Councils Miss Education Plan Deadlines For Children With Complex Needs

Thousands of children in England with complex needs are missing out on support as councils fail to meet care plan deadlines.

Councils have a legal time limit of 20 weeks, in most cases, to issue an education, health and care plan (EHCP), after a parent or school asks for one.

According to reports, eight councils have met the deadline in fewer than 5% of cases, from April to December last year.

Read Also: DfE Says 85,000 More Free Childcare Places Needed in England

Councils have blamed growing demand and insufficient funding as cause of the delays.

An EHCP sets out the extra help a child needs to access education, on top of what is available through special education needs support.

Examples of extra support might include one-to-one lesson time, or help to learn at home for those with such complex needs that school is unsuitable.

Staffordshire County Council, who apologized to the family for the delays, said a significant increase in requests for EHCP assessments has been made worse by a shortage of educational psychologists and has now recruited more.


Discover more from LN247

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Advertisement

Most Popular This Week

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

More from Author

Advertisement

Read Now

NECO Examiners Threaten Protest Over Unpaid Allowances

The National Examinations Council examiners to mark the 2024 students’ examination papers have threatened to embark on a nationwide protest over the non-payment of their allowances after completing the assignment. It was learned that the examiners have started mobilizing their colleagues across the states for the planned protest. A...

NAE Advocates for State Control Over Federal Unity Colleges

The Nigerian Academy of Education (NAE) has called on the Federal Government to transfer the management of the country’s 115 federal unity colleges to state authorities, suggesting that comprehensive guidelines be provided to ensure effective administration. This recommendation was made during the NAE's 38th Annual Congress in...

University Unions Suspend Strike as FG Pays 25% Withheld Salaries

The Joint Action Committee of the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) has announced a one-month suspension of their ongoing strike after receiving a partial payment of their withheld salaries. Union representatives confirmed on Friday that...

Discover more from LN247

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading