Decision-Making Panels for SEND

At our EHCP Communication Listening Event and through your feedback, many of you told us that you wanted clearer information about the panel process in Oxfordshire. We’ve worked with Oxfordshire County Council (OCC) to provide this overview to help you better understand how decisions are made about children and young people’s education, health and care needs.

If a child or young person has, is awaiting, or needs an:

• Educational Health & Care Needs Assessment (EHCNA), or a

• Educational Health & Care Plan (EHCP)

this is important information to know about. Please find our summary below. For more details, including who sits on each panel, please visit the OCC Children and Families website.

Multi-Agency Panel (MAP)

This panel meets weekly all year round to consider different stages of the ECHNA/EHCP process:

• Requests for EHCNAs/Educational Health & Care Needs Assessments

• If an EHCP is required, following an assessment

• The support strategies recommended for an EHCP

• Requests for a change of placement type following an EHCP annual review

• Requests for reassessments of children with EHCPs

• Requests to be educated out of chronological order

Outcomes: An EHCP Casework Officer will contact you by phone within 5 working days of the meeting, followed by an email to communicate the outcomes.

Countywide Admissions Panel (CAP)

This panel meets fortnightly all year round to consider special placements:

• Applications for Local Authority special schools

• Applications to Resource Bases (specific Support Services)

• Possible consultation with independent non-maintained special schools (INMSS)

Outcomes: An EHCP Casework Officer will contact you by phone within 5 working days of the meeting, followed by an email to communicate the outcomes.

Complex Cases Panel (CCP)

This panel meets fortnightly all year round to consider more complex cases:

• Requests for placements or provision not considered by SEND Brokerage process

• Requests for personal budgets

• Proposals for education otherwise than at school (EOTAS)

• Requests for elective home education (EHE) for children and young people in specialist settings, following scrutiny by Health and Social Care

Outcomes: An EHCP Casework Officer will contact you by phone within 5 working days of the meeting, followed by an email to communicate the outcomes.

Joint and Tripartite Panel (JTP)

This panel meets weekly all year round to consider:

• Requests for placement for children and young people which may need to be funded jointly between Education and Social Care, or between Education, Social Care, and Health

Outcomes: A nominated allocated professional will contact parent or carer within 5 days of the meeting to communicate the outcomes.

Disagreement resolution

Early resolution of disagreements is sought by OCC. If you do not agree about decisions or provisions, independent, impartial help is available:

• SENDIASS can provide impartial support for parents when dealing with schools or the Local Authority.

Remember, You Have a Voice

Parents, carers, children and young people can formally share their views:

• During a needs assessment for an EHCP

• As part of the annual review process for an EHCP

• Anytime, by contacting your Special Education Needs Officer (SENO) or EHCP Casework Team