Lack of Consistency about Educational Support after Covid-19

Ofsted Report

In addition to the SENCO report, Ofsted also carried out their own report on the impact of the pandemic. The report discovered that the pandemic had made the already long-standing issues much worse for children with SEND.

The Ofsted report provided an overview of the disruption that was caused to the education and development of children with Special Educational Needs. It further describes just how negative the experiences were for both children and their families.

Here’s an example of some of the things that children and families experienced:

• Missed education and learning
• Reduced learning
• Lack of essential services, such as speech and language support
• Increased waiting times for assessments
• Delays in treatment

Covid-19 Revealed Issues in the System

The already strained system buckled under the pressure of the Covid-19 pandemic. It became clear that the system hasn’t been managed how it should in order to help offer the necessary support to children and young people with SEND.

Here are some of the issues that the pandemic revealed to us:

• Weaknesses within the educational system and health services
• Lack of accountability within the local SEND systems
• Not enough support for children with SEND in relation to learning essential skills

What We Can Do to Help

What is most concerning for the families we are working with currently is the lack of consistency and clear plans for the future. The world has, in most respects, returned to normal following the pandemic but children are still feeling the consequences. There are many children who missed out on their start or end of their compulsory education and have not been able to recover lost time. There are some people who missed out on essential social opportunities and parents and teachers are still seeing the impact of this. Furthermore, there are a lot of families who were impacted by losing one or more loved ones over the pandemic which may require ongoing support to deal with. 

We are seeing consistently that children and parents have found themselves in places of uncertainty, which can be difficult for many children to adapt to and places parents in a position where they are unable to plan.

If you’re concerned about the changes and uncertainty around your child’s education, talk to one of our Education Law Solicitors today.

Tips on Helping Your Children Get the Right Support

With the Covid-19 pandemic well and truly over, systems can start re-building for a better future. But as a parent with a SEND child, there are some things you can focus on to help get you and your child access to the best support.

To start, it’s important to understand that identifying that your child needs support as early as possible is the most effective way. The sooner you start on the pathway, the better.

When it comes to requesting an EHCP, you should sit back and think about what the day looks like with your child. In fact, focus on what the worst day looks like. This is an important thing to think about, as it’ll help you get the right support and implement provisions.

If your local authority refuses to assess your child or they assess but refuse to issue an EHCP, you have the right to appeal this decision. 

Before an EHCP is implemented, you will be given a draft version to comment on. Be ready to check this through so that you can send it back with appropriate requests for any amendments.

Speak with us about your concerns

If you have any worries or concerns about the way that your SEND child is being treated, you can come to us. Our Educational Law specialists are ready to listen to your case to see how we can help support you.

We’ll always communicate with you in plain English, so you don’t have to worry about over complicated legal jargon.

Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our friendly team. Wherever you are in England and Wales, we can offer you the support and advice that you need.