Little Nellies · Children, young people & families
EHCP Evidence Pack
When important questions about your child’s everyday needs, care or proposed provision remain unanswered, our EHCP Evidence Pack can add assessment and supporting analysis. It can be used at application, mediation, review or appeal stage. We agree the questions, practitioners, reports and delivery dates before you book. Little Nellies is the SEND and EHCP service of Nellie Supports Ltd, supporting families in England.
Fee: £3,600 including VAT. Your written quote confirms the professional input and any separately charged work.
At a glance
- Use at: an EHC needs assessment request, draft plan, mediation, annual review or appeal where further evidence would help.
- Includes: eight agreed components covering assessment, care recommendations, a child profile and supporting analysis.
- Timing: tell us your deadline before booking so we can confirm access arrangements and realistic delivery dates.
- Fee: £3,600 including VAT. Your written quote confirms the professional input and any separately charged work.
When further evidence can help
A plan may describe school difficulties without explaining safety, daily living or support outside lessons. Your family’s experience may be missing from the records, reports may conflict, or there may be too little information about the settings being considered.
We start with the questions that need answering. An assessment should fill an identified gap, such as the support your child needs at home or how a setting could provide the proposed care. Existing evidence may already answer other questions.
The pack can inform an application or discussion with the council as well as a later appeal. You do not need to wait until a hearing is approaching to consider whether evidence is missing.
The eight components
Your instruction explains what each component will cover, the records and access needed, and the written outputs you will receive.
1. Social care needs assessment
An assessment of relevant needs at home and in the community, with the information considered, reasoning and limitations made clear. The quote identifies the practitioner undertaking this work and their relevant qualifications.
2. Care plan
Recommendations for care and support linked to the assessed needs, including the reasons for the recommendations.
3. Child profile
A profile of strengths, needs, communication and everyday experience drawing on the agreed assessment and records. Any psychological assessment or contribution is expressly identified in the scope; it is not implied by the title “child profile”.
4. Brokerage
Information about relevant support options, how proposed care arrangements could be delivered and the costs that can be established within the agreed work.
5. Provider profiles
Profiles of at least two settings within the agreed placement work. Information sources are identified, and any visits depend on agreement and access.
6. Provision analysis
A comparison of the relevant support available at the settings being considered, identifying gaps in information and limits on the comparison.
7. Comparison with the plan
An explanation of how the current or proposed plan relates to the assessment findings and recommendations. Where no plan exists yet, we agree how this component will be adapted to the application stage.
8. Executive summary
An accessible summary of the main findings, recommendations and questions that remain unresolved, with the detailed evidence available alongside it.
Who carries out the work
Members of our SEND and assessment team contribute within their areas of expertise. Before you book, your written scope identifies who will carry out each element, their relevant qualifications and any specialist input included.
Different elements may be prepared by different practitioners. Where social work or psychological expertise is required, that contribution is agreed in advance and the author’s role is identified in the report.
The pack does not provide a diagnosis or replace statutory educational psychology, speech and language therapy or occupational therapy advice. Those questions require the appropriate specialists. A private assessment also does not replace the council’s statutory assessment duties.
Your quote and what is separate
The EHCP Evidence Pack costs £3,600 including VAT. Before instruction, your written quote confirms the components, professional contributions, visits, outputs and delivery dates. The agreed assessment work is invoiced at instruction.
Appeal casework, a working document, hearing representation and expert witness attendance are distinct services. If you ask for combined support, the quote lists the work and charges separately so you can see what you are buying.
Hearing attendance is only relevant if the case reaches a hearing. Any proposed attendance, payment arrangements and terms if the council concedes are explained in the separate instruction.
Assessment and delivery
- Scoping: agree the questions, documents, practitioner contributions, fee and dates.
- Participation: arrange the assessment around communication, accessibility and support needs.
- Setting information: make agreed enquiries or visits and record any access or information limits.
- Reports: provide the agreed components with their authors, evidence, reasoning and conclusions clearly identified.
- Use of the evidence: explain the questions the work addresses and any further information needed for the next stage.
Preparing evidence for a Tribunal appeal
For an appeal, evidence should address the issues the Tribunal is being asked to decide. Its directions set the relevant dates and requirements, and the Tribunal decides which evidence it admits and the weight it gives it.
The Tribunal’s Practice Direction No. 1 of 2025 sets rules for hearing bundles, including the format and length of expert reports. In practical terms, evidence needs to be relevant, clearly organised and prepared with the applicable report and bundle limits in mind. We check which requirements apply to the work commissioned and explain any permission that may be needed.
Read the SEND Tribunal’s Practice Direction on hearing bundles
A placement comparison should address the child’s needs, proposed support, suitability and relevant costs. It does not establish by itself that a particular school must be named. In an extended appeal, the Tribunal’s health and social care recommendations differ from its binding educational decisions.
Working with your family
The child or young person’s views, strengths and daily experience remain central. We make space for what happens at home and in the community as well as what professionals see in school. Tell us about communication aids, accessibility needs or arrangements that would help participation.
After compulsory school age, SEND decision-making rights generally transfer to the young person. We agree their involvement, the support they need and who has authority to instruct us.
A named contact explains the work and next steps. The Nellie Standard is our own framework for clear, evidence-led work: we identify sources, distinguish findings from uncertainty and explain the reasons and limits of recommendations. We identify questions that require another specialist or a solicitor.
Questions about the Evidence Pack
Do I need to buy independent evidence for every application or appeal?
No. Further assessment should answer an identified question. Existing reports, school records and your own evidence may already provide what is needed.
Can it help before an appeal has been lodged?
Yes. We agree the purpose of the evidence for your current stage, including an assessment request, draft plan, mediation or annual review.
Can you meet an approaching evidence deadline?
Tell us the date before booking. We check the work required, access to the child and records, and practitioner availability before confirming a delivery date. If evidence is for a Tribunal case, submission must follow its directions.
Does the pack guarantee a plan, provision or placement?
No. The reports explain their findings and limitations so the relevant decision-maker can consider them. They do not determine the council’s or Tribunal’s decision.
Free help and advice
You can use free information and advice when deciding what to do next. Paid support is optional. Check each organisation’s current availability and whether any additional service carries a charge.
IPSEA: SEND law information, model letters and advice services
SOS!SEN: SEND information and advice for families
Find your local SENDIASS for free, impartial information, advice and support
Related EHCP guides and support
Book your free 15-minute call
Tell us which stage you have reached, what you think is missing from the evidence and any council or Tribunal deadline. The call helps us identify the service that fits your situation, check availability and explain the next step. It does not include a document review or detailed case advice; we explain any proposed paid work before you decide.