EHC Needs Assessment Services - Special Needs Labyrinth
Our services
We charge a flat rate of £35 an hour, to reflect the varying levels of complexity and the differing amount and quality of evidence available. In the interests of transparency, we aim to give an estimate as to how long work typically takes, based on number of reports, whether they are LA/NHS or longer private reports.
Below are examples of our most popular packages, including our appeal grounds services; however, should you require something more bespoke, please do not hesitate to contact us at hello@sn-labyrinth.co.uk to discuss your needs further.
If possible, please provide an editable Word version of the EHCP to facilitate the EHC needs assessment. Should this be a problem, do get in touch with us, and we will endeavour to find a solution.
Please ensure you have completed our information form, so we have all the key information, including any significant dates and any EHCP draft amendments that may be necessary. This form will be emailed to you.
Please note: exisiting clients will move on to the new hourly flat-rate, with charges capped at old package prices; you will not be paying more than originally quoted.
EHCP Draft Analyisis
This includes the following and is based on the draft EHCP only:
- Read through of the current draft
- Colour-coded comments on the quality of the draft
- Highlight sections of B and F which do not currently comply with relevant legislation and where possible, propose alternate wording
- Comments and queries you need to make to the LA
- Next steps
This service does not include:
- Reading of reports
- Proposing alternative wording based on reports
- This is an entry level service to determine the quality of the report.
Should you decide to upgrade to a full draft check, this will be discounted by £35.
EHC Needs Assessment Request
We will assist you with your EHC needs assessment request. This process will involve:
- A virtual meeting to discuss your child's needs
- Completion of the LA application form
- A detailed letter that outlines how the legal threshold for the EHC needs assessment has been met, covering the Four Broad Areas of need, referenced back to the supporting evidence
This can take between 4 and 10 hours, depedning on the quantity and quality of the evidence available.
EHCP Draft Amendments
This service will include:
- Proposing EHCP draft amendments based on reports supplied, to relevant sections of the EHCP.
- All proposed amendments shown clearly, added directly onto the EHCP (colour-coding and bold fonts).
- All amendments and additions fully referenced back to the corresponding reports. (Often 80-100 footnotes)
- Questions to the LA where the EHCP requires their input, for example, where elements are missing and not available in their report.
- A 'clean' version for the parents, which shows how the final EHCP should look.
The time taken to complete this can vary significantly, depending on the number of reports and whether they are LA/NHS or independent. A typical draft re-write takes 7-10 hours; however, this can be as few as 3-4 hours if reports are brief.
This service is offered with a price cap at 10 hours; anything over that will not be charged.
Appeal Grounds - Refusal to Assess (RTA)
We will write your appeal grounds services if the Local Authority refuses to assess your child through the EHC needs assessment. This service will include:
- Support in obtaining the mediation certificate
- Completion of the SEND35A Form
- Comprehensive appeal grounds written in MS Word (typically 5-6 pages), outlining the reasons and fully referenced back to the evidence
- Review and list of relevant evidence
- If you have new evidence since the original EHCNA request was made, this will be included and we will support you in the immediate submission of a second EHCNA request to run alongside your appeal. (We have done this previously and had success in persuading the LA to concede, prior to the initial response, which is due 6 weeks later.)
Depending on the detail within the original EHCNA request, this typically takes 5-7 hours. If we wrote the original assessment request, this typically takes 2-3 hours, depending on whether there is new evidence for inclusion.
Appeal Grounds - Refusal to Issue (RTI)
If your LA has refused to issue an EHCP for your child, we will write your appeal grounds. This service will include:
- Support in obtaining the mediation certificate
- Completion of the SEND35 Form
- Comprehensive Appeal Grounds written in MS Word (typically 5-6 pages), outlining the reasons why the child requires an EHCP, fully referenced back to the evidence and relevant case law, covering the Four Broad Areas of Need
- Review and list of relevant evidence
Appeal Grounds - Sections B/F/I
Once you have your final EHCP, we can write your appeal grounds against sections B, F (and I) of your EHCP. It is advisable to appeal sections B and F if you are looking to challenge section I.
This service will include:
- Support in obtaining the mediation certificate
- Completion of SEND35 Form
- Comprehensive appeal grounds written in MS Word (typically 8 -10 pages), outlining the reasons and referencing back to the evidence and the Four Broad Areas of Need
- Review and list relevant evidence
Appeals for Sections B and F typically take 6-8 hours to write. If you are also including section I, owing to needing to research the setting(s) involved, this will typically take a further 2 hours, based on two settings (current/LA proposed vs parental preference to be named in section I.)
If you have previously used our EHCP draft amendments service, the time to lodge your appeal will be typically 5-7 hours.
Working Document Service
For our working document service, we will provide you with:
- A completed version of the working document, following the tribunal key, to which, in theory, the LA could agree, with no further amendments required.
- All amendments and proposed changes will be fully referenced back to the corresponding report from which the information has been obtained.
It typically takes 10-12 hours to complete the first draft of the Working Document.
Should you wish for us to continue and review once it has been returned by the LA, we will review for up to 1 hour for free, with any further hours charged at £35/hour. First return typically takes 2-3 hours, subsequent returns should be much quicker to review.
If you used our draft amendments service prior to lodging your appeal, please get in touch for a quote as this will vary significantly from just a couple of hours, depending on new evidence and reports to be included.
Additional Work - £35 hour
Upon completion of a service, if you require any additional minor assistance, such as help with completing a SEND7 form, or drafting letters for a provision panel, we reserve the right to charge £35 per hour, billed in 15-minute increments.