Education, Health and Care plans (EHCPs)

Most children or young people would already be getting SEND support before you or their school apply for an EHC needs assessment.

Find out how to get SEND support

Sometimes your child may need more support than is being provided at SEND Support because they are not making progress. You, your school, nursery or a professional can apply for a needs assessment.

The most effective way to apply for an EHCP is to do this with your school's Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo). An EHCP application is a complex process that involves the submission of professional documentation. Without this evidence, it is highly likely your application would be rejected.

Requesting an EHC needs assessment yourself

There may be situations where you, as a parent or young person over 16, need to request an EHC needs assessment. This may be because: 

• the nursery, school or college thinks your child is making progress with the level of support they’re receiving
• you’ve recently moved into the country and your child needs a high level of support here

You’ll need to contact the SEND Assessment and Review Service and ask for an EHC needs assessment profile.

Once you’ve completed the profile, send it back with the parental request form and any supporting documents. This can include:

• your child or young person’s level of education or developmental milestones and their rate of progress
• information about the nature, extent and context of their special educational needs
• evidence of what the nursery, school or college has already done to meet their special educational needs through ordinarily available provision and SEND support
• evidence of the progress they’ve made because of the additional support that has been provided
• evidence of their physical, emotional and social development and health needs