SEND Reforms & the Fight for Inclusion: An EHCP Coordinator’s First-Hand Experience
19 Mar, 20251-2 minutes
In this blog, you will learn:
- How EHCP Coordinators navigate complex caseloads and fight for inclusion.
- About the benefits of having a national, standardised EHC template.
- How to find and apply for the best EHCP Coordinator jobs.
In this interview, we speak with an experienced EHCP Coordinator about their career journey and the evolving landscape of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) provision. From tackling complex caseloads to collaborating with parents, families and Teachers, this EHCP Coordinator explores the rewarding and demanding nature of their role and the changes they hope to see for the future of SEND.
This EHCP Coordinator is an advocate for vulnerable students particularly autistic girls and those with anxiety. In this interview, we uncover the advantages of having a national, standardised EHC template and the UK government's hub initiatives aimed at improving child and family support for students with SEND.
With insights on key reforms and the impact of government policies, this EHCP Coordinator explores the importance of fighting for inclusion and their vision for the future of special education.
Tell us about your career journey so far and your current role
I graduated with a degree in Psychology and Social Anthropology in 2012. As part of my course, I completed two placements, one in mental health and one in SEN. After I graduated, I worked in mental health as a Support Worker in an inpatient setting.
I then moved to work as an Honorary Assistant Psychologist in one of London’s main hospitals before moving back in education and working as an Learning Support Assistant. I transitioned to a Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) setting where I spent the next five years working mainly in one of our primary schools as a Teaching Assistant.
I later began running interventions and helping draft EHC Plan Need assessments and spent some time covering a secondary school.
I undertook a psychology internship in Jamaica during the summer and worked in a home for those with mental illness. Once I came back to the UK, I joined a local authority as an EHCP Coordinator and then moved to a different local authority to be a Senior EHCP Coordinator. I am currently an EHCP Coordinator with Spencer Clarke Group and have been here for almost a year.
What does your current role as an EHCP Coordinator consist of?
As an EHCP Coordinator, I am responsible for writing new plans, attending Annual Reviews and updating Education, Health and Care Plans. I have quite a few complex cases and work with some of our most vulnerable students. My job entails advocating for students and their families and as an EHCP Coordinator with autism myself, I find I advocate the most for autistic girls.
EHCP Coordinators are responsible for raising safeguarding concerns and concerns with settings and finding school placements. We attend safeguarding conferences including Child in Need, child protection meetings and hold professionals to account in order to achieve the best outcomes for students.
We also take our students to panel, usually funding, or placement panels. In the past, I have sat on panels such as: needs assessment, multi-agency panels, funding panels and placement panels. In my current role I am also involved in tribunals which I haven’t done previously.
How has SEND provision changed over the past 12 months and where do you see it heading in 2025?
SEN has changed a lot in the past few years. I have seen more students with anxiety especially after Covid-19 and I have seen an increase in complex presentations especially in autistic girls. There’s also been an increase in Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA) and I’ve found that we are having to consult and place with the independent sector much more.
We are also seeing a much higher number of needs assessments and it's sometimes difficult to keep up!
I think there has been a lot of progress recently in early intervention and spotting children with SEN earlier. There is also more awareness now and more professionals and services that can diagnose, which means that more students are being referred for assessment.
This has had an impact on waiting lists for services like Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) which has increased. I am hoping reforms put in place will help to increase capacity and make things move faster.
I personally feel there is a massive gap at the moment especially with funding, school places and placing our students in the independent sector. In the next 12 months, I hope that we can see an increase in the budgets for students with SEN, particularly for Post-16s, as well as an increase in maintained schools that can meet needs.
I haven’t really seen much of a difference in day to day operations since the Green Paper came out. More local authorities are using the EHC Hub to create and review EHCPs. I think communication with other professionals has been getting better but I still feel like we have a long way to go.
The 2025 Labour government has introduced several educational and SEND reforms. Do you think Labour will have an impact on the challenges local authorities face?
In all honesty I think the government should visit local authorities and speak to EHCP Coordinators. I find there is a massive gap between what the government says and what they actually put into action.
I am hopeful that the proposed new reforms mean that there is a drive for recruitment and retaining of staff, not just in schools but SEN as a wider service. It's really difficult to apply for Educational Psychologists roles and there is a large cohort of people applying with limited job capacity. It would be great if we could change this, to have more Educational Psychologists, Speech and Language Therapists and even Occupational Therapists to work with our students.
How might SEND provision change under Labour’s government and what reforms do you foresee?
This is a tricky question, I think that the focus on integration, mental health and removing barriers for our students with SEN will be a step in the right direction. I am hoping that this will lead to better collaboration with professionals and the team supporting the child/young person.
I am hoping that the reforms mean that we work better with the individual student but also that we will have better partnerships with families, advocates and professionals, in the end we all want the best for each of our students.
I would like a curriculum that adapts to our students, not the other way around - because they don’t all fit into the same boxes. Sometimes students who have a high level of needs are really academic and for some students traditional schooling is no longer appropriate. I wish we had better options for these students.
If we could have a flexible curriculum, more focus on vocational subjects, support with entry requirements and better alternative provisions that would be great. I think we are heading in the right direction. I also think the focus on mainstream schools is a welcomed initiative and with the right support, training and guidance some mainstream schools will be able to meet the needs of our students.
I am hoping the disparity between families, location and types of school will change. I think there should be a national network, where schools and professionals can demonstrate and share good practice but also a platform for “what went wrong and how can we change this for next time”.
Local authorities should be able to have more say and hold schools accountable especially with students who are not attending school and are not having education provided by the school as per Section 19 of the Education Act 1996.
What do you find most fulfilling about your role? Can you share a moment in your role that felt particularly rewarding?
When a child or young person is finding things difficult and hasn't had the correct or adequate support to meet their needs, I find it fulfilling when I make a positive impact and guide families.
One particularly memorable moment is when I transferred a complex child to another local authority.
This young person had support from other services and at the point of handover, the local authority stated they were ceasing the EHC plan. There was no justification for this, so myself and other professionals advocated for this young person which led to me going to mediation with the family. Within 5 minutes we had the outcome we were hoping for.
What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced in your SEND career and how did you overcome them?
Students with SEN are more likely to be permanently excluded for a number of reasons including the impact of past trauma or their specific needs and difficulty understanding or responding to certain situations. Many needs are not being met due to poor mental health, especially anxiety and SEMH.
Students are also more likely to be known to social services or youth offending services. Sometimes the latter students are really hard to place as schools struggle between student’s needs and keeping their peers safe. It's vital we see an increase in this support and get our vulnerable students back into education.
Another challenge is the sheer number of complex cases, which requires a lot of time and casework. I think supervision has been vital to overcoming this. I have an amazing line manager, who always makes time if we are struggling with a particular case, which ensures that we don’t miss anything and our line managers are aware of the cases, in case they need to be escalated.
I would also say the large number of students per EHCP Coordinator. I have worked with a caseload of 250 and some Coordinators have had higher than this. When you have complex cases it's really difficult to give each child the time they need and deserve which can make you feel as though you’re not doing a good job.
The level of contact some SENCOs and parents want is not always possible with our caseloads. This impacts complaints and means that Coordinators and senior staff have to spend time doing formal responses which takes us away from our actual roles.
What's the most valuable lesson you’ve learnt in your career so far?
Every child is different regardless of their SEN diagnosis. No two children are the same and so provisions really need to be individualised. I think it would be fair to say that I have seen some settings treat each student in a similar way which can be quite rigid and means their needs are not being met.
I have learned that not all parents know how the system works, or what is and is not appropriate for their child. Some parents are desperate to have support and guidance and just want the best for their child, but sometimes we have parents that do not understand the full extent of their child’s needs. It can be difficult managing parental expectations.
What challenges do you believe councils and the SEND sector will face with the new labour government?
SEN changes daily and often changes that are discussed can’t easily be seen on the EHCP Coordinator level. I don’t think there are enough new school places or maintained SEN schools. We are consulting with more and more independent schools which then means we are spending more of our budgets on these settings.
The price of independent placements is sometimes horrific. I am hoping that this changes for the better and that the focus on inclusion, support and mental health really makes a difference to our students.
I also don’t think that we have enough settings that really understand the child’s needs, especially trauma (in particular developmental trauma), anxiety, depression and other mental health conditions, as well as Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA) and girls with autism.
I think one area that SEND professionals will find challenging is how we actually implement some of the changes and what this will look like for EHCP Coordinators and our students.
What’s your vision for the future of SEND services and what changes would you like to see in 2025?
My long-term vision would be more school places and more maintained schools with experienced staff who are trauma informed, trained in mental health and SEND and really understand the needs for our students. I would also like to see students being advocated for better and better plans and settings for post 16 upwards.
I would really love to see more Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) girls’ schools. We have one in the UK and it’s nowhere near enough. We have so many girls not being seen who are in either SEMH schools, ASD schools (with boys which isn't always in their best interests) or mainstream schools where they are seen as either really gifted due to masking and have meltdowns when they are home, or are labelled as troublemakers.
I really want professionals and services to work together efficiently to support children and young people with SEND. I have many students with complex needs, who with the right support at the right time could have potentially remained in education.
There are some students that are more health or social care led but due to not having a setting that can meet those needs, parents often fight for their children to remain in education when this is no longer appropriate. It can be difficult doing what is right for students when assessments are delayed, they have conflicting advice or services do not attend meetings.
I would love to see more options and opportunities available for children, along with more social care and health-led settings designed to support those with the most complex needs. These settings should not only provide essential care but also support our most vulnerable students transition into adulthood with as much independence as possible.
What key changes are needed to better support EHCP Coordinators in their role and improve the EHCP process?
I’m sure many EHCP Coordinators feel the same way, but we are still waiting for the nationalised EHCP format that the previous government promised. This standardisation is important as it will ease the process of moving students into and out of locality and would also mean that consultations are much smoother.
Many local authorities are using the Hub and participating in the family hubs program but some have different functions. It would be great if we had a platform that has input from those of us on the ground that use it daily. I think the Hub has the potential to make a real difference but at present there can be a few changes to make the process and use of the Hub much smoother.
I think getting this right and efficiently functional will be difficult, but I think with consultation of EHCP Coordinators, schools, professionals and families I think we have a chance to create something that works for all and in the best interests of our students.
What advice would you give to aspiring SEND professionals?
Working for SEN is not for the faint hearted! There are high caseloads, there will be some parents and SENCOs that tell you that you don't understand and you may be blamed for any decisions that end negatively. There are some parents that wish to talk to you all of the time, sometimes multiple times a day.
It’s a hard role sometimes, but it's rewarding. There will be some parents and SENCOs that see what you’re trying to do for your students and appreciate that you are fighting not just for their children but for others too.
It’s important to remember that every decision you make affects an actual person. They are not just numbers and names on your caseloads, some of them have it pretty rough and those are the ones you end up fighting the hardest for.
When you have an impact or make a difference to one of your students you have a person, family or professionals seeing the impact and thanking you. They appreciate that you took time out to problem solve or commission the correct services/therapies for their child.
In order to work in the SEN sector, you need to have resilience, great communication skills and the ability to de-escalate situations. You need to have an understanding of students and their needs as well as the ability to work with a multi-disciplinary team and networks of professionals. It’s all about being organised and able to juggle many different hats at the same time.
What were your experiences of working with Spencer Clarke Group?
I have been working for Spencer Clarke Group for almost a year now. I had an interview shortly after enquiring (I followed one of my Caseworkers I line-managed at the time) and I got the job straight away. Honestly, I feel this was the best decision for me. I have been in one placement so far and I don’t think they’re planning on letting me go any time soon!
What are the benefits of using a recruitment agency like Spencer Clarke Group?
Working with an agency is much more flexible than permanent staff. I sometimes need to take leave due to a disability and the support I have had has just been amazing and my current line manager really understands my needs.
One of the benefits is the agency pay as you are doing the same job as permanent staff but being paid more. In this role - with the duties we have, level of contact and complex casework - I feel agency pay is more representative of the work we actually do.
I have had no issues working with Spencer Clarke Group and to be honest I haven’t really needed to contact them except for timesheets.
SCG educational psychology report
As specialists in SEND recruitment, we work alongside hundreds of Educational Psychologists throughout the UK and are mindful of the challenges they face in their ever evolving role.
After commissioning our own research from Educational Psychologists in both local authorities and private practice, we published the SCG Educational Psychology Workforce Insights Report 2024.
The report delves into trends within educational psychology, funding and resources, industry challenges, policies and legislation and the future of educational psychology.
Read the SCG Educational Psychology Workforce Insights Report 2024 here.
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Share your experience
Every individual brings a unique set of experiences, thoughts and insights to the table. We believe in giving a voice to a community of professionals to inspire positive change and champion reform in the SEND sector.
If you work in the SEND sector and would like to share your own personal and professional experiences, we’d love to hear from you. Perhaps you have a different perspective, could offer a fresh angle, or want to challenge assumptions.
Simply reach out to our Head of Content, Nicole Sherwood, to discuss a collaboration which makes your voice count.
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Established in 2017, we’re a vibrant and progressive recruitment agency based in the heart of the North West.
We continually reimagine the recruitment process to challenge convention and defy expectations; from creating a better recruitment experience to remodelling employee engagement, we thrive off doing things differently and turning heads along the way.
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