Education and Health Care Plans have been with us since 2015. That’s six years, and yet there is still so much misinformation about them. I still, regularly come across schools that don’t fully understand the law.

The work of a SEND parent is rarely over. No sooner than you’ve managed to get a fit for purpose EHC Plan finalised, you are on to the next thing. Make sure it gets implemented.

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.

Sometimes people just aren’t listening. Sure they go through the motions, they interact at the right time, they appear to be considering your views, they may even suggest solutions. And yet they’re not listening.

I’m not sure exactly when it happens, it’s some time after the feeling of being validated, you wake up and you feel empowered. It’s the culmination of many things. You have the knowledge, you know what you know, and you know what you don’t know and, importantly, you now know how to find out.

The day we told our 7-year-old son he was not going back to school for a while, and we saw the weight of the world lift from his shoulders, for the first time, I felt completely validated.

I have a friend who can’t find trousers to fit. They are always too long. They have been faced for many years with the pain of having to do their own alterations which have never really worked or the expense of custom-tailoring. They have a dream of finding a shop that will alter their trouser hems while they complete their shopping elsewhere, for a nominal charge. I have a friend who can’t find trousers to fit. They are always too long. They have been faced for many years with the pain of having to do their own alterations which have never really worked or the expense of custom-tailoring. They have a dream of finding a shop that will alter their trouser hems while they complete their shopping elsewhere, for a nominal charge.

When it comes to the decision over which school is to be named on an EHC Plan, parental preference has power.

We have a new gadget in the house. And whilst it’s a gadget it’s doing a really important job of helping my son to learn an important skill.

Kent has 70 working days from 29th March to provide Ofsted with a written statement of action detailing how it plans to address issues raised in 9 different areas.

Sadly, not all EHC plans are equal. If an EHCP is required, and that is not always the case, generally the child has needs and requires additional provision that is not already in place and is beyond the resources of a mainstream school.