Provision and Placement panels
The SEND provision and placement panels are where your child's draft EHCP will be presented by the EHC Coordinator and discussed by panel members, and where the panel will recommend the type of provision it feels is most suitable for your child.
Gathering evidence for panel
Through the EHC needs assessment, the EHC Coordinator will work with you to gather all the information needed from different professionals. This evidence includes: evidence from professionals such as educational professionals, health professionals, educational psychologists, social workers etc. It is important that the evidence gathered is as thorough and detailed as possible so that the panel can decide whether an EHCP is needed. If the panel agrees that your child requires an EHCP it will create a draft EHCP using all the available evidence. If a draft EHCP has been issued you will be asked to confirm which school or setting you wish to be named in the EHCP. If you request a specialist setting then this draft EHC Plan and the evidence used to write it is presented to panel.
Annual reviews
If your child already has an EHCP, the school or setting will hold an annual review meeting and you should be included in this process to ensure all available evidence is used to review the EHCP. They will then submit the paperwork to us to determine whether to maintain, amend, or cease the Plan. If a change of placement is requested this will then be presented to the panel by the EHC Coordinator.
If you are applying for a Year 7 place in a secondary school, assessment information from Year 5/6 will be reviewed because this is the information that will be featured in the annual review report used to inform the decision about secondary school placement.
The SEND provision and placement panel meetings
The draft EHCP (or proposed amended EHCP) will be presented to the SEND provision and placement panel by the EHC Coordinator (EHCCo).
The SEND provision and placement panels consider requests made for:
- Bespoke packages of education
- Specialist Resource Provision
- Special school place
- Independent & Non-Maintained School
- Personal Budgets
- Education Otherwise Than at School
- Any other request that may require a multi-agency discussion and recommendation
Provision and placement panel meetings take place in 4 different areas of the county, with a SEND panel manager allocated to each area:
- Pamela Radford – North Herts and Stevenage; DSPL 1 & 2
- Laura Tolley – East Herts, Broxbourne, Welwyn & Hatfield; DSPL 3,4 & 5
- Sophia McClymont – Hertsmere, Watford and Three Rivers; DSPL 6 & 9
- Alice O’Rourke – St. Albans and Decorum; DSPL 7 & 8
The panel meetings are held every fortnight to discuss the requests. The panel meetings are chaired by the SEND panel managers.
A range of multi-agency partners will be invited to attend the panel to contribute to the decision-making process. Panel members include representation from special schools, mainstream schools, Health, social care and Education Advisors.
How the panel decisions are made
The SEND provision and placement panel considers every request on an individual basis. The decisions they make are based on the evidence provided and the following law and regulations:
- The Children and Families Act (2014)
- The Education Act 1996
- The Equality Act 2010
- The Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations (2014)
- The Special Educational Needs (Personal Budgets) Regulations (2014)
- The SEND Code of Practice (2015)
- SEND and alternative provision improvement plan: right support, right place, right time (March 2023)
When making a decision, the provision panel consider all the evidence of your child's strengths and needs which the EHC Coordinator has gathered to support your request. They will also consider any responses from school consultations.
There are different types of special schools, and each type has its own guidance for the type of provision they offer and which pupils would be most suitably placed. We've described the different types of special schools we have in Hertfordshire:
The panel use this special schools admissions guidance (PDF 291kb) Opening a new window as guidance for making a decision about whether a child or young person would be suitably placed in that type of school. (If you need an accessible version of this document, please email localoffer@hertfordshire.gov.uk)
The decision of the Provision and Placement panel
The panel will make a decision on the type of provision which will best meet the needs of your child.
The panel's decision will normally be issued a few days after the panel takes place and your EHC Coordinator will contact you to let you know the outcome. They will tell you the type of setting that the panel has identified to best meet your child's needs and confirm which schools will be sent a consultation. They will give you reasons for the decision and will tell you what the next steps are in the process. They will also inform your child's current school/setting of the decision.
If you haven't heard about the outcome from the panel after 5 working days, you can contact your EHC Coordinator. Alternatively (if you haven't had a response from your EHC Coordinator), you can contact the team lead.
Find out more about contacting the SEND Team.