same for another year.

However, Herts cc and Bucks college tell me they have made a deal over only funding one year of education.

I thought education was based on progress and basing it on funding was unlawful.

Am I right?

Can a local authority name a school in section I if the plan is for the child to be educated through 15 hours of online learning, which the LA advise the school must source

My child is in year 9 and has been out of school for 18 months and now been assessed for EHCP. Ed Psyc report states mainstream school cannot meet her needs and she should be educated at home with at least 15 hours online learning a week. The LA plan is that she should remain on the role of her current school and that school should outsouce the online learning (through top up funding) which will be accessed at home. It is not envisaged that she will actually attend the school at all. Isn't this really EOTAS? Thanks