Responding to a Draft EHCP when Schools Are Closed
- Sarah
- Mar 29
- 8 min read
If you have a draft EHCP due in the school holidays when schools are closed, this blog will explain what you should do.
It will guide you through how to prepare and respond to a draft EHCP that is received during a school summer break, Christmas or Easter holiday – when schools are not open for extended periods of time and potentially for the duration of your 15-calendar day response time.
There are clearly limitations that do not occur during term time. You must now consider the following:
You will not be able to discuss the draft with the current placement
You will not be able to visit schools
You will not be able to discuss potential placements with schools
Arranging transitions into new schools will be logistically challenging
The 4-week Rule
The ‘4-week rule’ is relevant when the 20-week timeframe to finalise a new EHCP following a needs assessment includes the 6-week school summer holiday period. For more information about the ‘4-week rule’ check out this blog here
You will not be able to discuss the draft with the current placement. This may not be such a great disadvantage. The EHCP is not written for the school. It is written for the child. It is not unheard of for a member of staff at a school to discourage a parent from making changes to a draft or advising that provision should be removed, for the following reasons:
School staff, even SENCOs are not as trained and experienced in how EHC Plans must be worded as you may think. Poorly worded EHCPs are often seen later at Annual Reviews, with staff being unaware of how badly written and evidenced these documents are.
Many schools do love a poorly worded EHC Plan: a non-enforceable EHCP reduces cost to the school and gives it flexibility in how it uses your child’s SEN funding, because the only thing that must be provided is the provision that is lawfully specified and quantified in Section F. Vague provision does not have to be provided, and the funding can be steered elsewhere.
It is your responsibility as a parent to make sure that your EHCP is fit for purpose. This can be an overwhelming prospect, but we have the resources to help you to undertake this as a parent.
If this is one job too many, we also provide bespoke draft checks as part of our professional legal advocacy services.
If you are hoping for your child to move school when their EHCP is finalised, you will not be able to visit schools during the holidays, but you can find information in other ways. Here are some suggestions on how, and what you are seeking from your research:
What is the current vibe of the school, how are parents who have children here feeling about the placement? For this you can use social media. Go onto local forums and ask questions, along the lines of “I’m looking for a school for my child who struggles with XXX, would they be a good fit here, talk to me about your experience”. Post anonymously, as this will enable a safe platform. There is nothing quite like lived experience. If the feedback is positive, you may be able to meet up with parents for a deeper conversation. If it’s negative, this may be one person’s experience, but it will at least give you pointers to investigate further.
Do a ‘drive by’ – you may not be able to go in, but can you see the site? How is it placed? Is the location one that will suit your child. By this we don’t mean that it has sea views or a Starbucks next door. If your child elopes, is the school site safely gated and fenced? How far is the school from your home? Is the school as described by your caseworker, or not? Consider distance, how long will this take at school run time, and how early will your child need to leave home? If you have travel as a difficulty in Section B of your EHCP, the LA must ensure there is suitable provision.
Do your online research. Check out the school’s website. You can often get a good feel for the school, and you can find links to their Ofsted report, SEND report and relevant policies. Lack lustre information on SEND tells you more than they may think. You should be seeing information on the following:
how children and young people are reviewed and assessed for needs and progress.
how the curriculum and environment is adapted and differentiated for those with SEND.
how effective SEND support is.
Where students go on to, to undertake GCSE’s, A levels and FE/HE placements.
How are functional and life skills supported?
How are SEND children and young people’s needs met holistically, including SEMH needs?
Critically it must also include the specific expertise and training of staff with regard to the cohort.
You will not be able to discuss potential placements with schools. Unfortunately, during the school holidays you will have to rely on the research above to make a decision about which school(s) you want to name as your parental preference. In addition to the research ideas above, you can also:
Look for the schools Accessibility Plan, is this available online? Under Schedule 10; section 3(4)Equality Act 2010 all schools must have this information readily available. It must document how the physical environment has been made accessible, how the curriculum is delivered to those with disabilities to ensure it is accessible to all, and how disabled pupils are enabled to participate.
The school should also make its Public Sector Equality Duty report available. (Regulation 3 The Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) Regs 2011) – This will explain how the school eliminates discrimination, harassment and victimisation including for children and young people with SEND.
If you find that you are refused a place in your preferred school because they are full, this can be challenged. Our YouTube video will help you to make the decision about whether to challenge a school that is full. here
It is also worth checking out Freedom of Information (FOI) requests. It is possible that there are FOI requests about schools that you are interested in, which can include how far over PAN schools have been before. PAN is the Published Admissions Number which is the number of pupils a school can admit for each Year Group. For FOI information look at www.whatdotheyknow.com
Contact the school. Key administrative staff will be picking up email, and the headteacher will have to make arrangements for formal school consults from the LA to be responded to, so it is worth contacting the school. All schools will be working on a significantly reduced staffing capacity, so make sure that you email, and chase after a week to ten days. Be brief:
Have they received a draft? Please see attached the amended version (don’t be fooled into thinking that the LA will have sent this).
State either that you believe they can’t meet need (and no offence, but you aren’t our parental preference) or that this is the school that you are prepared to appeal for, should they agree to meet need.
Please can they get in touch to discuss?
They may ignore you, but then again, they may not. You really don’t have anything to lose by attempting to reach out, especially if you gently mention how much you appreciate a response in the holidays. Our blog on School visit top tips here will help you here too.
You can request a timescale extension to the draft; you have 15 calendar days to make amendments (not working days). The LA ‘can’ agree to extend this to allow you more time – we wouldn’t necessarily advise this for draft checking, but to push the time out to enable you to have greater opportunity to access schools this might be useful. However, it is often not a coincidence that Local Authorities issue drafts on Christmas Eve, and on the day that schools break up for Easter and Summer. Remember – you only have 15 calendar days to make those amendments and to request a school. It is also worth noting that school type can, and often will, change following a robust draft check. If you are requesting an extension, always do this in writing, and ensure the agreement is in writing also. Don’t leave anything to chance. Local Authorities can have moments of amnesia and may ‘forget’ that a phone call was made to agree an extension.
Use our blog here on how to find schools. Watch our YouTube to help ensure a school is suitable here
Discussing transitions to a new school will be logistically challenging, but you can and should be as prepared as possible. Our YouTube video, ‘Is this the right school for your child?’ here has an explanation of how a good transition should be implemented.
If the LA have confirmed a school place, and you cannot make contact with the school to start transition discussions, you can begin to create your own resources. These resources will be useful:
Look at writing your own Social stories here
Go online and use photos from the school website. Generic photos from Pinterest can be helpful too, (choose carefully to reflect UK schools). Use these to make an ‘All About My School book’. A photo of your child on the front, then as you go through, photos of the school, of school halls, lunch times, coat pegs, tables, books, the library, including ‘home time’. Children are often worried that they will have to stay at school and never come home.
Don’t shy away from telling your child what you will be doing when they are at school. Remember that they have just been having the best time during school holidays. The thought that life at home will carry on in this carefree way can make the thought of going to school even harder. That you will be at work, caring for others and cleaning up the mess left after breakfast, doing the shopping, the everyday mundane may help that FOMO.
As is explained in our other resources, start a routine at least the week before school starts, getting up and dressed in time, have the school uniform in sight, a very gradual move back into that school routine.
The closer you get to September, the higher your expectation must be on communication with both the LA and schools. Hold accountability; the LA have a duty to ensure that a school is found, and the school have a duty to ensure that a transition is in place for your child.
Where do I go from here, and how can Empowering Families of Children with SEND Ltd help me?
If you require additional support, find out how Empowering Families of Children with SEND can help you here.
If you have any questions, come and find us on our Facebook Group, we are always available to provide professional support there.
Our YouTube channel has over 125 support videos.
For more information about how Empowering Families can help you with a draft EHCP, email EHCPchecks@empoweringSENDfamilies.co.uk
Book a 1 to 1 support meeting with us here.
We are, and always will be, Stronger Together.
You can find testimonials to our bespoke services on our website and Facebook Business page here.
