Get an EHCP for your child, from request to tribunal

This guide is for parents and carers in England whose child needs more help than their school can provide from its own SEN support, and for young people aged 16–25 asking for themselves. It covers the statutory Education, Health and Care plan route: making the request, the 6-week and 20-week deadlines, evidence, parental views, checking the draft plan, naming a school, mediation and the SEND Tribunal. By the end you will have a request letter, a structured parental views document, a draft-plan response and a deadline diary. It is general information, not legal advice; IPSEA and your local SENDIASS give free, independent help, and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have different systems.

What is inside

• Full step-by-step method9 detailed steps with decision points
• Ready-to-use templatesRequest for an EHC needs assessment · Parental views planner · Response to the draft EHC plan
• Timed action plan8 stages from “Week 0” to “Every year”
• Costly mistakes to avoid4 traps and what to do instead
• Complete checklist12 items to tick off
• Insider tips and fixes4 tips and 4 common problems solved

Step by step

1. Check the law today and decide whether to request

   The current EHCP system under the Children and Families Act 2014 and the SEND Code of Practice still applies in full, even though the Schools White Paper published on 23 February 2026 proposed major SEND reforms. As at October 2026, the proposals do not change the law: the main changes need new legislation and are not planned to start before September 2029, and the government has said existing plans will stay in place until 2030 at the earliest; check GOV.UK and IPSEA for progress, because the timetable may move. Until the law changes, councils must apply the current tests and deadlines, so treat any refusal that cites 'the reforms' as a reason to ask for the legal basis in writing. The legal test for an assessment is low: the council must assess if your child has or may have special educational needs and it may be necessary for provision to be made through an EHC plan. If school SEN support has not led to good progress, your child is out of school or on a reduced timetable, or they need help the school cannot fund or provide, that is a strong reason to request. You do not need the school's agreement, a diagnosis, or a set number of terms of SEN support first, whatever a council leaflet suggests.