Natasha Hinde is the Parents Editor at HuffPost UK where she writes about the highs and lows of life as a parent, while also commissioning features for the section.
An EHCP is a legally-binding document outlining the needs of a child and what support is required to meet those needs.Currently, almost 640,000 children with SEND in England have one in place. But as part of the new plans, these documents will only be reserved for children with the most “complex” needs.
Understandably, parents who have fought hard to earn their children much-needed extra support through an EHCP are concerned by what this now means.As part of the reforms, the government wants to put children with SEND into two main categories by 2035: Targeted, which is for those who are in mainstream schools and involves support from education, health and care professionals, where needed; or Specialist, which is for children with the most complex needs who are either attending a mainstream or specialist setting.More than a million children with SEND will be legally entitled to a more “flexible” school-based support plan setting out a child’s day-to-day needs, this time called Individual Support Plans . Only those who come under the Specialist umbrella – meaning those with complex needs – will be entitled to ISPsThe government said the transition from EHCPs to ISPs for children without complex needs will begin from 2030. ISPs will be in place for children who are transitioning from an EHCP before they move to the new system, so there should be no break in support, it added.The news has left parents with one key unanswered question, however. What constitutes ‘complex needs’?, one parent said: “Big question – no definition or indication as to what complex needs looks like. Kept referring to it but who qualifies for complex needs and who’s deciding what that looks like?”What does the government mean by complex needs? We don’t yet have a full definition. HuffPost UK understands more detail on this will be set out following the government’s consultation and work with experts over the coming year.Broadly, though, it’s likely to refer to children who need more support than can be accessed through their local mainstream school and through ‘experts at hand’ . that if a child has been “diagnosed with an illness, disability or sensory impairment and needs a lot of additional support on a daily basis”, they’re described as having complex needs.There has been some concern that children with conditions that present on a spectrum, such as autism and ADHD, might lose out on specialist support.highlighted that ‘Specialist Provision Packages ’ will be the new gateway to an EHCP, however also noted “children and young people with underlying needs linked to a condition which presents on a spectrum may not necessarily be supported by the same Specialist Provision Package”. When pressed on this, education secretary Bridget Phillipson said the system will be “needs-dependent, not diagnosis-dependent”. She told the i Paper: “Some autistic children do need a . Other children with autism – with the right level of support within mainstream – can thrive, can achieve.”
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