Request an education health care needs assessment (EHCNA)
Information to support you with education, health and care plan process.
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How to request a statutory EHC assessment
Parents and carers - If you would like to request a statutory EHC assessment we recommended that you first discuss this with the SENDCO at your child's school, college or education setting.
If you then wish to progress with a request, you can do this via the Citizen Portal. A step by step guide will help you with this process. If you experience difficulties with the citizen portal, please email SES-admin@leicester.gov.uk.
Professionals practitioners can submit requests via the Professional Portal. The Professional Portal guidance will support you with the process.
The process takes up to 20 weeks to be completed, the EHC statutory assessment process timescale webpage explains this further.
Who can request a statutory assessment
A request for a statutory assessment for a child or young person can be made by:
- The child’s parents or carers
- A young person over the age of 16 but under the age of 25
- A young person in a youth custodial establishment
- The school or college which the child or young person attends (ideally with the knowledge and agreement of the parent or young person where possible)
In addition, anyone else can bring a child or young person who has (or may have) special educational needs to the attention of the Local Authority. This could include:
- Foster carers
- Health and social care professionals
- Early years practitioners
- Youth offending teams, probation services
- A family friend
After making a request for an EHC assessment
When you ask for an EHC assessment the local authority Special Education Service will ask professionals if they know your child and to provide supportive information. These are the people who the local authority will ask:
- You and your child
- School, college or setting attended by your child
- Health service
- Psychology service
- Social care services and others who provide social support to your child, such as Early Help and Short breaks
Where the request is made by a parent, carer or by a young person or a non-school based professional, the Education Health and Care Inclusion Officer in the Special Education Service may request further information from the school or setting which the child or young person attends or, for a child or young person not in a school or setting, from professionals who know the child or young person.
Within six weeks of the date of the original request, the local authority will need to consider the request (and further information, where relevant) to determine whether this meets the criteria for a statutory assessment. This decision is taken at a weekly meeting held by the Special Education Service. The Education Health and Care Inclusion Officer will write to the parents, carers or young person and others who they notified informing them of this decision.