On paper, so much about EHCPs is wonderful: they support those who need it most to access specialist assessment; they capture pupil and parent voice; they articulate needs, outcomes and provision; they pull together education, health and care needs; they avoid a cliff-edge at 18; they might even bring some additional funding.
In this context, they might indeed be thought of as a golden ticket. But a golden ticket to what? For the experience of too many families, the golden ticket might be in their hand, but the chocolate factory feels like it hasn’t been built yet.
Inclusive schools
I wouldn’t want to count the number of families who worked hard to get an EHCP for their child, but where the EHCP hasn’t prevented multiple failed school placements.
Stepping back from the individual lines of a Section F for a moment, what might a school do that particularly supports many pupils with SEND? It’s not an exhaustive list, but I suspect most would agree with these:
- Consistent teaching staff, who understand the needs of their pupils and are expert at adapting accordingly;
- A curriculum that is built with those pupils in mind, that flexes accordingly to ensure it remains achievable and ambitious for all pupils;
- A commitment to the holistic development of pupils, delivering a broad curriculum and honouring vocational pathways.
Can we confidently say that our current education system makes these features the norm? Aren’t there national challenges around teacher recruitment, around access to training, around the current national curriculum and around our accountability system, that threaten the delivery of these in schools?
It’s hard to think that the national education system, as it is currently, helps schools to ensure their ‘chocolate factory’ is designed to support all pupils, including those with SEND.
No wonder, in this context, that there is such strength of feeling against the reported moves away from EHCPs.
Delivering the provision within an EHCP
Even if a pupil finds themselves in a school that makes the most delicious chocolate – the features set out above and more – what are the things that might make it very tricky for that school to deliver on the ‘Section F’ and ensure the right provision is in place?
- A high staff turnover might make it impossible for trained staff to deliver a given intervention.
- Cuts to staffing might make it hard to provide a pupil with the sensory circuit, numeracy intervention or mentoring conversation that an EHCP requires.
- Inappropriately funded EHCPs might prevent a school from providing the level of additional adult support that they should be providing.
The legal duty for these things to be delivered (lying ultimately with the local authority) remains, but the logistical challenges for all parties in delivering them are often real.
The way forward
What I’m suggesting here is not that EHCPs don’t have their place. It’s not that parents shouldn’t hold on to the protections that an EHCP can give. It’s that EHCPs are an important part of the picture, but aren’t the whole picture.
EHCPs can be the golden ticket that opens up access to high-quality provision, but there is so much else (that is linked, but distinct) that really needs to be in place in order to deliver well on most EHCPs – inclusive mindsets, specialist teaching routes, access to external specialists, well-embedded routines, calm purposeful learning environments, staff who feel equipped to meet ever-growing needs, and more besides.
When the system delivers on all the above and more, EHCPs will be able to take their place as golden tickets, delivering the additional targeted and specialist support that some pupils require.
SEND Matters 