Requesting an EHC needs assessment
You think your child needs an EHCP. We make the request, and the council has six weeks to answer.
We prepare and submit the request for an EHC needs assessment on your behalf, gathering the evidence and framing it around the legal test the council has to apply. Little Nellies is the SEND and EHCP service of Nellie Supports Ltd, a private social work practice in England.
£1,080 including VAT. 18 hours of work, from the first consultation to the submitted request.
At a glance
Stage
Requesting an EHC needs assessment
Deadline in play
The council must decide within 6 weeks of the request
Fee
£1,080 including VAT
Hours included
18
Who delivers
One Little Nellies practitioner, within a regulated social work team
Where
England only
£1,080
Fixed fee, including VAT
18 hours
Work included
Within 6 weeks
Council decision due
Professional help
Qualified expert MDT
Plain English explanation
What an EHCP application is
An EHCP application is a formal request to the local authority for an EHC needs assessment under section 36 of the Children and Families Act 2014. Anyone can make it: a parent, a young person over 16, or the school. The council then has six weeks to decide whether to assess. If it agrees, the assessment leads to a decision on whether to issue an Education, Health and Care plan.
We take the request off you. The first hour is a consultation about your child, the school and what has been tried. We then gather the evidence, frame it against the legal test, complete the request on the council's portal or form, and attach the Little Nellies application form, which turns the request into a structured case with the evidence listed and cross referenced.
It is not a guarantee that the council will agree to assess, and it is not a clinical assessment of your child. If the council refuses, the evidence we built carries into the refusal appeal, which is a separate service. [[SEN2 2026 figures on parent-made and school-made requests pending ClaimsRegister entry]]
You do not need a diagnosis for an EHCP
The law asks whether your child has, or may have, special educational needs and may need provision beyond what the school can give. It does not ask for a diagnosis, and a council cannot lawfully refuse to assess because there is not one. If you have been told to wait for a diagnosis first, that is not the test.
Is this you
Is this you?
Most parents come to us at the same point. School has done what it can, or says it has. The support in place is not working, or it is only there because you keep asking. Somebody has mentioned an EHCP and somebody else has told you that you will not get one.
The request for an EHC needs assessment is the first formal step, and it is the one most families make on their own, often by letter or on a portal form with no evidence attached. That is the version the council finds easiest to refuse. This service exists so the request goes in as a structured, evidenced case.
The school says there is not enough evidence to apply.
He is on SEN support but nothing has changed in two years.
She is only coping because I fight for every adjustment.
The school has cut his timetable and calls me most days.
We have been told to wait for a diagnosis before applying.
I sent a letter to the council myself and heard nothing.
What is included
What we do for this fee
Up to 18 hours of work across the application, in four stages.
Initial consultation (1 hour)
Evidence gathering (5 to 6 hours)
Framing the case (4 to 5 hours)
The statutory request (3 to 4 hours)
Chasing the decision (1 to 2 hours)
Deliverables
How this fee is calculated
This service takes up to 18 hours of work. The fee is £1,080 including VAT, fixed at instruction. That is the most you will pay for this service. If the work takes longer, we absorb it. Anything outside this scope is agreed in writing before it starts.
1
The test the council has to apply
Under section 36(8) of the Children and Families Act 2014, the council must carry out an EHC needs assessment if the child or young person has, or may have, special educational needs, and it may be necessary for special educational provision to be made through an EHC plan. The word is may. The council is not deciding whether your child needs a plan at this stage; it is deciding whether it is possible that they do.
Has, or may have, special educational needs
May need provision through an EHC plan
The council must consider your evidence
Six weeks to decide
2
What the evidence has to show
The evidence has to show two things: that your child has, or may have, special educational needs, and that what they need may go beyond what the school can provide from its own resources. Requests fail when they describe the diagnosis rather than the difficulty, or when they leave the council to guess what the school has already tried. Our request answers both limbs of the test in the council's own language, with the evidence attached.
Children and Families Act 2014, sections 36(1), 36(6) and 36(8); Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014, regulation 4 (the six week decision period); SEND Code of Practice 2015, paragraphs 9.8 to 9.16.
The test
The legal test for an EHC needs assessment
Week 0: free call and instruction
We confirm the stage and the fee in writing. The fee is invoiced at instruction.
Week 1: consultation
The first hour of the work. We agree what evidence exists, what is missing and who holds it.
Weeks 1 to 3: evidence and statement
We request records from the school, draft the parental statement with you and set every document against the legal test.
Week 3: the request goes in
Submitted on the council's portal or form with the evidence attached. Receipt is confirmed and the six week clock starts.
Week 9: the council's decision
The council must decide by now. If it agrees, the assessment begins. If it refuses, the evidence carries into the refusal appeal.
What happens and when
What happens and when
Evidence we build
Evidence we build
A request is only as strong as what is attached to it. We read what exists and build what does not.
The school's SEN support plan and reviews
Any reports already held: educational psychology, speech and language, paediatric, CAMHS
Attendance, behaviour and attainment records, including any reduced timetable
A parental statement, drafted with you, describing the difficulty day by day
The evidence list, cross referenced to the legal test
What you receive
What you receive
Everything is written, so the council is on record from the first day. You receive:
The submitted request for an EHC needs assessment, with receipt confirmed
The evidence list, cross referenced to the section 36(8) test
Your parental statement, drafted with you
The covering summary the council reads first
The Little Nellies application form, completed
A written note after each stage, so the council is on record
Free help exists
Free help exists, and we say so
Three organisations give free, independent help with EHCP applications. We name them because they are good, and because you should know what we add on top.
IPSEA
Free legally based advice on EHC needs assessments, plans and appeals, with a helpline and model letters.
SOS!SEN
A charity helpline and walk-in service giving free advice on the assessment and appeal process.
SENDIASS
Your local, free and impartial information, advice and support service, which every council must provide.
What we add
Done-for-you delivery. The evidence built and framed, the request submitted and chased, a regulated team, and one practitioner from the first call to the decision letter.
The application
£1,080 including VAT
- 18 hours of work
- Consultation, evidence, framing and the submitted request
- Six week deadline diarised and chased
- Written note after each stage
Invoiced at instruction.
If the council refuses to assess
£3,300 including VAT
- Refusal appeal to the SEND Tribunal: £3,300 including VAT, paid in stages
- Application plus appeal: £4,380 including VAT
- Through to a hearing: add £1,080 including VAT, charged only if the hearing happens
- Evidence built for the application is carried across, not rebuilt
Most refusal appeals resolve without a hearing.
The journey
The journey, and what it costs at each stage
Most families need only the application. If the council refuses to assess, the evidence we have already built carries straight into the appeal, and you are not charged for it twice.
For parents
A fixed fee you know before you start. One practitioner who knows your child's file. The phone answered, and a written note after every step so you always know where the request is.
For SENCOs and professionals who refer
We work alongside the setting, not against it. The school receives a copy of the evidence list and the covering summary, and we tell you what the council has asked for and when.
Why us
Why families choose Little Nellies for the application
The EHCP advocacy market is unregulated. Anyone can complete a form for a fee. Little Nellies delivers this work through a regulated team of registered social workers and a Chartered Psychologist, with one practitioner responsible for your case throughout, and every document written so the council is on record.
Why families choose Little Nellies
Evidence built, not collected
Every point referenced to the legal test
The whole child, including health and social care
One practitioner for the duration
Registered social workers and a Chartered Psychologist
The evidence carries into the appeal if the council refuses
A mother contacted us in the autumn term. Her son, in Year 4, had been on SEN support for two years. The school had reduced his timetable and he had stopped wanting to go in. She had asked the school to apply for an assessment twice and been told there was not enough evidence.
In the first consultation we went through what the school had put in place, what had been reviewed and what the outcomes were. The school's own records showed three cycles of support with no measurable progress, which is exactly what the council needs to see. We asked for the school's SEN support plan, the reduced timetable agreement and the last two annual reports, and we drafted a parental statement that described his difficulties day by day rather than by label.
The request went to the council in the third week, on the portal, with eleven documents attached and a covering summary that set the evidence against the section 36(8) test.
The council agreed to assess inside the six week period. What the family had bought was a request the council could not easily say no to, and a file that was ready for the next stage if it had.
This is an illustrative composite. It does not describe any individual family, and it is not a promise about any outcome.
In practice
Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions about applying for an EHCP
Do I need a diagnosis to apply for an EHCP?
No. The council must assess if your child has, or may have, special educational needs and may need provision through a plan. A diagnosis is evidence, not a condition. A refusal based only on the absence of a diagnosis is not lawful.
How much does an EHCP application cost with Little Nellies?
£1,080 including VAT, fixed. That covers 18 hours of work from the first consultation to the submitted request and the council's decision. If the work takes longer, we absorb it.
Can I apply myself for free?
Yes. Any parent can request an assessment, and IPSEA, SOS!SEN and SENDIASS give free advice. What we add is the evidence built and framed, the request submitted and chased, and one practitioner throughout.
How long does the council have to decide?
Six weeks from the date it receives the request. We confirm receipt so the date is on record, and we chase if the deadline passes.
What happens if the council refuses to assess?
You have a right of appeal to the SEND Tribunal, and most refusals are overturned or conceded before a hearing. The evidence we built for the application carries straight into the appeal.
Are you solicitors?
No. Little Nellies is the SEND and EHCP service of Nellie Supports Ltd, a private social work practice. We do not give regulated legal advice, and where a case needs a solicitor we say so.
EHCP Needs Assessment Process
What Happens After an EHCP Request?
How to Prepare an EHCP Request: Parent Guide
Read more
Related EHCP guides
Draft EHCP review
If the council assesses and issues a draft plan, you have 15 days to respond. We review it line by line.
Refusal appeal
If the council refuses to assess, or refuses to issue a plan, we run the appeal to the SEND Tribunal.
The Evidence Pack
A primary social work and psychological assessment of your child, built for the plan and the tribunal.
Evidence review
Before you apply, a read of every report you hold and an hour to talk it through.
Other stages
Book a call
Book your free 15-minute call
Tell us where you are: what school has done, what has been said about an EHCP, and whether anything has been sent to the council already. On the call we confirm the stage, the deadline in play and whether this is the right service. We do not give advice on the call and we do not pressure you to buy.
Written by Ben Slater, Founder and Principal Social Worker, registered social worker (Social Work England). Reviewed by Ben Slater, Principal Social Worker, registered with Social Work England. Last reviewed 10 September 2026. Read our editorial policy.