This page from
Direct.gov.uk helps explain IEPs. Parents in the UK have the right to refuse early years intervention.
Parents have the authority to withdraw their child from a setting, question practice, add their suggestions and concerns about the content of IEPs.
It's important to work in partnership and respect parent's as children's primary caregivers. They are the key to strategies that aim to help the child's development.
Refusing permission for an IEP can mean that a barrier is created against accessing support that would otherwise have the child's needs formally recognised by SENCO and other specialist agencies. It'll be difficult to access support through
early years action plus pg 43 if provision for the child's progress is still not occuring at an expected rate -
seen through the actions of the setting through early years action pg 41, if permission for an assessment has not been given/received.
The SEN code of practice is not statutory but all grant funded providers are required to have regard to it.
LEA's have a duty to help negotiate disputes over IEPs if the child is at school. Page 13 of the SEN code of practice
critical success factor 1:6
Early years settings however have a duty to plan to
**meet all children's individual needs and supporting what might be evidenced through a formal IEP & maybe
CAF can be included in other ways. This can look like a revision of provision as a whole or play plans, general individual child development plans, which as working documents mean they change frequently to remain inline with the most current information.
As a professional you would need to observe and record all the behaviours, developmental delay, physical challenges, learning difficulties that are causing concern and work out ways to share and include parents/carers on their child's day to day participation, accompliments and development. Where appropriate find out what parents would be most worried about in agreeing/refusing the child and themselves the official support an IEP would give rise to. Do they feel staff are inappropriately qualified to make these initial judgements, do they feel development is progressing positively and that the concern is inappropriate, do parents feel there is a stigma attached to a child requiring support or maybe a previous negative experience of IEPs has influenced a decision, are the child's needs being explained appropriately and is the importance of support a setting priority, what pressures are the parent under due to child/family/work commitments, are there communication barriers, are the IEP targets attainable
SMART, are there suggestions that the parent or carer specifically objects to.
SEN code of practice;
Pg 19 1:30, from page 22 working in partnership, and then from page 38 are good reads.
This edition of the document was published in 2005 and as such doesn't reflect the change of frameworks from the 'curriculum guidance for the foundation stage' to England's current EYFS framework.
Are you able to read through your setting's SEN policy and speak with your Special Educational Needs COordinator to see who they liase with and what they feel would happen locally in this situation.
Hope this helps a little
Can a practitioner insist on an IEP?
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