EHC Assessments

What is an EHC Needs Assessment?

An educational, health and care (EHC) needs assessment is a detailed process to find out about a child or young person’s special educational needs and how they should be met.

The process takes up to 20 weeks.

An EHC needs assessment does not always lead to a child or young person receiving an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP).

Who can make a request for an EHC needs assessment?

The following people can make a request for an EHC Needs Assessment:

A young person who is 16 or older - please refer the Young Person to the Local Offer to complete the 'Request for Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment'.
The parent or carer - please refer parents to the Local Offer to complete the 'Request for Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment'.
The child or young person's setting - Schools can complete the 'Setting request' form and send any reports/supporting evidence once notified by SEN.

Forms to be used by settings:

Not all requests for EHC needs assessments are followed through if a child or young person’s needs are not considered great enough at the time. The LA will give their reasons if they decide not to go ahead with an assessment.

What does it involve?

The EHC needs assessment follows a 20 week time frame.

Weeks 1-6

Information is gathered, from the CYP's setting, parents, and any other professionals involved, and collated by the SEND Team and presented to a Panel. They will decide whether to go ahead with an assessment or not based on the evidence they have been presented with.

Weeks 6-12

The assessment takes place. Further information from the child or young person, the parent or carer, setting that the child attends, an Educational Psychologist, and any Health and Social Care professionals that a young person or parent feels are appropriate, is collected and presented back to the Panel.

Weeks 13-16 - No to issue

If the EHC needs assessment is completed and it is felt that the child or young person’s needs can be met from within the school’s available resources, then the LA may issue an SEN Support Plan instead of an EHC plan. The LA will give a reason for this decision, and a member of the SEND Team will discuss this with the child or young person, parent or carer and the setting and advise them of their right to appeal. This needs to happen by week 16.

Weeks 13-20 - Yes to Issue

If it is felt that the child or young person does have complex or severe SEN, then the LA will consider whether to issue the EHC plan. This will set out the child’s particular needs and all of the special provision and support that they should receive. The EHC plan will also identify what type of setting could best meet the child or young person's needs. The child's parents or young person have 15 days to give the LA their opinion about the EHC Plan, or ask for additional time to discuss it with an SEN Officer.

What could a young person or parent do if they are unhappy with the decision or need further help?

Young people or parents should be signposted to the Local Offer or any of the following organisations:

If disagreement cannot be resolved the child's parents or young person may appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability) (‘the Tribunal’). The Tribunal is part of the HM Courts and Tribunals Service and has no connection with the LA.

They can appeal against the following:

The LA's decision not to carry out an assessment
The LA's decision not to issue an EHC plan
The description of SEN in the EHC plan
The special educational provision, and the school or other provider named, or the fact that no school or other provider is named.