Two councils, one child, two very different outcomes. Bedford gave Oliver the support he needed. Hertfordshire took it away. Continue reading to see how one council got it right, and Hertfordshire got it badly wrong.
Early Help Done Right
Back in September 2022, Oliver who was 3 at the time started at a pre-school in Bedford. He was (and still is) non-verbal and clearly had additional needs. His pre-school at the time, applied for a type of funding from the council to get him support, called Local High Needs Funding (LHNF). The funding is designed for children who don’t yet have an EHCP but still need extra support.
The funding was agreed without issue as it was obvious he needed extra help. This funding meant Oliver had a dedicated support worker who supported him at pre-school. For the first time, after a couple of failed nursery attempts, Oliver was happy in a setting as he had the right support. He loved it so much he would be dragging us to pre-school even on his days off.
If you happen to be reading this from Bedford, and you're looking for good pre-school, then I recommend Bunyan Preschool https://www.bunyan-preschool.co.uk/
Early Help Done Wrong
Oliver started at a new pre-school in Welwyn Garden City around November 2022 when we moved back to the area. We naively thought we could just apply for the same funding that had helped him in Bedford. We were very wrong. Apparently, moving to Hertfordshire magically means a child’s needs disappear overnight.
After a few months at his new pre-school, including time off for surgery to remove a non-functioning kidney in January, staff applied for LHNF funding in February 2023. They were already struggling to meet his needs despite the SENCO’s best efforts.
Hertfordshire County Council rejected the application, leaving Oliver with no support. It’s also worth noting that nobody from the council visited him during this time, their decision made solely from information written on the application form.
The Messy Council Response
As we didn’t agree with their decision, I wrote to our local MP, who contacted the council for more information. I specifically wanted to know why they had rejected the application.
Here’s what they said:
“The panel collectively recognised Oliver may require additional support to fully access the Early Years curriculum, however no outside specialist professionals had been requested to advise on the best provision to support this. Further to this, section 10 of the application had not been completed. This section sets out how the provider intends to use the funding to support access to learning. Guidance for the allocation of Local High Needs Funding stipulates advice from at least one external professional is required before the application can be considered. Furthermore, the application should be fully completed.”
Translation: We recognise he needs support but Section 10 on the application was missing, and no professionals had been involved.
Reality: Section 10 didn’t even exist on the form. The council’s response was either wrong or they have no idea what’s actually on their own paperwork. As for the “no outside specialist professionals” line, that was nonsense. Oliver had already been seen by professionals in Bedford. Why Hertfordshire thinks they’d somehow reach a different conclusion is anyone’s guess.
The council did later try to tidy up the mess by saying:
“I am sorry section 10 of the Local High Needs Funding application was referenced. Information was missing regarding the evidence of the impact of strategies suggested by an external professional, and how funding would be used to tailor provision to meet Oliver’s needs.”
No support, forced withdrawal
The decision by the council, which tried to put the blame on the pre-school for not providing the ‘right evidence’, meant a 3-year-old child was left to struggle. With no funding in place and the pre-school unable to cope, we had no choice but to withdraw Oliver in April 2023.
The manager agreed it was the right decision, saying:
“I believe that you’ve made the right decision for Oliver.”
Other comments included:
“We don’t feel like this is the right place for him”
“We can’t cope with him”
The pre-school in question is Parkway pre-school in Welwyn Garden City. You can make up your own mind whether you’d want to send your child there. The staff themselves were excellent, especially the SENCO, but the manager… well, I’ll let you decide.
And It’s Not Just Oliver
If this sounds like a one-off, it probably isn’t. An FOI request showed that in 2021-2022 there were 578 LHNF applications and the council only agreed 419 of them, meaning over a quarter (27.5%) were rejected.
They also confirmed that while they budgeted £1.6 million for the scheme in 2021-2022, they actually underspent the money by over £250,000. So even with children needing help, and funding already set aside, money still went unused.
| 2021 – 2022 | No. of LHNF Applications | No of Agreed Applications |
|---|---|---|
| Early Years | 132 | 94 |
| Primary | 419 | 304 |
| Secondary | 27 | 21 |
| Total | 578 | 419 |
| 2021-22 LHNF Budget | £1,600,000 |
| 2021-22 LHNF Spend | £1,348,705 |
Looking Back
With Oliver due to start school the following September, the whole process left us with no confidence. The council had already shown how little they understood about early intervention or the reality of supporting children with additional needs.
If they couldn’t manage a simple funding request for a 3 year old, how could we ever trust them to handle something as important as his full-time education? A period of home education began after this, before we started the process to apply for an EHCP.
Next up: Hertfordshire County Council Wasted Six Weeks Deciding the Obvious
