Our Service
| Myth | Truth |
|---|---|
 SENDiass4BCP represent the parent, carer, child or young person. |  We cannot represent you, but will support you to put across your views. |
| SENDiass4BCP can recommend suitable schools. | As an impartial service, we are not able to make recommendations, but we can provide you with the information for you to make an informed decision. |
| SENDiass4BCP Officers are specialists in the needs of the CYP they support. | We will endeavour to have a good understanding of the child / young person’s needs in order to provide you with the best support, however, we will never know or understand your child / young person’s needs as much as you. |
| SENDiass4BCP can make the local authority make decisions. | We can advise you of the law and the responsibilities of the local authority and schools or colleges, but we do not have the authority to enforce it. We can however provide you with the support for you to take necessary action if this is your choice. |
| SENDiass4BCP can overturn decisions made by a school or the local authority. | We can provide you with the information and support you to appeal a decision made by the local authority, but we have no influence with the decisions that are made. |
EHC Needs Assessments
| Myth | Truth |
|---|---|
| You need to submit a Subject Access Request (SAR), to request an EHC needs assessment. | We advise to first seek support from your child or young person’s nursery, school or college to raise any concerns you may have regarding their support. A school would usually be supportive in providing you with the documentation you are asking for, if you are looking to submit a parental request for an EHC needs assessment. If however, you feel it necessary to submit a subject access request to obtain further information, we suggest you are as specific as possible regarding the information it is you are looking for. You will find further information on your right to access information here Right to Access Information – SENDiass4BCP And here you will find some further information on EHC Needs Assessments EHC Needs Assessments – SENDiass4BCP |
| It is quicker to submit a parental request for an EHC needs assessment. | An EHC Needs Assessment can be requested by a parent / carer, an educational setting, or a young person themselves (aged 16 and above). The statutory process remains the same, no matter who requests the needs assessment. You can find out more information on the statutory process here EHC Needs Assessments – SENDiass4BCP |
| A require a diagnosis before submitting an EHC needs assessment. | The legal test for an EHC needs assessment is set out in the Children and Families Act 2014. When a local authority is requested to carry out an EHC needs assessment, they must consider two things: – whether the child or young person has or may have special educational needs; and – whether they may need special educational provision to be made through an EHC plan If the answer to both of these questions is yes, then the local authority MUST carry out an EHC needs assessment. There is no requirement for a child to have a diagnosis for a needs assessment to take place. You can find out more information on EHC needs assessments here EHC Needs Assessments – SENDiass4BCP |
| A child must be academically 3 years behind, in order to request an EHC needs assessment. | The SEND Code of Practice 2015 refers to four broad areas of need, they are: Cognition and learning Communication and interaction Social, emotional and mental health Physical and / or sensory A child may display areas of need in one of the above, or all four. Therefore, if a child is academically behind in comparison to their peers, this may indicate a need within cognition and learning. Likewise, a child may not have needs in this area, but may for example, display difficulties in regulating their emotions or with their communication. This may still be an indicator of special educational needs. You can find out more information on SEN Support in Mainstream Schools here SEND Support in Schools – SENDiass4BCP and on EHC needs assessments here EHC Needs Assessments – SENDiass4BCP |
| You must have evidence of 2 terms of assess, plan, do review before you can request an EHC needs assessment. | The legal test for an EHC needs assessment is set out in the Children and Families Act 2014. When a local authority is requested to carry out an EHC needs assessment, they must consider two things: – whether the child or young person has or may have special educational needs; and – whether they may need special educational provision to be made through an EHC plan If the answer to both of these questions is yes, then the local authority MUST carry out an EHC needs assessment. So, although it may be helpful to obtain evidence such as this, to support the second part of the test (in that support has already been provided and the child or young person is still not making expected progress), it is not a requirement. You can find out more information on EHC needs assessments here EHC Needs Assessments – SENDiass4BCP |
| An EHC needs assessment always results in an EHC plan being issued. | An agreement to carry out an EHC needs assessment does not guarantee an EHC plan. In agreeing to carry out an EHC needs assessment, the local authority have agreed that the child or young person has or may have special educational needs and that provision may need to be made through an EHC plan. After the assessment, the local authority decides whether an EHC plan is necessary based on the evidence provided through the EHC needs assessment process. If they decide not to issue an EHC plan, they must explain their reasons in writing and inform you of your right to appeal. You can find out more information on EHC needs assessments here EHC Needs Assessments – SENDiass4BCP |
| The local authority do not have to accept private / independent reports. | The SEND Regulations 2014 state that, with reference to EHC needs assessments, a local authority must seek advice and information from any person the child’s parent or young person reasonably requests that the local authority seek advice from. Also, that they must consider any information provided to the local authority by or at the request of the child, the child’s parent or the young person. It continues to state that a local authority must not seek further advise if such advice has previously been provided for any purpose and the person providing that advice, the local authority and the child’s parent or the young person are satisfied that it is sufficient for the purposes of an EHC needs assessment. You can find out more information on EHC needs assessments here EHC Needs Assessments – SENDiass4BCP |
| My child is entitled to an EHC needs assessment / plan because they have a diagnosis. | The legal test for an EHC needs assessment is set out in the Children and Families Act 2014. When a local authority is requested to carry out an EHC needs assessment, they must consider two things: -whether the child or young person has or may have special educational needs; and -whether they may need special educational provision to be made through an EHC plan If the answer to both of these questions is yes, then the local authority MUST carry out an EHC needs assessment. Therefore, there is no requirement for a child to have a diagnosis for a needs assessment to take place as the legal test is regarding the needs of the child. You can find out more information on EHC needs assessments here EHC Needs Assessments – SENDiass4BCP |