SEND Rights Navigator

Your rights in the SEND and EHCP process

This guide covers your rights at each stage of the Education, Health and Care (EHC) process under the Children and Families Act 2014.

1. Requesting an EHC needs assessment

Any parent (or young person over 16) can request an EHC needs assessment from the local authority. The LA must decide within 6 weeks whether to carry out the assessment. If they refuse, you have the right to appeal to the SEND Tribunal.

Key questions to ask:

• "Please confirm in writing whether you will carry out the needs assessment and by what date."
• "If you are refusing, please set out the reasons in writing and advise me of my right of appeal."

2. The 20-week statutory deadline

Once an EHC needs assessment is agreed, the LA must issue a final EHC Plan within 20 weeks of the original request. This is a statutory deadline under the Children and Families Act 2014. If the LA misses this deadline, that is a breach of the law, not an administrative delay.

Keep a record of every date: when you made the request, when assessment was agreed, when drafts were shared.

3. During the assessment

You have the right to:

• Contribute your own evidence and parental views
• Request that specific professionals provide reports
• See all reports before the plan is finalised
• Comment on the draft EHC Plan before it is issued

4. The EHC Plan itself

The EHC Plan must specify the provision your child will receive. Vague language is not acceptable. If the plan says "some support" or "regular sessions", that is not enforceable. Provision must be specific, quantified, and named.

You are legally entitled to a copy of the plan at all times. If provision outlined in the plan is not being delivered, that is a breach of the plan and can be escalated.

5. Appealing to the SEND Tribunal

You can appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (SEND) if the LA:

• Refuses to carry out a needs assessment
• Refuses to issue an EHC Plan after an assessment
• Describes your child's needs or provision in a way you disagree with
• Names the wrong school in the plan
• Ceases to maintain the plan

You must appeal within 2 months of the LA's decision letter (or 1 month from the Mediation Certificate if mediation was required). Legal aid may be available.

Questions to ask at every stage

• "What is the statutory deadline for this stage, and will you meet it?"
• "Please confirm all decisions in writing."
• "What provision is named in the plan, and how will it be measured?"
• "Who is responsible for delivering each element of the plan?"
• "If provision is not delivered, what is the escalation process?"