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Your Weekly EHCP Newsletter

Plus: Best practices for EHCPs - balancing support & sustainability 🏆

Author

Rafe Houston
February 13, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

EHCP

✨Welcome to the EHCP Community Newsletter!✨

We’re thrilled to have you as part of this exclusive community of professionals dedicated to transforming the EHCP process. As champions of innovation in SEND services, you’re at the forefront of shaping how AI can support better outcomes for children, families, and caseworkers alike.

In our weekly newsletter you will find curated articles, thought pieces, success stories, and expert insights to help you understand how new types of technology and training can SEND services. So do engage, read the articles that interest you and share any perspectives you have as we all seek to make a lasting difference to lives of children and young people.

To ensure you never miss an edition, please add [email protected] to your contact list.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Join Agilisys Transform for an exclusive webinar, EHCP Plus: Winter Cohort Insights, and gain first-hand knowledge on how councils are leveraging AI to enhance SEND services.​

The session will explore:

  • Key lessons learned from the Winter Cohort​

  • First-hand experiences from councils using EHCP Plus​

  • The transformative role of AI in improving SEND outcomes​

📅 Date: Wednesday, 12 March 2025​
⏰ Time: 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM GMT

Press here to sign up☝️

SPECIAL EDUCATION

Identifying special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) can be a crucial step in ensuring students receive the support they need. However, research suggests that while diagnostic labels can help in accessing resources and tailored interventions, they may also contribute to stigma and lowered expectations.

Students diagnosed with conditions such as dyslexia may experience a decline in self-confidence, particularly in subjects like English and mathematics. Additionally, both teachers and parents may unintentionally adjust their expectations, leading to a potential self-fulfilling prophecy that limits academic progress.

A more effective approach involves equipping educators with comprehensive training to understand learning barriers and implement inclusive teaching strategies. By focusing on individual learning needs rather than labels, schools can foster a supportive environment that promotes high expectations and meaningful progress for all students.

Councils across the UK are facing a growing challenge: the number of EHCPs is increasing, but resources aren't keeping pace. Backlogs and delays are common, with increased pressure on caseworkers and many councils outsourcing EHCP drafting to manage demand to meet the 20-week statutory timeframe.

The Agilisys EHCP Agency allows councils to focus on what matters – providing high-quality support for children. This is achieved by an in-house expertise in EHCP writing and leveraging an AI-powered EHCP drafting tool. ​

The agency is focused on delivering high-quality consistent EHCPs at speed. Learn more about the service here.

SEND POLICY REFORM

The introduction of Education, Health, and Care Plans (EHCPs) in 2014 aimed to provide a comprehensive framework for supporting children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). However, over the past decade, the number of EHCPs has increased significantly, leading to concerns about the system's sustainability and effectiveness.

Challenges Identified:

  • Bureaucratic Complexity: EHCPs have become more bureaucratic than the previous statements of SEND, often lacking meaningful input from health and social care sectors.

  • Resource Constraints: The surge in EHCPs has strained local authorities' budgets, particularly during periods of austerity, making it challenging to administer multi-agency assessments effectively.

  • Systemic Issues: The current system may inadvertently encourage families to seek EHCPs as the primary means of securing additional support, potentially leading to an over-reliance on formal plans.

Proposed Reforms:

  1. Legislative Changes: Amending the Children and Families Act to redefine the criteria for EHCPs, ensuring they are reserved for students with the most significant needs.

  2. Enhanced Use of the Equality Act: Leveraging the provisions of the Equality Act to support a broader range of students within mainstream education, reducing the dependency on EHCPs.

  3. Improved Multi-Agency Collaboration: Fostering genuine partnerships between education, health, and social care sectors to ensure comprehensive support for students without necessitating formal plans.

  4. Resource Allocation: Ensuring that schools receive adequate funding to support students with SEND, thereby decreasing the need for families to pursue EHCPs to access necessary resources.

By implementing these reforms, the aim is to create a more efficient, equitable, and sustainable system that better serves both schools and families, ensuring that all students with SEND receive the support they need to thrive.

SPECIAL NEEDS EDUCATION

Successful complaints regarding England's special educational needs (SEND) services have quadrupled in four years, underscoring systemic failures. Government funding has lagged behind rising demand, leading to unmet needs and increased ombudsman interventions. Critically, persistent issues with delays in creating Education, Health and Care Plans exacerbate the crisis.

EDUCATION PROVISION

Two secondary school teachers have teamed up to create a specialist SEMH setting for pupils who experience emotionally based school avoidance through anxiety or medical needs. Gemma Fulcher and Sarah Amor, who work at Cromwell Community College, in Chatteris, are set to launch Sage Education Provision in Longhill Road.

Scheduled to open after the Easter holidays with qualified teachers, it will be open to students from Years 7 - 13 across all ability ranges, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Sage will offer academic education alongside emotional literacy lessons and a therapy dog, to support pupils with their anxiety, with the aim of trying to reintegrate pupils back to fulltime education.

SPECIAL EDUCATION NEEDS

Darlington's mothers voice their distress over inadequate Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) support. They describe feeling isolated, sacrificing careers, and lacking local facilities. Initiatives like "Kanes World" plan to address these challenges, highlighting a community demand for governmental backing and comprehensive services, ensuring inclusion and support for all.

Hi all, I’m Sarah - a former SEND Caseworker and now a SEND Advisor with Agilisys Transform helping create the next generation of AI tools for improving SEND provision. I was not always involved in SEND, as previously I was an editor of children’s educational books. I developed a passion for children’s learning and development so later re-trained and became a teacher in a special school. Following this, I worked as a SEND Caseworker/EHC Plan Writer for around 12 years. As a teacher and caseworker, my main focus has always been in improving outcomes for children with SEND and their families.

The Labour government’s recent inquiry into the SEND crisis marks a pivotal moment for the future of Education, Health, and Care Plans (EHCPs). With growing backlogs, missed statutory deadlines, and children missing out on essential support, the inquiry seeks to tackle these systemic challenges head-on. It signals a commitment to reimagining SEND services, focusing on better outcomes for children, young people, and families. By leveraging innovative tools like AI to streamline EHCP drafting, there’s a real opportunity to clear backlogs, ensure caseworkers can meet deadlines, and provide the personalised support every child deserves. This inquiry offers hope for a transformed SEND sector built to empower young people to thrive.​