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There is no official checklist of evidence for an EHC needs assessment request. What counts is whether the evidence you provide shows your child may need one.
That surprises a lot of parents, who assume a request lives or dies on a thick file of professional reports or a formal diagnosis. Helpful as those can be, neither is required. The Local Authority is not counting your documents. It is asking whether they point to a child who may have special educational needs and may need provision through an EHCP.
Plenty of things can help you show that: professional reports, your child’s school records and your own account as a parent. This guide runs through each of them.
Start with the legal test
The threshold is lower than most parents expect. Under section 36(8) of the Children and Families Act 2014, the Local Authority has to apply a two-part test:
- Does the child or young person have, or may they have, special educational needs?
- Is it necessary, or may it be necessary, for special educational provision to be made through an EHCP?
Both parts turn on the word “may”. You do not have to prove your child definitely needs an EHCP. You only need to show that it may be necessary to find out. That is a deliberately low bar.
One distinction trips a lot of people up. The evidence categories set out in the SEND Code of Practice are not the legal test. They are the things the Local Authority should pay attention to when it applies that test. Useful, then, but not a checklist you have to complete before you are allowed to ask.
Who can make a request?
A request can come from a parent or carer, from a young person aged 16 to 25 or from the school or setting itself. You do not need the school to agree, and you do not need to wait for it.
Schools often begin the process through SEN Support, which is sensible. But you are not required to wait for them to act. If you believe your child may need an assessment, you can ask the Local Authority directly yourself.
What the Local Authority should consider
When it applies the test, the Local Authority should look at a range of evidence about your child. The Code of Practice points to:
- Academic attainment or developmental milestones, and the rate of progress over time
- The nature, extent and context of your child’s needs
- The action the school has already taken, and what difference it has made
- Evidence that progress has only come with significant extra support
- Physical, emotional, social and health needs
None of these is mandatory. But each one you can evidence strengthens the picture of a child who may have SEN and may need provision that an ordinary setting cannot make on its own.
Professional reports, and what each one shows
Professional reports are some of the most persuasive evidence you can put forward, because they connect your child’s difficulties to the support they need. That connection is exactly what the legal test turns on.
An educational psychologist’s report is often the cornerstone. It sets out your child’s cognitive profile and the provision they require, in terms the Local Authority finds hard to dismiss. Speech and language therapy and occupational therapy reports show how a specific need affects your child’s access to learning from day to day. Medical and paediatric reports establish the underlying conditions, and CAMHS or other mental health reports carry weight where emotional or mental health needs form part of the picture.
You will not always have all of these, and you do not need them all. What matters is that whatever you submit speaks to need and provision, rather than simply confirming a diagnosis.
School evidence to gather
Your child’s school holds a lot of what makes a request convincing. It is worth gathering:
- Assess Plan Do Review (APDR) records, which show what has been tried and whether it worked
- Provision maps, and costed provision maps where they exist
- Academic and behavioural reports
- Attendance records, where they are relevant
- Any written communication with the school about your concerns
Assess Plan Do Review records deserve a particular mention. They are often the clearest evidence that SEN Support has been in place and that your child has not made the progress that should have followed. That is precisely the kind of thing the Local Authority should be weighing up.
Your views, and your child’s voice
This is the part parents most often underplay, and it is a mistake. Your account carries genuine legal weight. So does your child’s.
You see your child in situations that the school and the professionals never do. The exhaustion after school, the effect on sleep, and the things they will only say at home. Set it out as a chronology where you can: what you have noticed, when, and how it affects daily life, learning and wellbeing.
Include your child’s own views and wishes too, in their own words wherever possible. The process is ultimately about them, and the Local Authority is expected to take account of what they have to say.
What if you do not have everything yet
You do not need a complete file to submit. A request that is still waiting on reports is a valid request.
You can state in your request what is still pending, and further evidence can be added for up to six weeks after the date of the request. So do not sit on a request while you wait for an assessment slot or a report to land. Submit it, note what is coming, and send the rest as it arrives.
Common mistakes to avoid
A few patterns come up again and again, and all of them are avoidable:
- Not linking the evidence back to the legal test, so it reads as a pile of documents rather than an argument
- Assuming a diagnosis is required. It is not, and on its own, a diagnosis rarely answers the questions the Local Authority is asking
- Waiting for the school to act when you are entitled to apply yourself
- Leaving out your own views and your child’s, which are some of the most valuable pieces of evidence you hold
What happens after you submit
From the date of your request, the Local Authority has six weeks to decide whether to carry out an assessment. It has to consider your evidence, apply the legal test, and tell you its decision either way.
If it agrees, the assessment process begins. If it refuses, that is not the end of the road. You have the right to appeal a refusal to the SEND Tribunal, and a great many refusals do not survive a challenge.
Getting the framing right
A strong request is as much about how you frame the evidence as how much of it you have. The best ones connect every document back to the same two questions: does this child have, or may they have, special educational needs, and may they need provision through an EHCP?
At The SEND Consultancy Group, helping families build and frame EHC needs assessment requests is a significant part of what we do. If you are preparing a request and want a second pair of eyes on your evidence before it goes in, we can help.
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EHC Needs Assessment Request FAQs
Do I need a diagnosis to request an EHC needs assessment?
No. The legal test is about your child’s needs and the provision they may require, not about having a diagnosis. A diagnosis can support a request, but it is neither required nor enough on its own.
Can a parent request an EHC needs assessment without the school?
Yes. You can request an assessment directly from the Local Authority at any time, and you do not need the school’s agreement to do it.
What evidence is most important for an EHC needs assessment request?
There is no single most important piece. The Local Authority should look at your child’s progress, the support already provided, any professional reports and your own views alongside your child’s. What matters most is that it all ties back to need and provision.
Do I need to send all my evidence with the initial request?
No. You can submit further evidence for up to six weeks after the date of your request, which helps if you are waiting on reports or assessments.
What happens if my request is refused?
You have the right to appeal the decision to the SEND Tribunal. A refusal does not mean your child does not need an assessment, and many refusals are overturned on appeal.
How long does the Local Authority have to decide?
Six weeks from the date of the request.
