We got an EHCP plan, now what?

A familiar situation that has been occurring across the country for some time, within the teams and agencies people work with, not forgetting input from the very people that the plans are there to support, the children, young people and their families.

Being hailed as the answer by some, with other’s less than impressed by the process. As with all things involving people, services and constrained budgets; things will never be perfect for those involved.

EHCP’s are here to stay for now and are a great tool to spark engagement and conversations across the statutory, private and voluntary sector. Though the mere mention of services available locally, known as the ‘local offer’ can make those responsible for implementing it shudder.

Support offered from an array of organisations, professions and services have left the local offer and the support available as somewhat patchy depending upon your postcode. Hopefully time and experience will see us all learn from each other and best practice will spread across the nation. (Forever optimistic!)

Despite drastically improving the lives of many children and young people, services simply cannot cope with the capacity nor costs required to fully implement plans, leaving professionals at odds at what to do and parents in despair.

Private funding is not an option for most families who are already struggling to cover costs. Most grants and support available is means tested leaving many without any other options.

Families in situations such as these are often lost as to where to turn to get their outcomes met. That’s exactly where Tree of Hope adds value to the local offer. We are needs led, not means tested making us accessible to many more families.

We work closely with families and support them in raising funds to meet their child’s health needs. Once raised, families then have greater freedom in using those funds, though with a little guidance and the odd nudge in the right direction from ourselves.

Unlike traditional crowdfunding platforms we don’t simply hand over the money raised. We monitor and check those treatments, therapists and suppliers to ensure they are safe, legitimate and are clinically sound; providing reassurance to the family AND to professionals involved, thus making Tree of Hope a formidable and innovative solution that supports the local offer across the UK and Ireland.

Tree of Hope doesn’t have all the solutions, nor are we an easy win for families, but we can be a big part of the solution as our 800 or so current families will testify. Get in touch to find out more.