Hertfordshire County Council: Sidestepping Parental Choice
Once we had our draft plan outlining Oliver’s needs, it’s then time to start naming a school that could actually provide the education Oliver needs. You would think Hertfordshire County Council would then involve us properly in this process.
Instead, the process that is designed to put parents at the centre of their child’s education, left us sidelined as the council likes to follow its own process and blatantly ignore the law.
What the Law Actually Says
When parents receive a draft EHCP, they have a right to name a school they want their child to attend.
The law is clear under the Children and Families Act 2014, parents can request a specific a school:
“Request the authority to secure that a particular school or other institution within subsection (3) is named in the plan.” – Section 38(2)(b)(ii)
The council must name that school unless one of three things applies:
- The school or other institution requested is unsuitable for the age, ability, aptitude or special educational needs of the child or young person concerned.
- It would be incompatible with the provision of efficient education of others
- It would be incompatible with the efficient use of resources
It doesn’t say anything about asking or naming a mainstream school first, waiting for an internal panel, or delaying consultation until it suits their internal timelines. It simply says they should consult and name the requested school unless one of those three exceptions applies.
What Hertfordshire Did Instead
We made it clear from the very start that we would be naming a specialist school for Oliver. The council replied to say they wouldn’t be considering a specific school at all, only a “type” of school through their internal panel.
“The process which we have to adhere to asks the panel members to consider a type of specialist setting for consideration and not a specific school… The specialist setting offered, if specialist is agreed at panel, may not be your parental preference.”
So, the process Hertfordshire has, which is not law, is to consult their own internal panel before consulting our preferred school. The problems with this approach:
- Nobody really knows when these panels happen – they won’t give you a date.
- Parents have reported that these panel decisions are made after they issue a plan, so in the meantime your child will have a school that can’t meet needs.
- The panel members who are making the decision have never seen your child.
This is not how the process is meant to work. It was our right to name a school, and the council should then consult that school. The council simply decided they would do it their own way.
Note – If you are waiting for a panel decision, they have no place in law. If the council have already issued the final plan and you don’t agree with the school named, appeal it. Do not wait otherwise you may lose your right to appeal.
"Special schools are full", I get it. But this is a failure of the council to not increase specialist provision, and is not an excuse. My daughter will be starting school soon, and thankfully, we can just apply for a school, and she will attend, job done. Imagine a "typical" child with no EHCP not being able to attend a school because there was simply no schools left.
A Predetermined Outcome?
Before they even consulted with the specialist school, and even worse before they even consulted with a mainstream school the council said:
“The Local Authority is looking to name a suitable mainstream setting”
Note the word suitable, if there was a suitable mainstream school for Oliver, I would send him tomorrow. Unfortunately, the reality is, there isn’t. What makes this really bad for the council is they then went onto name a mainstream setting that said couldn’t meet his needs, and had serious concerns with him attending. Yet the council named the school anyway.
Related – Hertfordshire Country Council Names Schools That Can’t Meet Needs
The decision was already made, they admitted they will issue a plan with a school named that couldn’t meet needs.
Forcing Clarity
To stop the usual vague replies from the council, I asked three direct questions:
- Will our specialist school be consulted before the final plan is issued?
- Will the Local Authority name a mainstream school in the final plan if the mainstream says they can meet needs, without consulting our specialist school at all?
- If the specialist school is not going to be named, will I receive a formal written refusal as required by law.
The response said it all:
“No, the specialist school will not be consulted with before the final EHC plan for Olvier is issued. Yes, a mainstream setting will be named in Section I of Oliver’s EHC Plan. Yes, once the request for specialist school has been taken to panel…a letter will be sent stating why…”
So the council has confirmed in writing that they wouldn’t consult the school we named and would name a mainstream one instead, clearly predetermining the outcome and going against how the law should be followed.
The Complaint Response
When we complained, the council of course backed themselves. The response said:
“The Local Authority is legally required to consult with a range of educational settings, including mainstream schools… Consulting with a mainstream school is part of building a full picture of Oliver’s needs.”
Firstly, they aren’t “required” to consult with a range of schools; they are only “required” to do this if it’s something they are considering. Secondly, why they think consulting with a mainstream school will build a full picture of Oliver’s needs is odd. That’s what the EHC assessment is for! The school they consulted doesn’t even know him, so how they think the school will come back with some magical advice to build a picture is laughable.
They also justified naming a mainstream school even when the specialist request hadn’t been dealt with:
“In cases where a special school is being considered but a decision has not yet been made… the Local Authority may name a mainstream school in the EHCP to ensure continued access to education and compliance with legal timeframes.”
So the council puts more weight on issuing a plan within the legal timeframe (20 weeks), but it doesn’t matter if the plan names a school that isn’t suitable. Again, more box ticking from the council, they know by issuing the plan, they can give themselves a pat on the back and say they met a deadline.
The Irony of “Timely Decisions”
The council’s defence for everything was it helped them meet deadlines, except they missed the 20-week deadline to issue a plan anyway.
As they refused to consult the specialist school when they should have, they had to wait for the panel before eventually consulting. The panel met after the plan due date, which meant the consultation happened late.
The only thing their process achieved was delay. The specialist school confirmed they could meet needs, anyone who has met Oliver will know this within 10 seconds.
The council still named a school that said it couldn’t meet his needs, there’s actually no legal reason for them to do this. The council is well within their rights to name a type of setting, e.g. “a specialist setting” rather than force through mainstream. The reason I think they do this is because they don’t want children officially out of school, as it looks bad on them, and they also don’t want to spend any money on alternative provision
Looking Back
Again, this part of the process showed what the council cares about, not Oliver, not parents, not even the schools involved. They care about one thing, meeting a deadline no matter what. If the council followed the law and stopped delaying things with their own internal processes, which aren’t law, they could still issue plans in time.
It gets worse, you can read more about how the council tried to force Oliver to attend a mainstream school that said it couldn’t meet needs at the link below.
Up Next – Hertfordshire County Council Names Schools That Can’t Meet Needs
