PARENTS in Devon are invited to participate in online workshops to help review and shape a new framework for allocating funding to children with Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs).

Last month, Devon County Council explained that it is reviewing the way that funding is allocated to children and young people with EHCPs.

It’s because the current system for deciding how much funding a child receives does not always work as well as it should, the council says.

Families and schools have said that the current system is inconsistent, with decisions varying between children’s schools or panels.

They say that it’s hard to understand why one child gets one level of funding and another doesn’t.

And they say the current system can lead to long waits, appeals and confusion.

DCC appointed experts, Peopletoo, an independent organisation with years of experience in helping local authorities across the country, to review its current EHCP banding framework.

A spokesperson for DCC said: ‘We want to do that with the help of parents and carers of children with EHCPs.

‘We are inviting parents and carers to an online workshop next month to help us start the review.

There are two online workshops to choose from: Monday 22 September – 10am to 12pm and Tuesday 23 September – 7pm to 9pm.

‘In these workshops, we would like to talk about how the current funding system works for children with EHCPs, and where it causes the most challenges for families’, the spokesperson said.

‘We’d like to identify the priority areas for change, and what matters most to you about how funding decisions are made.

‘And we’d like to agree a set of guiding principles – clear values and ideas that will shape how we will design a new, fairer system’, the spokesperson added.

This is your chance to help us shape the design of a new framework; one that helps families understand how decisions are made, treats children with similar needs consistently, and gives schools the tools they need to plan the right support.

If you would like to participate in one of the online workshops, visit the Eventbrite website.

Please note that these weblinks will be live from 10am on Wednesday, August 27.

If you’re unable to attend either of the workshops but would still like to share your views, you can complete our short online survey instead.

The deadline for completing the survey is Monday, September 22.

If you need any assistance in accessing the online workshops or online survey, email [email protected].