20th October 2021 • My Family Our Needs

This month marked Dyslexia Awareness Week and MFON wanted to find out more about EHC Needs Assessments (EHC) and EHC Plans to support young people with Dyslexia. Rukhsana Koser, Solicitor and Head of Education Law at Langley Wellington LLP Solicitors, explains what parents need to know.

I often hear from parents that they have been told by different people that they cannot request an EHC Needs Assessment and obtain an EHC Plan for Dyslexia. This is a myth and it’s legally incorrect. 

Dyslexia is a common learning difficulty. Approximately two or three children in every classroom may have Dyslexia and the condition can cause problems with reading, writing and spelling. It is a specific learning difficulty that affects the way information is learned and processed and can have a significant impact on education and learning and on the acquisition of literacy skills. Those with Dyslexia need a different way to learn, with teaching adapted to how the individual child learns. Intelligence or cognitive ability may not be affected and a child may have co-occurring difficulties such as Dyspraxia, Dyscalculia and ADHD.

Dyslexia is a lifelong difficulty and can present challenges on a daily basis for a Dyslexic. However, support is available to improve reading and writing skills to help a child be successful at school and, ultimately, achieve their potential.

Early school life

When a child starts school and begins to focus more on learning how to read and write, signs of Dyslexia may become apparent to the class teacher and the parents. For example, the child may read and write slowly, have difficulty remembering the alphabet, difficulty remembering and following instructions and experience a lack of self-confidence and frustration. 

If a parent/carer thinks their child is showing signs of Dyslexia, one of their first steps must be to speak to the child’s teacher or to the school Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO). As soon as a parent/carer becomes concerned about their child’s progress at school, they should sort out and file all relevant documents, such as medical reports, school reports, Individual Education Plan, Provision Map, minutes of meetings with school or other professionals, and correspondence with school and other professionals. Parents/carers must keep a paper trail by sending an email following a face-to-face discussion/meeting and keep a notebook and write in it like a journal.

Code of practice

The Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice 2014(SEND Code of Practice) states in Chapter 6, paragraph 6.14: ‘The benefits of early identification are widely recognised – identifying need at the earliest point and then making effective provision improves long-term outcomes for the child or young person.’ The SEND Code of Practice also states in Chapter 6, paragraph 6.20: ‘In particular, parents know their children best and it is important that all professionals listen and understand when parents express concerns about their child’s development.’

The school can offer additional support to help the child with Dyslexia, such as a special learning programme for the child, extra help from a teacher or a learning support assistant, making or changing materials, working with the child in a small group, making sure that the child has understood things by encouraging them to ask questions and to try something they find difficult.

Schools in England must provide support to SEN children as part of their SEN support and will have national funding in order to provide the additional support to children.

EHC Plan

A parent/carer should also arrange for a more in-depth assessment from an Educational Psychologist or a specialist Dyslexia teacher. The school can arrange this for you; however, it may be sensible for a parent to arrange their own private assessment, because time is of the essence when it comes to understanding the child’s difficulties.

If a child needs more support than the school can provide within its budget, then the child may need an EHC Plan (EHCP). An EHCP is a legally binding document that assures your child the best chance of a greater future. The EHCP gives the child the individual support they need to meet their Special Educational Needs (SEN) beyond what is available in a school and provides further resources such as therapies to give them a better learning experience. The EHCP states the provision that a child requires and that must be given regardless of any Local Authority (LA) funding issues. An EHCP can allow for a child to attend specialist independent school, if it is suitable and necessary, even if it is not in the Local Authority area. The EHCP is in place until your child finishes their school or college education or until they reach the age of 25.

Dyslexia IS a special educational need and defined under Section 20 of the Children and Families Act 2014 as a learning difficulty (which in essence means the child has significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age in a mainstream school). This calls for special educational provision to be made for the child.

When the child’s needs are not being met and/or the child is not making expected progress (despite the support provided by the school), then a parent should make a request to the Local Authority for an EHC Needs Assessment. The parent’s request must be supported with evidence, such as diagnosis, school reports, reports from therapists and test results. The Local Authority must make a decision within six weeks of receiving the request on whether it will or will not carry out an EHC Needs Assessment. The EHC Needs Assessment from start to finish must take no longer than 20 weeks. It is therefore important that the parent/carer ensures the Local Authority keeps to the statutory timescales.

Can an EHC be refused?

The legal test that triggers an EHC Needs Assessment has two parts. The Local Authority must carry out an EHC Needs Assessment if the child has (or may have) special educational needs, and they may need special educational provision to be made through an EHC Plan. Dyslexia is a special educational need, so it satisfies half of the test for an assessment. Therefore, parents should not be put off from applying for an EHC Plan when they hear they ‘cannot get one’ for Dyslexia.

If the Local Authority refuses to carry out an EHC Needs Assessment for the following reasons:  

• Child is not academically behind
• Child is not behind his peers e.g. four years
• Child’s needs are not particularly severe
• Child has not spent enough time on SEN Support
• School should apply for local exceptional needs funding
• School has not spent all the funding delegated in SEN support

then the parent must appeal against this decision to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal. None of the above are reasons for refusing an EHC Needs Assessment.

Process for appeal

The appeal against a refusal to assess is heard on paper, which is less overwhelming for parents. It is critical parents have robust evidence from an independent Educational Psychologist, who has experiencing of providing reports and giving evidence to the SEND Tribunal. The Educational Psychologist will confirm the child’s special educational needs, special educational provision and the type of school in which the child should be educated. The Tribunal will apply the law when making its decision after reviewing evidence.

If the Local Authority completes an assessment, it may lead to a final EHC Plan being issued describing all the child’s difficulties, the special provision necessary to meet all of the child’s difficulties and it will name the school that can provide the provision the child needs. When the Local Authority issues a Draft EHC Plan, it will invite the parent to express a preference for the school they want their child to attend. The Final EHC Plan must be issued by the Local Authority and it must fund the educational provision recorded in the EHC Plan. This includes the school fees, if an independent school or an independent special school is named.

Over the years, I have supported many parents to obtain an EHC Plan for their child who has Dyslexia and we have successfully secured funding from the Local Authority for school fees for independent specialist schools such as Abingdon House School, Bredon School, Frewen College, Fairley House School, Knowl Hill School, Moon Hall School and More House School.

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