Education, health and care needs assessments and plans

If your child finds it hard to learn, you can speak to their special educational needs coordinator (SENCo). They will be able to tell you what extra support is available.

At this stage, your child may be on the school SEN Register as receiving SEN Support.

If your child isn't making progress at school, the school SENCo should take a graduated approach to:

• check your child's current written plan of support (this could be either a healthcare plan or plan of support)
• use funding for specialist advice and assessments to understand your child’s specific needs
  
• organise training on strategies to support your child
• ask for support from the cluster or area inclusion partnership
• make reasonable adjustments to the school, including equipment, adaptations and policy changes
  

If this approach does not help your child make progress, the school may think your child would benefit from an education, health and care needs plan (EHCP). This is a legal document that details any special needs a child has and the support and provisions that must be in place to help them learn.

To get an EHCP, the school or SENCo will need to apply for an education, health and care (EHC) needs assessment. If they do apply for an assessment, they must include parents and carers in this decision. 

To apply for an assessment, the school will need to complete an EHC1 form and upload it to your child's Leeds City Council record using Synergy Gateway. This should include any evidence gathered through the graduated approach.                                            

Parents or carers of a child wanting to apply for an assessment need to complete an EHC2 form.                                            

If your child is over the age of 16, they can apply for their own assessment. They will need to complete an EHC3 form.                                            

You can ask your child's school for a copy of the forms. You can also ask SENSAP for any of the forms, by calling 0113 378 5256 or emailing sensap@leeds.gov.uk.                                                                       

Assessments take around 20 weeks to complete. They focus on a child's educational needs and the support that they need to be able to learn.                  

1. Making a decision

   We have up to six weeks to decide if your child needs an assessment. To do this, we hold a panel to discuss the child's needs and decide if an assessment is needed.
   

2. Making a decision at the panel

   We will decide if your child needs an assessment or not based on the evidence provided. When making a decision, we'll review a wide range of evidence, including:        

   • checking the child's academic attainment, developmental milestones and rate of progress records
   • information about the child or young person’s SEN and their care or health needs
   • assessing any actions already being taken to meet the child needs

       
3. Gathering evidence

   In the six weeks after the decision is made, if we think your child does need an assessment, we will gather any further evidence from our own teams, the school SENCo, parents and carers and any healthcare professionals involved.
   

4. Writing a draft plan

   Within twelve weeks of the request, if it is agreed that your child needs an education health and care plan (EHCP), we will start to write a draft. This can take between two and three weeks. We will send you a copy of the draft EHCP and you will have 15 days to respond in writing.    

       
5. Right to request a meeting

   Sixteen weeks from the initial request, if it is agreed that your child needs an education health and care plan (EHCP), you have the right to request a meeting. We will do our best to accommodate your request and arrange a virtual or face to face meeting, depending on capacity.
   

    
6. Final version of the plan

   Within 20 weeks of the request for an assessment, a final version of the plan must be available.