What is person-centred planning?
When planning SEND support for your child, good practice would be to use person centred planning.
Person centred planning puts your child at the centre of the planning and any decisions that affect them.
You can find out more in this video from the Council for Disabled Children (CDC):
What if I am unhappy with the plan?
If you are unhappy with any of the decisions taken throughout the EHCP process, and it has been less than 2 months from the date on your decision letter, or 1 month from the date on your mediation certificate, you can appeal to the SEND tribunal.
You can appeal against:
- The contents of the final plan
- The placement named in a final plan
- The plan being ceased (stopped)
You should consider mediation with the local authority first, to see if you can reach an agreement before the appeal is heard by the SEND tribunal.
For more information on tribunals you can visit our
mediation and tribunal appeals page.
If you are outside of the appeal timescales (over 2 months) and are unhappy with what is written in the EHCP, you could request an early review of the plan. You can do this by either speaking to the schools SENCo or the SENSAP team on 0113 3760062 or sensap@leeds.gov.uk.
What if the plan isn't helping?
If there is a plan in place but things have not improved for your child then you could consider the following:
- Would it be helpful to ask for a meeting with the school or setting to discuss your concerns?
We can help you to
prepare for a meeting.
- Do you feel that the plan is ok but feel that the school or setting might not be following it properly?
You can contact the SENSAP team to discuss your concerns on 0113 3760062 or sensap@leeds.gov.uk
- Do you feel that the plan is not suitable and needs changing?
You could ask for the plan to be reviewed. You would do this by contacting the school or setting SENCo or the SENSAP team on 0113 3760062 or sensap@leeds.gov.uk
We can help you to
prepare for a review.
What happens in an EHCP review?
The review is a 12 week process that looks at the plan, what progress has been made towards the outcomes and whether any additions or changes are needed.
It is also a way for you to raise any concerns or suggest changes if you’re not happy with the content of the EHCP.
If you feel there has been a significant change that means the plan may need to amended before the next scheduled review, you can ask for an early review by either speaking to the SENCo at the school or setting, or the SENSAP team on 0113 3760062 or sensap@leeds.gov.uk
The following steps must take place in a review:
- Leeds City Council will ask for your views about the EHCP and also the views of your child and the school.
- A review meeting is arranged.
- Information is gathered about the EHCP and sent out at least two weeks before the meeting.
- The review meeting takes place.
- Within two weeks, the school (or, for children and young people attending another institution, the local authority) must prepare and send a report of the meeting to everyone invited. This report must set out recommendations on any amendments required to the EHC plan, and should refer to any difference between the school or other institution’s recommendations and those of others attending the meeting.
- Within four weeks, Leeds City Council will inform you of their decision to keep the EHCP as it is, make changes to it or cease (stop) it.
We can help you to
prepare for a review.
You can find out more about reviews in this video from the Council for Disabled Children (CDC):
How do I prepare for the review?
What if I am unhappy with the outcome of the review?
If you disagree with the outcome decision of the review, you can appeal against it to the SEND tribunal.
How do I apply for secondary school place?
Choosing the right secondary school for your child is a big decision. For children with additional needs, there is often even more to think about.
The application process for children with Education, Health and Care plans (EHCPs) is slightly different to general admissions. This is to ensure that children with EHCPs are allocated to schools before all other children.
Stages of phase transfers
This timeline of stages applies to children who will be moving into year 6 (stage 1)and are in year 6 (stages 2-5).
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April to October: Reviewing the current EHCP
This review will be used to ensure that all the information about your child’s needs and the provision they require is up to date. You will be given the opportunity at the review to talk about secondary school options.
SENSAP will amend your child’s EHCP in line with the new information and send you a new, up to date version. It will not include the name of the secondary school in the EHCP at this stage.
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September until 31 October: Making your preferences
All parents/carers of children in Year 6 will need to make a preference for a secondary school place to the Local Authority (SENSAP Team).
To do this you can email sensap@leeds.gov.uk or call 0113 3760062 with your child's name, DoB, current school and up to 3 placement preferences.
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November to February: Consultations
The local authority will send your child’s EHCP and any other relevant information to the school you’ve applied for. This is to check whether they are able to meet your child’s needs and if they can offer a place.
Your child’s information may also be sent to other schools by the Local Authority, to see whether they are also able to meet your child’s needs.
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15th February: Notification deadline
The national deadline for notifying families of secondary school destinations is 15th February. This means that on, or before, this date you will receive a new, updated EHCP which has the name of the secondary school written in section I.
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February to July of Y6: Transition planning
Children with additional needs often need more support and/or time to transition to their new school effectively.
Your primary school and other professionals who are involved will work with your child to prepare them for transition to secondary school named in their EHCP.
If there is another EHCP review scheduled to take place, you may wish to invite the secondary school to take part.
What happens to plans for Young people aged 19-25?
Young people with EHCPs may need longer in education or training to achieve their outcomes and make an effective transition into adulthood.
At the age of 19, it not automatic that a plan will continue. The local authority will consider whether they think it is still necessary and should look at the four outcomes of preparing for adulthood. These are:
- moving into paid employment and higher education
- independent living
- having friends and relationships and being part of their communities
- being as healthy as possible
If a plan is continued beyond age 19, it must be reviewed at least annually and must contain outcomes which should enable the young person to complete their education and training successfully and move on to the next stage of their lives.
This happens at different stages for individuals, so not all plans will need to remain in place until age 25. A plan can remain in place until the end of the academic year in which the young person turns 25 if needed.
For young people with more complex needs who are likely to continue to need specialist support in adult life, services such as children's services, adult social care, housing and health will need to work together to plan and fund a smooth transition.
When a young person’s EHCP is due to come to an end, the local authority should put effective plans in place for the support they will need to receive across adult services. They should ensure that reviews of EHCP's and care and support plans are fully joined up for young people who will have both. This is so young people do not have to attend multiple reviews, held by different services, provide duplicate information, or receive support that is not joined up and co-ordinated.
For more information about this visit our
preparing for adulthood page.
What do i do if we are moving/ have just moved to Leeds?
Welcome!
First you need to contact the SENSAP team, which is the team within Leeds City Council that issues and maintain EHCP's. You can email them at sensap@leed.gov.uk or telephone 0113 3760062.
If you haven’t moved yet, you should aim to get all your paperwork to them at least 15 days before you do.
If you have a school or setting in mind for your child, let SENSAP know and ask for them to consult with them. The setting will have 15 days to respond and you can ask SENSAP to consult with more than one setting. SENSAP will also advise you on what they think the nearest suitable school or setting is, that has available space.
You must also contact the admissions team on 0113 222 4414 and tell them that you are you are moving/ have just moved to Leeds.
You can visit our
specialist educational provisions page or the
Leeds local offer website to see what is available in Leeds.
You can view our
specialist provision list to see what Leeds based, out of authority and post 16 provision is available.
Useful resources
Leeds Sendiass are not responsible for the content of sites or services offered by third parties.
You can find more links on our
Useful SEND resource page.
