Tristan’s story

About Tristan

He has an EHCP, and parent have concerns about sections B and F and about how the school is supporting Tristan. They have specific concerns about inconsistent support in class, the fact that Tristan is only attending half days, and Tristan’s mental health needs. His parents say that Tristan shows challenging behaviour when unsupported; he is not communicating and needs help with emotional regulation.

EHCP issues

He currently has 14 hours of support in his EHCP, and the school says that he needs 25 hours. Tristan’s parents felt that comments they and the school had made on the draft EHCP were not incorporated into the final EHCP. The local authority’s (LA) view was that the 14 hours were sufficient and that they would expect the school to provide the support Tristan requires from their own resources, beyond the 14 hours in the EHCP.

How the mediation went

The mediation was attended by both of Tristan’s parents and by the headteacher and SENDCo of the school, and by the SEN Team Manager and the Quality Assurance Manager from the local authority (LA), with the Occupational Therapist (OT) and Speech and Language Therapist (SALT) attending with the LA.

The mediation was difficult for all participants and became emotional at times. It became clear that the school felt they needed more support from the LA. Parents felt that the EHCP was insufficiently specific on the support Tristan should be receiving.

Outcome

The OT agreed to review Tristan’s needs in school and to send her report to the LA. The LA agreed to amend Tristan’s EHCP to incorporate specific recommendations from the Educational Psychologist and changes that were agreed on OT provision.

*Tristan is not his real name.