What will happen next

When you submit a request for an EHC needs assessment, we’ll:

gather initial information and evidence
request and consider advice from other professionals involved with your child
decide if we’re going to progress with an EHC needs assessment based on this information

This part of the process will usually take 6 weeks.

If we decide not to issue an EHCP, we’ll give you the right to appeal our decision.

If we decide to proceed with an EHCP needs assessment, we’ll:

This whole process takes 20 weeks.

We’ll decide whether your child needs an EHCP by week 14.

If we do not issue an EHCP, we’ll give you feedback on why and how to appeal our decision.

We’ll prepare a draft EHCP. Once it’s ready for consultation, you’ll have 15 days to:

consider and give feedback on the plan
provide us with preferences for schools you want us to consult with to meet your child’s needs
arrange a meeting with us to discuss the plan if needed

By week 20, we’ll issue the final EHCP and start the support as agreed in the plan.

There are a few times where the process can take longer than 20 weeks. This is when:

the child or young person is not in the area for at least 4 weeks
the child, young person or parent is going through exceptional personal circumstances
the school or college is closed for at least 4 weeks so the consultation cannot happen in time

During this process, you can get support from organisations that support parents and carers.

Not all EHC needs assessments will end with an EHCP.

Usually, this is because the outcome of the assessment shows that the child or young person’s needs can be met through SEND support.

If this is the decision, your child’s school will use the advice and recommendations from the assessment to plan their SEND support.

Education, Health and Care plans (EHCPs)