EHCP and SEND support for families in England
When support is missing or an EHCP does not reflect your child's needs, it helps to know what to do next. We review the evidence, prepare the documents and support you through the stage…
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The EHC needs-assessment process
An EHC needs assessment is the local authority’s process for finding out a child or young person’s education, health and social-care needs. The initial legal test is whether they have or may have SEN and whether it may be necessary for special educational provision to be made through an EHC plan.
An EHC needs assessment is the local authority’s process for finding out a child or young person’s education, health and social-care needs. The initial legal test is whether they have or may have SEN and whether it may be necessary for special educational provision to be made through an EHC plan.
Guidance checked on 15 September 2026. Keep the decision letter, relevant plan or request, and the dates that apply to your case.
Make a clear request
Send the request through the council’s published route. Identify the child or young person, setting, needs and support already tried. Explain why provision through a plan may be necessary. Attach relevant existing evidence and keep proof of receipt. The authority normally has six weeks to decide whether to assess.
Know what advice should be gathered
The local authority must seek parent or young-person advice, educational advice, medical advice, educational-psychology advice and social-care advice, plus other advice required by regulation 6. It must also seek advice from a person the parent or young person reasonably requests. From Year 9, preparation-for-adulthood advice is required. Existing advice is sufficient only if its author, the authority and the parent or young person agree that it meets the assessment’s purpose.
Contribute information professionals may not see
Give dated examples across home, education and community life. Describe the support needed to participate, the frequency and duration of difficulties, and the effect of successful support. Ask for communication adjustments so the child or young person can contribute. Identify missing evidence early and ask the case officer who will obtain it.
Track the two later decisions
After assessing, the authority decides whether special educational provision through a plan is necessary. A refusal to issue is normally notified by week 16 from the original request. If a plan is to be issued, you receive a draft and at least 15 days to make representations, request a particular placement and require a meeting with an officer. The final plan is normally due within 20 weeks of the request, subject to specified exceptions.
Use a short assessment log
Record: request received; six-week decision due; advice requested and received; missing evidence; decision whether to issue; draft response date; and final-plan deadline. For each missing report, note why it matters and the action requested. Keep correspondence factual and send reminders by a route that records delivery.
Check the documents for this stage
Keep the relevant request, decision notice or plan together with the evidence referred to above. Record the source of each proposed change and the date on which the next action is due. If two accounts differ, explain the difference and seek clarification rather than omitting one account.
Challenge the right decision
A refusal to assess and a refusal to issue are different decisions with different legal tests. Ask for the written reasons and evidence relied on. Read the appeal and mediation information promptly. A complaint about delay can be useful, but does not replace an appeal against an appealable decision or stop its deadline.
Before you take the next step
You should be able to identify the issue, the outcome or information you need, the evidence supporting it and the person responsible for the next action. Keep a copy of what you send and any acknowledgement. The related guides below cover the stages that may follow.
Free information and additional support
Choose help for the question you need answered
Your local SENDIASS offers free information, advice and support. IPSEA also publishes SEND guidance. If a deadline, evidence gap or disputed decision remains unclear, identify the specific question before commissioning paid help. Seek prompt specialist legal advice where an urgent legal remedy may be needed.
When additional advice may help
Before seeking additional help, write down the decision or wording in dispute, the evidence already available and the deadline. Ask whether you need an explanation of the process, help presenting your evidence, a professional assessment or legal advice. Agree the task and any fee before commissioning work.
Little Nellie’s is not a law firm. Its services do not replace the local authority’s statutory duties or guarantee a plan, placement or tribunal outcome. Legal work outside the agreed service scope may require a specialist solicitor.
Related guides and support
Choose the guide for your next question or stage.
EHCP timeline: the 6, 16 and 20-week deadlines
What happens after an EHCP assessment request?
How to prepare an EHC needs-assessment request
Refusal to assess: what parents can do
Refusal to issue an EHCP after assessment
Official sources and EHCP services
Official sources: Children and Families Act 2014 — https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2014/6/contents
SEND Code of Practice — https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-code-of-practice-0-to-25
SEND appeal guidance — https://www.gov.uk/appeal-ehc-plan-decision
Free SEND guidance — https://www.ipsea.org.uk/
The service links below describe Nellie’s paid support. Check current official instructions when filing an appeal.
Frequently asked questions
Must I have a diagnosis before requesting assessment?
No. The statutory test can be met where the child or young person may have special educational needs.
Can a shortage of professionals simply extend the deadline?
Staffing difficulties are not a general exemption from the statutory timescales. Ask the council to identify any specific legal exception it relies on and explain the revised dates.
Must I buy a private report?
No. The authority has assessment duties. An independent report may help with a defined evidence gap, but paid evidence is not a prerequisite for a request.
Where can I find free SEND information?
Your local SENDIASS provides free information, advice and support. IPSEA publishes guidance on the SEND system. Use the direct links in the sources section and check any service’s current availability.
What should I prepare before seeking advice?
Prepare the relevant request, decision letter or plan, a short list of the issues, the key evidence and any deadline. State the question you need answered and the action you have already taken. Ask how documents should be shared before sending sensitive records.
Does this guide apply outside England?
This guide concerns EHCPs in England. Wales uses the additional learning needs (ALN) system and individual development plans (IDPs); use Welsh Government guidance for that process. Scotland and Northern Ireland also have separate systems.
Record the next action and who will take it
Record the next task, the person responsible, the deadline and the document confirming it. Keep a copy of anything sent and any acknowledgement. If an agreed action does not happen, use that record to explain what is missing and ask for a dated response.
Last reviewed: 2026-09-15T00:00:00Z
Keep an assessment advice record
Keep the plan or decision, the relevant evidence and your proposed response together. Use document dates, authors and page references so another reader can follow each point.
List the advice the authority must seek and the questions each professional needs to answer. Record the author, request date, expected response and any missing information. You do not need to buy every possible assessment.
Advice should identify needs, proposed provision and intended outcomes within the author’s expertise. Ask focused questions where recommendations are vague, such as who should deliver an intervention, with what expertise and at what frequency.
Distinguish factual corrections, professional recommendations and legal disagreements. Ask the relevant person to clarify an uncertainty and keep the response. Explain why the point matters to the requested decision or provision.
Request and receipt; Required advice; Participation arrangements; Missing evidence; Decision dates
Support participation during assessment
Ask for information and discussions in a format the child or young person can use. Check who should receive correspondence and what support is needed to understand and respond to it.
Section 19 of the Children and Families Act 2014 requires the authority to have regard to views, wishes and feelings, participation and the information and support needed for that participation. After compulsory school age, rights normally belong to the young person; specific rules apply where they lack capacity for the relevant decision.
Tell the case officer how the child or young person communicates, what helps them take part and whether information is needed in an accessible format. Include strengths, aspirations and the person’s own account alongside professional and family evidence.
Describe the activity, the difficulty, the help provided and its effect. Use representative examples, including what works well and variation across settings. Distinguish direct observations from another person’s account or a professional conclusion.
When the assessment advice arrives, check whether the questions have been answered and whether important accounts differ. Send a concise gap list promptly and retain the original request date for the later 16-week and 20-week milestones.
Keep the next action, responsible person and due date in your record. If a decision or support remains missing, identify it precisely and check the appropriate review, appeal, complaint or legal route without losing a separate deadline.
