Tag Archives: review

EHCP Phase Transfer Review Year 10

Throughout their education there are several points in time where an EHCP Phase Transfer Review is held. These are when the child or young person generally changes provision. They can be points where the EHCP is looked back at too. Year 10 is an important EHCP phase transfer review as it is when post 16 provision is named.

draft education, health & care plan

The following information I have written from my experience with a SENDIASS information session. A lot more was said and the below many not be an accurate account. It is however, correct to the best of my belief, and I wished to share what I discovered with people who were unable to attend. Please ensure you are fully informed before making decisions relating to your child or young person’s EHCP.

Considering Post 16 with an EHCP

Did you know that at Post-16 there is no legal obligation to provide an education in the UK! Also that in Year 9 there is a legal requirement to incorporate a discussion about preparation to adulthood. That the phase transfer review for post 16 is ideally done in the middle of year 10. That ideally you want it to take place before the November in year 11.

ehcp phase transfer review for post 16

Section I of the EHCP

Section I is where the name of the school or other institution to be attended by the young person is named. It will be where the needs in the EHCP can be met. So in order to get the place that you believe is best suited for your child then it needs to be proved that other places cannot meet need as set out in the EHCP. For post 16 this should be in place on the final EHCP by March 31st of Year 11.

Common Problems

Unfortunately it appears there are some common problems – such as:

  • not knowing which setting the young person will attend (why the process needs to be started in Year 10 ideally)
  • the new setting not offering what the young person needs (again ensuring research and that it is in the EHCP)
  • problems with transport not being sorted (making sure it is known how they will get there, it will not automatically be sorted)
school bus
  • assuming that they would be able to move up to post 16 in their current setting (especially in a special school)
  • being told that they would not get a special post 16 setting as they are currently in mainstream (obviously not true)
  • settings refusing the child based on academic grades. They can’t once they’ve been named in I without a really good reason)

What this Means as a Parent

You need to be proactive. This means making sure the EHCP is watertight; finding evidence to support that provision is or isn’t suitable in terms of meeting their needs. It also means discovering what options are available.

Post 16 Options

Some schools/institutions are better than others at informing parents but it cannot be left to them.  You may find that there are “What’s Next?” meetings. Ask around and see if anywhere local offers support, or if there are other parents you could ask.

If there are places that you want, or even ones you definitely don’t, invite them to the Year 10 EHCP Phase Transfer Review – to either help ensure they are able to meet the young person’s needs, or put them off if you do not want them.

Problems with the EHCP Annual Review

Annual reviews can end up being a bit of a time for a catch up, as opposed to ensuring that the EHCP is up to date. They are usually time limited and a lot of time can be wasted. Or parents may feel overwhelmed, uncomfortable or rushed for time. They may be told that there is plenty of time to discuss things or what usually happens for a child with an EHCP in that setting.

About me on EHCP

But each EHCP is individual and you need to start getting things in place to ensure that the needs are recorded for the right provision. The latter of which can still be changed with further annual reviews (including an emergency one whilst at post 16 if the young person changes their mind).

Tackling the EHCP Annual Review

The really important sections to discuss are B, E and F. In fact Section A (which is about the views, interests and aspirations of the young person and their parents) can actually be left and added in at a later date. Make sure they are just the needs – writing any problems you feel have not been dealt with in a separate note.

Section B

Section B of the EHCP is the young person’s special educational needs. All of them should be set out here. If they are set out in B then provision must be provided in F. The LEA must ensure provision is made for everything in F. This needs to be what their barriers are to education. This should not state who reported/said anything just stating facts.

Needing ear defenders due to sensory needs in section b of the ehcp phase transfer review

If needs be ask for their needs to be reassessed – like from an educational psychologist if it has been a while. Even if it is unlikely that they will provide this. If they have been discharged from services, such as Teaching Advisory, they can be asked for a report or letter to support the young person in their phase transfer review.

Section E

Section E is the outcomes for the young person. Here you need to think about the targets for the next step. All current provision should be specified and quantified in this section.

Is there anything else you feel a parent or carer needs to know about the Phase Transfer Review moving onto Post 16? What have your experiences been like?

boy reading to cure sensory processing

We are all on the Sensory Spectrum: The My Plan Review

If you are looking for a perfectly well formed blog post about a My Plan review then you’ve come to the wrong place as I am fuming, and writing this from a VERY emotional place. You see the thing is this is not the first child I have had to fight for and well I got subdued into a false sense of security as his last school was really good – this one is rubbish and so is the SENCO.

boy reading to cure sensory processing
Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

So why I am I so annoyed about the My Plan meeting that myself and my child got invited to – well there really was no point us being there – apart from to talk at us and tell us we are wrong. The Sensory Seeker’s My Plan for this term targets three areas of what he should be achieving for his year group (whether he still needs to be able to accomplish things from previous years is neither here nor there and there was even a comment about worrying about SATs in Year 6!!!). Anyway back to these 3 targets: They all overlap into basically the same thing – reading and understanding, being able to communicate in a way that’s understood and being able to write in a way that’s understood. Each one with a target date that has passed!!!

I was told that the reason for the new deadline (which it wasn’t clear when that was) is because that is what the class are working on currently – so it made sense to move it. I asked what help The Sensory Seeker was getting to reach these goals: Of course the answer is NOTHING. Of course I wasn’t fed that information but instead was told how the whole class are being taught – how it is being explained, modelled, blah, blah, blah; but not a single thing as to how my son, who clearly isn’t getting it, is being helped further. On looking at the sheet it says an adult at home (and at school) will read and ask questions about the reading; that an adult will correct him when he doesn’t speak grammatically correct and that he will say a sentence before writing it out. The latter of which already becomes apparent is a problem as he misses words out when talking (hence the target before about communication).alone at playtime

Then it happens. The incident where The Sensory Seeker missed lunch time play to finish work (because the rest of the class had) is brought up. The TA is proudly showing how much better he did than in the class. So I take breath and DARE to mention again my concerns that his SENSORY PROCESSING DISORDER is being IGNORED!!!!! I do it in a polite way and suggest that there’s a possibility that the classroom was different when everyone is out playing than when full of children. I suggest it may be noisy, more visually distracting – I don’t know I am not there and I am not the SENCO. Of course the first thing that is mentioned is that it ISN’T noisy – even when The Sensory Seeker tells them that it is! And THEN they tell me that ALL kids are distracted! All they did do was joke to my son about wearing headphones (which would have been a good call if they weren’t laughing when they said it, besides WE have tried them and they do not adjust the sound right for him). How I did not just get up and walk out I do not know. If my son hadn’t have been there I may have done. In fact now I wish I had grabbed my son and said this is a waste of time and I am taking him out!!!

So there we have it all my son’s problems will be solved if he just reads more! These Sensory Issues I am just making an issue of because we ALL HAVE THEM! Our other son is on a school trip until the end of half term, I may see if I have calmed down any more by then as to what I wish to do next.