How do we handle a parental request for an EHC needs assessment?

Forward the parent's request to the local authority and attach your SEN-support evidence: a parent can request an EHC needs assessment directly, and the council must decide within six weeks.

Forward it — you have no veto

The first thing to be clear about is that a school cannot refuse or block this request. A request for an EHC needs assessment can be made by the child's parent, by the young person themselves, or by a person acting on behalf of the school (Children and Families Act 2014, s.36(1)). A parent's right runs straight to the council whether or not the school agrees, so there is nothing to gatekeep. Your job is to cooperate promptly, not to decide whether an assessment is warranted.

Note which situation you are in. Sometimes the parent asks you to make the request on their behalf; sometimes they tell you they have already written to the council direct. Either way, acknowledge it in writing the same week and make sure the request reaches the council's SEN team without delay. A child does not need a formal diagnosis for an assessment — the legal test is about special educational needs and the possible need for provision through an EHC plan, not a diagnostic label, so do not hold the request back waiting for one.

Compile your graduated-approach evidence

The council will weigh what the school has already done as part of SEN support, so the SENCO's next task is to pull that together. Send the record of your assess–plan–do–review cycles: what you identified, the provision you put in place, how the child responded, and what you adjusted. This evidence helps the council, but it is not a precondition you can withhold to stop or stall an assessment.

1. Confirm receipt to the parent in writing. Tell them the request has gone to the council and that the council's six-week clock has started.
2. Compile the SEN-support evidence. Gather your assess–plan–do–review records, progress data, and any external advice the school has already drawn on.
3. Respond to the council's information request. The council will ask the school for information as part of deciding; reply fully and on time.

The council decides — within six weeks

The decision whether to carry out an assessment rests with the local authority, not the school. The council must secure an assessment where it is of the opinion that the child has or may have special educational needs and that it may be necessary for provision to be made through an EHC plan (s.36(8)). It must then notify the parent of its decision, and it has to do so within six weeks of receiving the request (SEND Regulations 2014, reg.5). The council should reply to the parent even where the request came from the school, so keep the family informed and point them to SENDIASS for free, impartial advice if relations are strained.

One change to watch, lightly: the Schools White Paper published in February 2026 proposes raising the EHCP threshold and introducing statutory Individual Support Plans. None of it changes the assessment request route before September 2030, and current plan holders are protected, so today's rules are the ones to follow.

This page is general information for school staff, not legal advice. For a specific case, contact IPSEA or your local SENDIASS.

This page is general information, not clinical or legal advice.