Legal assistant Zarhine Rajabalee draws on her personal and professional experience to guide parents through the often-misunderstood process of securing an EHCP for children who may be “too bright” to qualify at first glance.
One of the things parents are often told by schools and local authorities is that their child must be “two years behind” before they can even be considered for an Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment (EHCNA). Therefore, there is no way that a child who is consistently working at greater depth could secure an EHCNA, let alone get support through an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) at the end of that process, right? Wrong.
Myth: too bright for an EHCP
There are so many myths around when a child may be eligible for an EHCNA and this is just one of them. Frustratingly, the law surrounding the EHCP process is often misunderstood and, more often than not, misconstrued and misapplied. It is important to acknowledge that cognition and learning, commonly linked to academic intelligence, represent only one aspect of a child’s overall development. Communication and interaction, social, emotional and mental health, and sensory and physical development are equally significant. It is often difficulties in these other areas that present significant barriers to a child’s ability to learn and cope in a conventional school setting.
When parents keep getting told that their child is “fine” or “too bright” to qualify for any support and their very valid concerns keep getting dismissed, it can feel like an uphill battle with no end in sight. It can be particularly exhausting and frustrating when seeking support for a DME child (Difficulties in Emotional Health) who is dual or multi-exceptional being of high cognitive ability and having special educational needs (SEN) as their difficulties can be overlooked due to their attainment levels. This is often the case for neurodivergent girls who are more likely to mask their difficulties in school. Whilst on the surface, they may appear to be ‘fine’ and ‘getting the grades’, they may be experiencing significant difficulties related to social communication and interaction, sensory processing differences, emotional regulation and/or executive functioning and have to work much harder than their neurotypical peers who do not have such difficulties both in their learning and to manage the broader social, sensory and organisational demands of a typical school environment.
Hidden challenges matter
Whilst these difficulties may be less obvious and more ‘manageable’ for the school than children who are learning disabled or externalise their distress with behaviours that challenge, and can often be contained in primary school, things can change very quickly when DME children start secondary due to the increased social, sensory and executive functioning demands to contend with. It is just a matter of time before the mask falls off but by then a lot of harm has already been caused, sometimes leading to children not being able to attend school anymore because of debilitating anxiety. As a late diagnosed AuDHDer (co-occuring Autism and ADHD) myself, I know all too well the toll masking can take and the harm not receiving the right support can cause.
I cannot stress enough the importance of recognising the signs early and ensuring the right support is put in place to avoid a child hitting ‘crisis point’. As a parent of children with SEN, I was therefore not prepared to take no for an answer in terms of ensuring they received appropriate support.
Know your rights and persist
The process of getting support for your child can seem like an impossible task when the system is rigged with unlawful decisions and a lack of accountability. However, whilst this process can be daunting, my advice to parents is to make sure you know your legal rights, knowledge really is power, and gather evidence and be relentlessly persistent and willing to fight for your child’s rights.
I became aware of those rights having attended a webinar for parents of children with SEN delivered by partner Eva Akins in Russell-Cooke's education law team. Soon after I became her client, then a legal assistant in the team, more recently I have recently completed my legal practice course and a masters in law with distinction. I am so glad that I didn't listen to the likely well-intended but misinformed professionals who told me my child was "too bright for an EHCP". Three SEN appeals later, I have observed first-hand how positively life changing securing an EHCP and the right type of school and support for your child can be.
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