An Education Health and Care Assessments and Plans (EHCP)

EHC Plan refused? Right of Appeal

This decision may be of disappointment to you but please be assured that there are a number of ways children can be supported through the resources ordinarily available in schools and this refusal does not prevent you from making further requests for an EHC Needs Assessment in the future should you feel the provision are not meeting your child or young person's needs.

If you are unhappy with the decision of the Local Authority not to undertake an assessment of needs you have the right of appeal to the First Tier Tribunal (Education & Disability).You have two months from the date of this letter to register your appeal and this can be done by obtaining a Notice of Appeal form from the Tribunal directly. Your appeal must arrive with the HM Courts and Tribunal Service no later than the first working day, two months after the date of this letter. HM Courts and Tribunal Service contact details are 1st Floor, Darlington Magistrates’ Court, Parkgate, Darlington, DL1 1RU or sendistqueries@hmcts.gsi.gov.uk.

Before you register your appeal, you must contact a mediation advisor. The purpose is to consider whether mediation is a means of resolving your disagreement with the Local Authority. This service is independent of the Local Authority and free to access.

The Mediation Service is provided by Collis Mediation Ltd Tel 07715 958290 email collismediationltd.com. If having spoken to the mediation advisor you do not wish to consider the use of mediation, you will be issued with a mediation certificate which will enable you to commence your appeal. You have a further month from receipt of the mediation certificate in which to lodge any appeal to the Tribunal.

If you would like independent help, you may wish to get advice and support about SEND and EHCA from Bradford's Special Educational Needs & Disabilities Information and Advice Support Service (SENDIASS Barnardo's).  They can be contacted at Barnardo’s, 40-42 Listerhills Science Park, , Bradford, BD7 1HR,telephone (01274) 513300 or email Bradfordsendiass@barnardos.org.uk

Twitter -  @BradfordSendias          Facebook - Bradford Sendiass

Using these services does not prevent you from appealing to the Tribunal in regard to this decision.  Please do not hesitate to contact the SEN Officer should you wish to discuss this further.

What is a personal Budget? 

If your child has an EHC plan or has been assessed as having a Social Care need then you are entitled to request a personal budget. This is an amount of money your local authority (Council) has identified to meet the needs in your child's EHC plan. There is the option as a parent or carer to be involved in choosing and arranging how part of the provision to meet your child's needs is paid.

The legal frameworks for eligibility for personal budgets differ between adult and children’s legislation.  A personal budget represents all the resources that are available to meet the needs of an individual.  If someone qualifies for an education, health and care (EHC) plan there could be elements of support from all three services. 

A plan will provide a monetary value that is available, some of the provision may be in the form of a direct payment or all of it in the form of services commissioned by the council, particularly for education services. 

Resource allocation tools are being reviewed to ensure they better match the range of needs in the Bradford district. Adult Services will continue to offer direct payments and are looking to develop further options where a provider manages funds on behalf of one or more people.

On this website you will find a description of the services across education, health and social care that currently lend themselves to use of a personal budget. Parents of children with disabilities and disabled young people who receive packages of support following a social care assessment and/or Children's Continuing Health Care assessment can already request Direct Payments.

For further information about Personal Budgets Click here

Personal Budgets are optional for the child’s parent or the young person but local authorities are under a duty to prepare a budget when requested. The child’s parent or the young person has a right to request a Personal Budget, when the local authority has completed an EHC needs assessment and confirmed that it will prepare an EHC plan. They may also request a Personal Budget during a statutory review of an existing EHC plan. Where a direct payment is proposed for special educational provision, local authorities must secure the agreement of the early years setting, school or college, if any of the provision is to be delivered on their premises.