Requesting an Education, health and care (EHC) needs assessment

An EHC needs assessment is a legal process. It requires education, health, and social care professionals to work together to gather information about a child or young person’s special educational needs.

In any request, we will need evidence to show the:

Who can request an EHC needs assessment

An EHC needs assessment can be requested by a:

  • school or educational setting
  • parent or carer
  • young person aged 16 or older

If your child attends nursery or primary school

If your child attends an early years setting including a nursery or primary school, you should speak to the staff there. They can call on extra help.

Children attending Children's Centres & Family Hubs, private and voluntary educational settings can get extra help from the Early Years Intervention Team.

Children attending nursery classes in a mainstream school can get extra help from school support services.

If your child does not attend a setting, elective home educated or under 5's

If your child is not in education yet, and you are worried about their development, the best people to talk to are your Health Visitor or GP.  They may make a referral to health and therapy services in Making Our Services All Integrated in Camden (MOSAIC)

If you attend MOSAIC, you can speak to the professionals who work with your child there.

If your child attends a school or college

If your child attends a school or college, talk to the class teacher, form tutor or special educational needs coordinator.

Assessments made by a Local Authority

Some assessments are started by a Local Authority because they have been given evidence by someone else, usually by a health service, that a child will not be able to access education without the extra support of an EHC plan.  Parents and carers will always be informed about this and will be asked for consent before any assessment is started.

You will need to give your consent before the request can be made. You can ask for help from the professionals who work with your child.

Requesting an assessment yourself

If you've discussed progress with the school or educational setting and you believe your child’s or young person's needs are greater than they do, you can ask for an assessment yourself.

To do this, contact the Special Educational Needs Team.

if you are a young person over the age of 16, you can also contact the Special Educational Needs Team directly.

Contacting the Special Educational Needs Team

It is best to telephone the team to discuss your request as they can help you with what information to send. Ask to speak to a Special Educational Needs Case Officer who can help with what information needs to be provided.

Telephone: 020 7974 6500

Email: [email protected]

Postal address:
Special Educational Needs Team
London Borough of Camden
Supporting People Directorate
Camden Town Hall (for 5 Pancras Square)
London, WC1H 9JE

If you make a request, the team will gather information from the school or setting, and any involved professionals. If you have them, forward any reports from school, health therapists or any other professionals to help decisions to be made more quickly.

You can contact SENDIASS or KIDS for independent advice.

Understanding assessment documents

Every assessment is different and the information in the templates is personalised for the child or young person.

When schools and educational settings request an EHC needs assessment they:

You might have already completed the All About Me document yourself. You can also get help from an independent advisor, or a member of staff from the school or educational setting.

When parents or young people request an EHC needs assessment, we ask the school or educational setting to complete the EHC plan request form. This is so we know how well a child is doing and what extra help they already get. We also ask the parent, carer, or young person over 16 to complete the All About Me document.

Understanding the EHC needs assessment process

The Assessment Coordinator will contact you to introduce themselves and check if there are any changes you want to make to the All About Me document.

All About Me helps to place the child or young person and their family, and their views at the centre of the process. It is an important part of the assessment.

During the assessment, the information will be summarised in the Statutory Assessment Plan.

You will contribute to My Assessment Plan, and you may be given drafts at different stages. My Assessment Plan is not a legal document, but it supports a legal process. It may become a legal document.

You should have at least one draft before the Team Around the Child meeting where the planned outcomes are discussed and agreed.

If we agree to issue an EHC plan

If we decide that the child or young person needs more resources to have their needs met in education than are ordinarily available, then it becomes a draft EHC plan. The team will use the draft EHC plan to consult with schools and educational settings. When a placement is named in Section I and the plan is signed, the EHC plan becomes a legal document. It is now a final education health and care plan and is no longer called a draft.

If we do not agree to issue an EHC plan

If we decide to not issue an EHC plan, parents, carers or young people will be informed within 16 weeks in writing, and a Statutory Assessment Summary will be provided. This summary can be used by schools and educational settings to guide their delivery of ordinarily available provision for a child.

If you do not agree with our decision, the letter sent to you with the decision will outline your legal rights to appeal our decision and we will work with you to resolve.