Logan and Aneliese’s story | Proposed EHCP reforms

Logan and Aneliese’s EHCP Journey: A Parent’s Fight for the Right to Education

As the UK government proposes significant changes to the Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) process, many families and professionals are voicing concern that the reforms could further entrench the very difficulties they aim to solve. For families like Aneliese and her son Logan, the current system has already been an uphill battle. Their story reflects the need for reform, but a kind of reform that listens to lived experience, not one that silences it.

A Mainstream Environment That Didn’t Fit

Aneliese shares a sentiment common among families navigating Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) support: “Everyone I know with moderate to significant SEN needs struggles in mainstream school. It is not the right environment, the right expertise, or the right staff-to-child ratio.”

For Logan, mainstream school meant exclusion masked as inclusion. His peers were studying algebra and Roman history. Logan, still unable to read or write, was placed at what other children called“Logan’s play dough table.” It became a symbol of how far behind he had been left and how the schools well-meaning support lacked true understanding of his needs.

The psychological effects were profound. Logan’s behaviour became increasingly distressed. He lashed out, leading to three classroom evacuations. He threw paint, climbed bookcases, and even absconded into the woods. Aneliese reflects: “Being the only child who didn’t understand what was going on was horrendous for his mental wellbeing.”

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The Fight for an EHCP

Despite clear and escalating needs, Aneliese’s applications for an EHCP were repeatedly rejected. The school was baffled. Logan was often collected after just 30 minutes in school, and later placed on a part-time timetable, he still couldn’t manage.

Over six years, Aneliese pushed for assessments, facing missed deadlines, ignored professionals’ input, and a system seemingly designed to exhaust families into silence. From as early as nursery, professionals had noted Logan’s educational challenges, linked to his congenital cataracts and autism, but this didn’t accelerate support.

Aneliese recalls: “Someone came out to measure Logan’s anxiety, and he scored a level 5 in every category, detrimental to long-term life. Yet still we were told he didn’t meet the threshold.”

Eventually, Aneliese launched a social media campaign and appealed to the SEND tribunal. Even after winning, the correct placement was delayed, losing Logan another six months of education.

The Human Cost

Logan is now 12 years old. While he finally receives therapeutic input in a school designed for his needs, he still cannot read or write independently. The years of educational loss are unlikely to be fully regained.

Aneliese believes the process is made deliberately difficult. “If I had given up, which I nearly did, they wouldn’t have had to fund his support. It felt like they were counting on that.”

The emotional toll was immense. Logan, struggling to cope, made multiple references to ending his life and even tried to exit a moving vehicle. Aneliese nearly lost her job, constantly juggling his unpredictable school schedule and tribunal preparations. When she sought urgent mental health support for him, she was told there would be a years-long wait unless there was a “more credible attempt” on his life.

Why Reform Must Work for Families

Aneliese agrees that the EHCP system needs reform, but feels the current proposals risk making access even harder. “The new reforms seem to be about limiting tribunal oversight, reducing parental legal recourse, and cutting costs, not improving support or outcomes.”

Her biggest concern is the lack of parent voice in current discussions. “It’s not about what’s best for children like Logan, it’s about reducing spend. If there’s no way for families to challenge that, thousands of children will fall through the cracks.”