Education, Health and Care Needs Assessments and Plans
Education, health and care (EHC) needs assessments are for children and young people with the most severe and complex needs.
Contents
What Education, Health and Care needs assessments and Plans consist of
EHC Plans set out a child or young person’s needs, agreed outcomes for him or her, their longer term aspirations and the special educational provision required to achieve the agreed outcomes.
They focus on outcomes for the child or young person across education, health and care, and set out how services work together to meet the child or young person’s needs in support of those outcomes.
EHC plans include details of:
- the views, wishes and aspirations of the child or young person and their family
- the special educational needs of the child or young person as identified by relevant professionals through recent assessments, and the health and care needs that impact upon their education
- the agreed outcomes for the child or young person
- the provision that will be made to address agreed needs, and who is responsible for offering identified provision and resources
- arrangements for reviewing outcomes, including the formal annual review
When to request an Education, Health and Care needs assessment
An EHC needs assessment is not the first step in the process of meeting the needs of a child or young person with SEN .
Most children and young people’s special educational needs will be met within mainstream educational settings at the SEN Support level. We recommended that you read information about Support and consult the Cheshire East Toolkit for SEND before considering an EHC needs assessment request.
EHC needs assessment requests should be considered when the child or young person has not made expected progress despite a school or setting having taken relevant and purposeful action at the SEN Support level (as outlined in the Graduated Approach section of the Cheshire East Toolkit for SEND).
Who can request an EHC needs assessment
- Your child’s educational setting (for example, a school, college or early years setting). This should be done with the knowledge and agreement of the parent/carer or young person where possible
- A parent/carer. You will need to contact the SEND Team. You should first discuss your concerns with your child or young person’s educational setting prior to making a request.
- Young people aged 16 or over with SEN . You may wish to discuss your concerns with someone else before making a request for an assessment, such as your educational setting (school or college), parent or carer, or independent support services.
In addition, anyone else can bring a child or young person who has (or may have) SEN to the attention of the local authority, particularly where they think an EHC needs assessment may be necessary.
As a local authority, we will carry out an EHC needs assessment for a child or young person if, after having considered any views expressed and evidence submitted, we are of the opinion that:
(a) the child or young person has or may have special educational needs, and
(b) it may be necessary for special educational provision to be made for the child or young person in accordance with an EHC plan.
To inform our decision about whether an EHC needs assessment is required, we take into account a wide range of evidence that describe the child or young person’s needs, rate of progress and the support that has been provided. Examples of evidence that we will consider are described in our one-minute guides to supporting documents for EHC needs assessment requests.
Due to the range of evidence to be considered, it is beneficial if educational settings, parents/carers, young people and other professionals work together wherever possible to submit a request for an EHC needs assessment.
How to request an Education, Health and Care EHC needs assessment
An Education, Health and Care EHC needs assessment is a multi-agency assessment that helps us understand a child or young person's special educational needs and whether they may need an Education, Health and Care Plan EHCP
When making a request, it is important to provide:
- evidence of the support that has already been put in place,
- information about the child's or young person's needs and
- the impact those needs are having on their education and daily life.
Requests from educational settings
We encourage educational settings to submit EHC needs assessment requests through the secure EHC Portal wherever possible.
Using the portal allows you to:
- submit a request online
- upload reports and supporting evidence securely
- track the progress of your request
- ensure information is transferred directly into Cheshire East's SEND case management system
Submit a request
Request an EHCP Needs Assessment
Documents to include
Requests should be supported by the documents outlined in the Cheshire East Toolkit for SEND, including:
- a completed and reviewed SEN Support Plan
- a costed provision map
- a Knowledge and Agreement Form completed by the young person (if aged 16 or over) and/or their parent carers
- a completed One Minute Guide to Suggested Supporting Documents
Templates for these documents can be found on the Cheshire East Toolkit for SEND page.
Where documents cannot be uploaded through the portal, they can be sent to the SEND Team by email or post.
Requests from parents, carers and young people
If you are a parent carer or a young person aged 16 or over and are considering requesting an EHC needs assessment, it can be helpful to talk to your child's educational setting (or your setting if you are a young person).
The setting should be able to explain:
- the support currently in place
- the strategies being used to meet identified needs
- the progress being made
- any additional support that may be available
In many cases, discussing your concerns with the educational setting can help to identify solutions and ensure appropriate support is put in place as quickly as possible.
Making a request
If, after considering the information above, you wish to request an EHC needs assessment, you should submit your request through the secure EHC Portal. Using the Portal is a safe and secure way of making an EHC Needs assessment request and all information submitted through the portal will flow directly into Cheshire East's existing SEND case management system.
Request an EHCP Needs Assessment
If you are unable to use the portal, you can contact the SEND Team
You may find it helpful to use the template request letter available on the IPSEA website.
Evidence to include
To help us make an informed decision, provide as much relevant information as possible. This may include:
- reports from educational psychologists
- medical or health reports
- therapy reports such as Speech and Language or Occupational Therapy
- letters from professionals involved with your child or young person
- information from the educational setting
- examples of support that has already been provided
We recommend completing the One Minute Guide to Suggested Supporting Documents (Word, 60KB), which should be submitted with your request and any supporting evidence.
Further guidance
If you need help using the EHC Portal, we have produced additional guidance and resources to support you.
User Guide
Our step-by-step guide explains how to register, submit a request, upload supporting documents and track the progress of your application through the portal.
Portal Support Video
Watch our short video for a guided walkthrough of the EHC Portal, including how to complete and submit an EHC needs assessment request.
If you experience any technical difficulties using the portal, contact the SEND Team for assistance
Information, Advice and Support
If you would like advice or support about any aspect of the EHC needs assessment process, you can speak to your child's educational setting or access information from the websites, organisations and services listed below.
Cheshire East SEND Toolkit
Guidance, resources and templates to support children and young people with SEND.
Website: www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/SENDtoolkit
Cheshire East Local Offer
Information about services, support and opportunities available for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and their families.
Website: www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/localoffer
Cheshire East Information, Advice and Support Service (CEIAS)
CEIAS provides free, confidential and impartial information, advice and support to children, young people and parent carers on SEND matters, including EHC needs assessments and Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCP).
Cheshire East Parent Carer Forum
The Cheshire East Parent Carer Forum is an independent group run by parent carers. It works in partnership with local services and provides opportunities for families to share experiences, influence services and access peer support.
If you are considering requesting an EHC " needs assessment and are unsure whether this is the right next step, these organisations can help you understand the process, the support available, and the options open to you.
Private advice
Any report from a professional - whether they work for a Local Authority (LA), the health service or independently - has the same validity.
Under professional codes of conduct, any professional is pledging that they will do their job to assess a child’s needs, identify provision and make recommendations based on the individual child rather than any resources available to their employer or client. What is most important is: the amount of time the professional has spent observing and assessing the child; how often has this happened – e.g. a number of times over a period of years; and their use of their own expertise.
SEND Regulations 2014 reg.6(1) is clear that any professional that the LA seeks advice and information from during statutory assessment is expected to report on a child or young person’s needs, the special educational provision to meet those needs and the outcomes that can be expected to be the result.
Parents are fully entitled to secure their own advice from professionals via a private or independent route. This evidence must be considered by the LA in the same way as provision commissioned from NHS or LA providers and needs to be included as an appendix to the EHC plan.
The LA will take private advice into consideration when deciding the appropriate provision to include within the EHC plan and should make this clear the source of the advice.
Where there are significant differences in recommendations about provision the LA will take into account the evidence in each report about the child’s needs, and how the provision recommended will meet the child’s needs and support the holistic outcomes agreed with the family.
Where a provision does not have an established or recognised evidence base and is not mandated by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence for use in the NHS , then health professionals are unlikely to recommend it in their advice but can do so if they believe there is a reason for doing so.
Any provision in Section G to be provided by the NHS needs to be agreed by the commissioning body.
How the EHC needs assessment process works
The Education, Health and Care needs assessment process determines if an EHC Plan will be produced. The assessment process should be completed within 20 weeks.
The EHC needs assessment process document is currently under review and will be added to this page once finalised. In the meantime, refer to the statutory timescales flow chart from the SEND Code of Practice (PDF, 110KB)
Details of the information that we gather as part of the EHC Needs Assessment process and how we use and share this information can be found in the SEND Team Privacy Notice.
If an EHC Plan is agreed, it will be reviewed every year, although parts of the plan can be reviewed more frequently, if required. The plan will stay in place until the outcomes have been achieved or if the special educational provision included is deemed to be no longer necessary. For young people aged 19-25, continuation of an EHC Plan is only necessary when it is agreed that additional time is required to meet the specified outcomes and these can only be achieved by remaining in formal education or training.
How families are supported
Once a request for an assessment is received by the local authority, the family will be assigned a named Local Authority Officer to co-ordinate their assessment. In the majority of cases, the same Local Authority officer will continue to work with the family if a plan is agreed, and throughout the duration of the plan.
Email: senteameast@cheshireeast.gov.uk
Some families may find it helpful to have extra support to voice their wishes and views. Additional support could be provided by a professional already working with the family such as a SENCO or a health visitor. Additional support and advice is also available throughout the process from Cheshire East Information, Advice and Support.
Support available for children and young people without an EHC Plan
An EHC needs assessment will not always lead to an EHC Plan. All Cheshire East education settings receive funding to assist them in supporting children and young people with SEN . Information on this can be found on the Special Educational Needs funding page and within the Cheshire East Toolkit for SEND. If the EHC needs assessment identifies provision that can be provided at the SEN Support level, the information gathered during the assessment will be used to meet the child/ young person’s needs through an individual learning plan such as an SEN Support Plan from available resources through SEN Support. The educational setting will still be required to support your child by delivering the identified provision.
The Designated Clinical Officer (DCO) SEND
The Designated Clinical Officer for NHS Cheshire East Place is Ingrid Bell. If you would like help and support on a SEND health matter, email ingrid.bell@cheshireandmerseyside.nhs.uk or call 07765 156692.
Page last reviewed: 06 February 2025
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