Hurrah - a draft plan - what next?
There’s a feeling of excitement and frisson when you hear the LA will write an Education and Health Care Plan (EHCP) for your child. It might be they call you to let you know (that was my experience), or you might receive an email. Alternatively, the first you hear about it might even be when the draft plan drops through your letterbox. All Local Authorities (LAs) do it differently.
So, what happens once you receive the draft plan?
Along with the draft plan, there should be a letter letting you know that you have 15 calendar days to provide any thoughts/comments on the plan. During this time they must also agree to meet with you if you wish. A meeting can be helpful – sometimes called a co-production meeting, this is an opportunity for you to share your comments on how the draft plan does or doesn’t meet your child’s needs. It is worth reading a previous blog on why mediation matters, to fully understand the benefit of such a meeting, as the benefits are largely the same.
All the revision in the world will not save a bad first draft: for the architecture of the thing comes, or fails to come, in the first conception, and revision only affects the detail and ornament, alas!
— T. E. LAWRENCE
So, when you receive the draft what are you looking for?
Are there any factual errors? Is your child’s name spelt correctly? Crazy I know, and even something that basic can be wrong. If there are factual errors or things that appear to have been misrepresented, highlight them and explain how you’d like them to be changed. If you have it support it with evidence.
Are all your child’s needs covered? If you are concerned you might miss one of their needs, go back to the professional reports, and highlight any needs. Then check they are reflected in the draft plan. If there are any missing – write them down and refer to the relevant professional report, including page number to make the LA case officer’s job as easy as possible.
Is there a provision to meet all of the stated needs? If you think there are things missing, go back to the professional reports and extract the recommendations – again citing which professional and what page number, and ask for them to be added in. Be warned, though. If a professional writes that your child “may benefit from” whatever they may benefit from is likely to be ignored. Unless the professional has stated that they “need or require” a certain provision it may well be excluded.
Once you have done this, consider what school or type of school might be the logical placement. Is your preferred school a logical placement? If not go back through the draft plan with that filter in your mind, and ensure that all relevant needs and provisions which would make it the logical provision have been included.
In parallel with sending the draft to you, the LA will consult with a number of schools that it feels will be appropriate placements. This is likely to include the current school and it will also include other schools of a similar type. LAs usually consult with mainstream schools in the first instance. Be sure to let them know which school or schools you’d like them to consult.
And finally, ensure that you get your comments/thoughts back to them within the 15-day deadline, faster if possible. The quicker you do this, the faster the final plan will be issued and the quicker your child will be legally entitled to receive the stated provision.
Bear in mind that there is no guarantee that your comments will be incorporated into the final plan. You will have to wait for that to arrive, and go through it with a fine-toothed comb to see what has and hasn’t been included.
Being told the LA will write an EHCP for your child feels a bit like hearing your name called out at a raffle. However, until the final plan is issued, you have no idea if you’ve won the family holiday or the wooden spoon.
