If you think your child has SEND that requires more support than the help available through a graduated approach at their:
then please talk to them.
This will normally be the teacher or the special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO). They will be able to explain more about the options that are available to meet your child’s needs.
If your child is still not making good progress even with this extra Special Educational Needs (SEN) support, you will have a review with the setting and other agencies involved. Once this happens, an Education, Health and Care (EHC) assessment may be necessary.
EHC assessments identify educational, health and social needs. They set out the additional support and provision to meet those needs. In most cases the request should be made in partnership between the school and family.
EHC plans are for those children (0 to 16) or young people (16 to 19) or adults (19 to 25) with special educational needs who require support beyond that which an educational setting can provide at SEN support.
The following people have a specific right to ask a local authority to carry out an EHC needs assessment for a child or young person aged between 0 and 25:
Also, anyone else can bring a child or young person who has (or may have) SEN to the attention of the local authority, particularly if they think they may need an EHC needs assessment.
This could be any of these people:
Again, this referral should be with the person's or their parents' knowledge and agreement.
The EHCP could provide extra support that will allow their needs to be met in their current school or educational setting.
An EHC needs assessment will not always lead to an EHCP.
The information we gather during an EHC needs assessment may show ways that the school, college or other provider can meet the the needs of the child or young person without an EHCP.
Find the following EHCP forms on Dorset Nexus:
Parent, carer, family friend or young person
If you're a parent, carer or young person, find out how to request a needs assessment for an EHCP.
Have a discussion with the SENCO at your child or young person's school or educational setting about the different options available to support them. If possible a request for a needs assessment for an EHC plan should be made by the school or setting. It's no quicker to request the assessment yourself as we will still have to get advice from the school or educational setting.
Or discuss your options with us.
Call us if:
You can get impartial support from:
We aim to put your child at the centre of the review of their education, health and care plan (EHCP) by taking a person-centred approach.
Young people with SEND don't always have much control over their lives or the decisions or choices that are made for them. We can help your child play an active part in planning for their future. We do this by placing them at the centre of:
Person-centred planning (sometimes called PCP) aims to:
Find out more about person-centred planning in this video:
Person-centred planning for the EHCP.
We'll need information from you and your child's school or educational setting if you're asking for a needs assessment. The school or educational setting will complete the request for a needs assessment for an EHCP form with your help. They will also ask you to complete the summary of parent or carer views form.
You'll be asked information about:
You can also speak to your child's school or educational setting or contact the Education and Early Help (SEND) Team to:
Sign the form once it's complete. If your child is over 16 they'll need to sign it too.
We'll let you know what happens next once we've received your request for a needs assessment. We will tell you if a needs assessment has been agreed within 6 weeks.
If a needs assessment is agreed it doesn't always lead to an EHCP, but it could tell us how the school or setting can meet your child's needs without a plan. The whole EHCP process shouldn't take more than 20 weeks.
Contact your local Education and Early Help (SEND) Team.
For impartial information and advice at any stage of the EHCP process contact Dorset SEND Information, Advice and Support Service (SENDIASS)
We've got the request for a needs assessment for an EHCP.
We’ve made a decision about the needs assessment request. We have let you know our decision and next steps. This will happen within six weeks.
If we agree a needs assessment should take place, we will gather information on the child or young person and their needs. The information will be used to decide if an EHCP is needed.
We’ve made a decision on an EHCP and have let you know whether it has been agreed or not.
We have sent a draft EHCP to you. You have 15 calendar days to check through the draft and tell us any concerns or requests for changes, or to request a meeting.
We have sent you a final EHCP.
Find out more about the EHCP review.
Outcomes are what a child or young person is able to do at different times in the future. Outcomes set out observable skills that the young person hopes to have within a set period of time. They are usually broken into long-term and short-term outcomes.
They should be:
Outcomes should be created by these people together:
Why use outcomes?
We use outcomes because:
Long-term outcomes
Outcomes may:
Reviews of these outcomes take place each year, at the same time as the short-term outcomes.
Short-term outcomes
Short-term outcomes are long-term outcomes that have been broken down into smaller steps. They should be achievable within a year.
We will review them each term or at least once a year.
