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.
See below for details of our most popular packages:
Our Packages
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Our Packages
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 we have any key dates and deadlines.
EHC Needs Assessment Request
EHC Needs Assessment Requests
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 (if appropriate)
- 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 (typically 6-8 pages)
This can take between 4 and 10 hours, depending on the quantity and quality of the evidence available.
EHCP Proposed Amendments
EHCP Draft Amendments following EHCNA or Annual Review
Typically, this service is used after a draft has been issued; however, it is also beneficial if you know your EHCP needs a full re-write to do this ahead of an Annual Review meeting.
You can then discuss all proposeed amendments with school and send it off with the AR paperwork. Any amendments not agreed are then all ready for appeal and can be added to your Working Document:
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 60-80+ footnotes, if doing a full re-write)
- 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 8-12 hours; however, this can be as few as 3-4 hours if reports are brief.
I am not afraid to completely re-write sections B and F, if that is what is needed.
Grounds of Appeal - Refusal to Assess
Grounds of Appeal - 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, or did the draft proposed amendments, this typically takes 2-3 hours, depending on whether there is new evidence for inclusion.
Grounds of Appeal - Refusal to Issue
Grounds of Appeal - 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
This typically takes 8-10 hours, depending on how much evidence there is to reveiw and include.
We will also prepare a new EHCNA request, ready to be submitted in 6 months, with areas highlighted that will likely require updating before submission.
Grounds of Appeal - Sections B, F and I
Grounds of Appeal - Sections B, F and 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
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; I am not afraid to completely re-write an EHCP where this is necessary.
The first return of the working document will contain all proposed amendments, which in theory, the LA could agree and the appeal would be concluded.
We can also review your WD once it has been returned by the LA; this will be 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 Sevices
Additional Services
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, with a minimum charge of £17.50 .
Tribunal Services
Tribunal Services - Case Management
We can offer ongoing support throughout your appeal. We can deal with as much or as little of your appeal as you need, whether it is just offering guidance, and you complete the relevant steps or whether we do all the steps too. We will quote for significant tasks, for example, the Working Docment, and will keep a tab for general support and mini-tasks.
We only have limited capacity to offer for this and it will be dependent on when your Tribunal deadlines fall.
We may still be able to help with specifics for tribunal though, if we are unable to offer full case management.
Special Needs Labyrinth