Nottinghamshire: Family faces SEND delays despite progress claim

Vicky said Aidan had "shut down" in January at the prospect of going to mainstream secondary school

A mother has said the impact of assessment delays in her son's special needs care have been "absolutely huge".

Vicky, from Nottinghamshire, is waiting for an education, health and care plan (EHCP) for autistic son Aiden, 11, before he starts secondary school.

Vicky says delays in obtaining a report from an education psychologist for a ECHP have set the process back months.

The county council is investing in speeding up access to education, health and care needs assessment.

The family had expected a care needs decision by June, but it could now be next year

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.

Councils have a legal time limit of 20 weeks, in most cases, to issue a ECHP after a parent or school asks for one.

But delays in obtaining a report from an education psychologist - a legal requirement for an EHCP to be completed - have set the process back months, says Vicky.

Vicky said Aiden had previously coped due to the family working closely with his primary school, but the pressure of Sats and prospect of going to secondary school had meant he "shut down".

The family, from Newton, originally applied for an EHCP in February, with a decision expected by 11 June.

Vicky said: "All of these things have an absolutely huge impact on our life as a family."

A local area inspection in 2023 by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission identified issues with children and young people having to wait too long to have their needs accurately assessed, in order to have an EHCP issued.

This meant that in Nottinghamshire, four out of five children were waiting longer than the government's target of 20 weeks, and some, with "particularly complex needs", were waiting about 37 weeks.

'Disjointed and confused'

Now the county council has pointed to £1.5m investment in resources, including an additional nine education psychologists to help speed up access to education, health and care needs assessment.

Both the authority and the Nottinghamshire (SEND) Partnership Improvement Board pointed to faster EHCPs, shorter treatment waiting lists, and shorter therapy waiting lists.

The board's independent chairwoman, Dame Christine Lenehan, said: "We had a disjointed and confused system where people didn't know who was doing what.

"The system wasn't organised well enough to deliver what it needed to do.

"What we have been able to do is pull that system together, so school staff, health staff, and local authority staff understand what the challenges are and understand what the opportunities are.

"I want a system where if you need an EHCP, that is delivered in a timely way, and if, within that plan, it says your child needs access to therapy services and support from health, you get that in the right time."