The transition to EHCP - What you need to know

The Children and Families Act 2014 took effect on 1 September 2014. Since that time children have been making the move from Statements of Special Educational Needs (or Learning Difficulty Assessments) to Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCP).

Transition is a golden opportunity for parents to ensure that any ‘holes’ in provision are plugged and to ensure that any outdated advice is refreshed. However, local authorities are rushing the process and not completing it properly.

The DfE has issued guidance for local authorities to go through transition properly.

How transition should happen

The transition process is started by your child’s school or education placement writing to inform you that it is time to move to the EHCP.

This letter triggers a 14 week process of transition. By the end of the process you should hold a new EHCP.

The guidance issued by the DfE, at paragraph 6.3, requires that during the transition process an EHC needs assessment must be completed. Separate regulations sets out that the EHC needs assessment must gather advice from:

1. Parents;
2. The child;
3. The education placement;
4. Medical professionals;
5. Educational psychologist;
6. Social care;
7. Anyone else the local authority considers necessary;
8. Specialist advice if the child is Hearing Impaired or Visually Impaired; and
9. Specialist advice if the child is in Year 9 or above about preparing for adulthood and independent living.

At some point during the 14 week transition process a transition meeting will be held. It is for the local authority to decide when this meeting should take place during the 14 weeks. The meeting should discuss your hopes and aspirations for your child, and any hopes they are able to express. It should, if possible, discuss any advice which has been received and start discussing Outcomes.

Outcomes

Outcomes are hugely important to the EHCP. They set out the goals that the EHCP seeks to achieve. They should be specific, measureable, achievable, realistic and time-bound. For example;

“Martin will be able to spell his name without assistance or prompting by the time he reaches 8 years of age”.

The Outcomes are highly subjective and can only be truly completed with fresh advice from health, social care and (at least) the educational psychologist.

The reason that Outcomes are so important is that if they are reached this can be a trigger for the EHCP to cease. As such, Outcomes should seek to be as optimistic, and long-term, as possible, as long as they remain achievable and realistic.

Pitfalls

The regulations set out that if parents agree that updating advice is not needed from any, or all, of those listed above, the local authority need not seek that advice. Parents need to be very careful to ensure that they only agree to this if absolutely clear that the advice already held is sufficiently detailed, quantified and up to date.

In my experience, all transition meetings have been held in the total absence of social care. Few have involved a health professional. There is a legal requirement for health and social care to provide advice and to “cooperate”. These are important pieces of advice and parents should ensure that they are obtained.

Transition meetings are also being described as “outcome setting meetings” in some cases. During these meetings parents are being expected to conjure the Outcomes that will be used within the EHCP. Outcomes are hugely important to EHCPs and certainly should not be prepared in a hurried fashion. Equally, they should not be prepared unless and until the full EHC needs assessment has been completed.

Be prepared

I noted in October that there was a high risk that transition was not going to be completed properly. This seems to be coming to pass.

From the point that parents receive the letter about transition they need to monitor closely the action that local authorities are taking. You will need to ensure that appropriate advice is being sought and made proper use of.

Before attending any meeting during the transition period, parents need to be willing to query what the local authority is actually doing. They should also be prepared to discuss what they are unhappy about within the Statement of Special Educational needs or LDA to ensure that mistakes are not repeated.

The DfE are very clear that transition is not just “rebranding”. The EHCP is an entirely new document. Parents need to understand the process and be prepared to take advice on the process being employed. Early intervention can prevent difficult appeals later on.