Who can ask for an Education, Health and Care (EHC) needs assessment?
The following people can ask us to carry out an Education, Health and Care (EHC) needs assessment:
- The child's parent or carer
- A young person over the age of 16 but under 25
- A professional acting on behalf of an education setting, such as an early years provider, a school, or post-16 setting*
- Other people who know the child/young person well, such as a health or social care professional*.
*This should be done with agreement of the parents or young person, where possible
How to request an EHC needs assessment?
If you are considering making a referral for your child, we always recommend that you speak to the school SENDCo first.
You can make a referral at any time, but the setting/school will have the evidence of your child’s assessed SEN, including the impact of the graduated approach they have taken and your child’s SEN Support Plan.
Sometimes there may be a disagreement between you and the school about if an EHC needs assessment is needed. It is important that you speak to the school to understand why there is a difference of opinion and work together to find a solution.
If you decide to put in a referral, we will write to the school and ask them for their evidence. They have a legal duty to cooperate with this request.
If you are considering making a referral, you should contact the SEND Team to discuss the request on 01925 442175. The SEND Team will be able to advise you on next steps.
If you would prefer to write to the Council, you can do this by email or post:
Postal address: East Annexe, Town Hall, Sankey Street, Warrington, WA1 1UH
All EHC forms and documents to support an assessment can be requested from SEND@warrington.gov.uk
What will happen next?
Once we have received your referral, you will receive a letter or email from the SEND Team – the type of response will depend on how you submitted your referral form.
Our SEND Referral and Assessment Panel will consider the referral and decide whether to assess your child using the evidence provided as part of the referral. It is important that you provide all the information you have gathered on your child’s needs, including information from health and therapy services, the school and any other specialist services who have seen and/or supported your child.
The panel will need to see written evidence of your child’s needs and that the provision required to meet these needs is above the help and support ordinarily provided in early years settings or by the setting / school in the SEN Support Plan.
Following the meeting, the SEND team will contact you in writing, to let you know the Panel decision, no longer than six weeks after receiving the referral.
The email / letter will provide further information on your right of appeal if the request for an assessment is declined by the Panel.
If the decision is not to assess
If we decide not to assess your child for an EHC plan, it is because the panel are of the opinion that there is no evidence that your child has special educational needs (SEN) and requires special educational provision to be made for them in an EHC plan.
We will write to the person who made the referral and you to inform you of the decision explaining the reason why.
Where a request to assess if declined, we will offer the referrer some advice and guidance about how to improve the referral.
We will also offer you an opportunity to have a telephone conversation about why the request has been declined and any other steps which can be taken by yourself and the school.
As part of the process, you will be advised of your right to appeal formally.
The EHC needs assessment process
If the referral to assess your child is approved by the panel, you will be sent an email / letter which will contain the name and contact details of the person who has been allocated to write your child’s plan (your plan writer). This person is your single point of contact during the assessment process.
The plan writer will write to the following professionals asking for advice and information about your child's needs, the provision required to meet their needs and the outcomes they should be working towards:
- You (the parent) and your young person where they are 16 year and over
- Your child’s education setting
- NHS health care providers in Warrington
- The council’s educational psychology team
- The council’s early help and children’s / adults social care teams
- Any person requested by you or young person where we agree that it is reasonable to do so.
If your child has a hearing or visual impairment, we will also contact the council’s sensory support team.
Health and social care assessments are not automatically triggered when a request for an EHC needs assessment is made.
We are required to request information / advice from these professionals and not all children will be known to them.
We advise you to request a social care and health assessment as part of your referral if this is what you believe is needed. This will help us to make the referral for a health or social care assessment at soon as we know. We aim to do this no later than week 6 of the process.
By week 12
The advice and information requested from professionals must be provided within 6 weeks of the decision to assess and 12 weeks from the date of the referral - and more quickly wherever possible.
The plan writer will contact you at week 12 (from the point of referral) to let you know what information we have received and what we think is still outstanding.
By week 14
The panel will plan on whether to issue an EHC plan to your child based on the advice and information provided to us. If the panel’s decision is not to issue the EHC plan, the plan writer will contact you in writing, to let you know the panel decision.
The email / letter will provide further information on your right of appeal if the decision to issue an EHC plan is declined.
By week 16
The plan writer will aim to issue the draft EHC by week 16 of the process – this is only possible if all the advice and assessment information is sent to us by week 12 of the assessment process.
If we are not going to meet this deadline, the plan writer will contact you by telephone with an update on when you can expect to receive a copy of the draft EHC plan.
At the time of sending your child’s draft EHC plan, we will tell you the type of school/college (mainstream or special) has been assessed as being the most suitable type of provision to meet your child’s needs.
When you receive a copy of your child’s draft EHC plan, we will advise you of your rights to ask for:
- a meeting with the plan writer to discuss the contents of the draft EHC plan
- any changes you wish to be made to the contents of the draft EHC plan
- the name of any schools you wish for us to consult with to see if they can meet your child’s needs – please note that we are required to consult with these schools in line with your preference, but we are not legally obliged to secure a place for your child if we have assessed that it would be an inefficient use of resources.
Once we have received your preference for a school place, we will consult with that named setting/school to see if they can meet your child’s needs.
If the proposed school offer your child a place, the Council will undertake a ‘best use of resources’ assessment which will compare the costs of securing the provision for your child at your proposed school and the Council’s proposed school.
The outcome of this assessment will determine which school will be allocated to your child. This setting / school will be named in the final EHC plan.
More information on the EHC plan process.
Moving into Warrington during the referral and assessment process
If you are planning to move into Warrington during the referral and assessment process, you should contact the local authority where you live to let them know and provide the date of the planned move. They will send us your child’s paperwork and we will complete the assessment.
You should also contact Warrington’s SEND Team on 01925 442175 or at SEND@warrington.gov.uk to let us know the date of your planned move into Warrington. We will then be able to schedule the assessment and allocate a plan writer.
If we don’t receive the paperwork from you home local authority this may lead to delays in the assessment process.
Moving out of Warrington during the referral and assessment process
If you are moving out of Warrington you should contact Warrington’s SEND Team on 01925 442175 or at SEND@warrington.gov.uk and let us know the date of your planned move and the postal address of your new home.
We will transfer your child’s paperwork to your new local authority who will complete the assessment process.
Where to go if you need help
- If you need some advice or help to make a referral or during the EHC needs assessment process, please approach the following professionals / services:
- Have a discussion with the SENDCo at your child's school about the different options available to support them. If possible, it is best to request an assessment in partnership with the school. It is no quicker to request an assessment and the thresholds for the assessment are the same.
- Call the SEND Team on 01925 442175 if you are thinking of starting the process yourself.
- Warrington’s SEND Information, Advice and Support Service is also available and will provide you with impartial advice and guidance, particularly if you and your child’s school have a difference in opinion about how best to meet your child’s SEND.