What Schools Must Do Before an EHCP Request

Quick Summary

  • Before an EHCP request, schools should usually identify needs, provide SEN Support, review progress and keep evidence.
  • This support should follow the graduated approach: assess, plan, do and review.
  • Parents can ask what support is in place, how it is being delivered, when it will be reviewed and what evidence is being kept.
  • An EHCP request may be appropriate if school-based support is not enough to meet the child’s needs.
  • Parents do not always have to wait for school to act before requesting an EHC needs assessment.

Before an EHCP request is made, schools are usually expected to identify a child’s needs, provide appropriate SEN Support, review whether that support is working, and keep clear evidence of what has been tried.

This guide explains what schools should usually do before an Education, Health and Care needs assessment is requested, what parents can ask for, and when it may be appropriate to escalate toward an EHCP request.

Looking for SEND or EHCP support providers?
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Independent information note: Find Support UK is an independent directory and information resource. This guide is intended to help families understand common SEND support pathways and does not provide legal, medical or educational advice.

What Should Happen Before an EHCP Request?

Many children and young people receive help through SEN Support without needing an EHCP. SEN Support is the support schools and colleges should provide when a child has special educational needs but does not have an Education, Health and Care Plan.

Before an EHCP request is made, a school should usually be able to show that it has:

  • identified the child’s needs
  • spoken with parents or carers
  • considered the child or young person’s views where appropriate
  • planned support or adjustments
  • put support in place
  • reviewed whether the support is working
  • kept records of concerns, actions and progress

This does not mean families must wait indefinitely before requesting an EHC needs assessment. If a child may need support beyond what the school can normally provide, an EHCP request may be appropriate even if school-based support is still being reviewed.

SEN Support in School

SEN Support is the usual first level of additional support for children and young people with special educational needs in mainstream schools and colleges.

SEN Support may include:

  • additional help in class
  • small group or targeted interventions
  • adapted teaching approaches
  • visual supports, communication tools or structured routines
  • support with literacy, numeracy or communication
  • social, emotional or mental health support
  • behaviour support strategies
  • advice from the SENCO or external professionals
  • regular review meetings with parents or carers

The exact support should depend on the child’s needs. It should not be limited to a generic intervention or a single worksheet-based programme if the child’s difficulties are broader or more complex.

Key point

SEN Support should be planned around the individual child. If the same support is repeated without progress, the school should review whether a different approach or further advice is needed.

What should a school try through its universal and targeted SEND offer?

Current SEND reform guidance places greater emphasis on schools strengthening support at two levels: universal support for all pupils and targeted support for children and young people who need more than the universal offer.

Universal support

Universal support is the inclusive teaching and school environment that should be available across the school.

This may include:

  • adaptive teaching;
  • accessible classroom materials and routines;
  • reasonable adjustments;
  • clear communication approaches;
  • inclusive behaviour and attendance support;
  • accessible physical and sensory environments;
  • early identification of barriers to learning;
  • whole-school approaches to inclusion.

Universal support should be flexible enough to respond to a range of needs without requiring a formal diagnosis.

Targeted support

Targeted support may be appropriate where universal provision is not enough to meet a child or young person’s needs.

This may include:

  • structured interventions;
  • additional small-group or individual support;
  • specialist teaching approaches;
  • advice from the SENCO;
  • input from educational psychologists, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists or other professionals;
  • focused support for communication, literacy, sensory, emotional or social needs;
  • adjustments based on evidence of how the child is responding.

Targeted support should be reviewed to see whether it is making a meaningful difference.

Important

A stronger universal or targeted SEND offer does not mean that a child must work through every possible intervention before an EHC needs assessment can be requested.

If a child or young person may need special educational provision through an EHCP, parents, eligible young people and others with the right to request an assessment can still use the existing statutory process.

The Graduated Approach: Assess, Plan, Do, Review

The SEND Code of Practice describes a graduated approach to SEN Support. This is often summarised as assess, plan, do, review.

Assess

The school should identify the child’s needs and consider information from teachers, parents, the child or young person, assessment data and any professionals involved.

This may include looking at:

  • learning progress
  • attendance
  • behaviour patterns
  • communication needs
  • sensory needs
  • social and emotional wellbeing
  • medical or developmental information
  • previous interventions and outcomes

A school may use an inclusion base as part of its graduated response, but this does not prevent an EHC needs assessment from being requested where one may be necessary. Read more about support provided through an inclusion base.

Plan

The school should agree what support will be put in place, who will provide it, how often it will happen, and how progress will be measured.

Parents should usually be told what support is planned and how it will be reviewed.

Do

The planned support should then be delivered. Class teachers remain responsible for the child’s progress, even where teaching assistants, interventions or specialist staff are involved.

Review

The school should review whether the support has helped. If progress is limited, support may need to be changed, increased, or informed by further professional advice.

Reviews should not only ask whether an intervention happened. They should consider whether it made a meaningful difference.

Reasonable Adjustments

Some children and young people with SEND may also be disabled under the Equality Act. Where this applies, schools may need to make reasonable adjustments so that a disabled pupil is not placed at a substantial disadvantage.

Reasonable adjustments may include:

  • changes to routines or transitions
  • adapted seating or classroom positioning
  • access to quiet or low-arousal spaces
  • adjustments to communication style
  • extra processing time
  • changes to behaviour responses
  • modified homework or recording methods
  • support during unstructured times

Reasonable adjustments are not the same as an EHCP, but they can be an important part of the support picture. They may also provide evidence that a child’s needs are not being met through ordinary arrangements.

Evidence Schools Should Keep

Good evidence is important because it helps show a child or young person’s needs, what support has been provided, the impact of that support and whether additional or statutory provision may be necessary.

Schools should usually be able to show:

  • what needs have been identified
  • what support has been tried
  • how often support was provided
  • who delivered the support
  • what progress was expected
  • what progress was actually made
  • what reviews took place
  • what parents or carers raised with school
  • whether external advice was requested
  • why any support was changed, stopped or continued

You can read more about useful school records, parent views and professional reports in our guide: What Evidence Should Schools Use for SEND Support?

Useful records may include SEN Support plans, individual education plans, provision maps, review notes, behaviour logs, attendance records, assessment results, professional reports and communication with parents.

Key point

If support is informal and not recorded, it can be difficult for families to show what has been tried and whether it has worked. Parents can ask the school to confirm support arrangements in writing.

What Parents Can Ask For

Parents do not have to wait passively while concerns build. If a child is struggling, parents can ask the school for a clear explanation of what support is in place and how it is being reviewed.

Useful questions include:

  • Has my child been identified as receiving SEN Support?
  • What needs has the school identified?
  • What support is currently being provided?
  • How often is the support happening?
  • Who is responsible for delivering it?
  • How is progress being measured?
  • When will the support be reviewed?
  • Has the SENCO been involved?
  • Has external advice been considered?
  • What evidence would the school provide if an EHCP request is made?

Parents can also ask for copies of relevant records, including SEN Support plans, review notes, provision maps and assessment information.

When an EHCP Request May Be Appropriate

An EHCP request may be appropriate where a child or young person may need support beyond what is normally available through SEN Support.

This may include situations where:

  • the child is making limited progress despite targeted support
  • needs are complex, long-term or affect several areas of development
  • school support is not enough to meet identified needs
  • external professional advice suggests more structured support is needed
  • the child needs provision that is difficult to deliver from ordinary school resources
  • there are significant attendance, anxiety, communication or behaviour concerns linked to unmet need
  • there is disagreement about the level of support required

Parents, young people over compulsory school age, schools and some other professionals can request an EHC needs assessment from the local authority.

A school does not have to agree before a parent can request an assessment. However, school evidence can be helpful because it shows what has been tried and why additional support may be needed.

Need more detailed EHCP guidance?
Read the main SEND & EHCP Support in the UK guide.

SEND Reform Context

Current SEND reform activity places greater emphasis on earlier support, stronger mainstream inclusion, universal and targeted provision, and clearer planning for children and young people with SEND.

Some of this is already moving into implementation. Schools receiving the Inclusive Mainstream Fund are being asked to strengthen inclusive practice and publish an inclusion strategy by 31 December 2026.

Government proposals also include future Individual Support Plans and clearer national expectations for SEND support.

These developments do not replace the current SEN Support or EHCP framework. Families can still request an EHC needs assessment where a child or young person may need special educational provision through an EHCP.

The practical steps in this guide therefore remain relevant: identify needs, provide support, review whether it is working, keep evidence and consider statutory assessment where appropriate.

For a wider overview of what is current law, what is already being implemented and what remains proposed, read Current SEND Law vs Proposed Reform.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a school have to provide SEN Support before an EHCP request?

Schools are usually expected to identify needs and provide appropriate SEN Support where a child has special educational needs. However, parents can still request an EHC needs assessment if they believe their child may need more support than is normally available through SEN Support.

Can parents request an EHCP if the school does not agree?

Yes. Parents can request an EHC needs assessment directly from the local authority. A school’s support can be useful evidence, but the school does not have to make the request.

What is the graduated approach?

The graduated approach is the cycle schools use to identify needs, plan support, put support in place and review whether it is working. It is commonly described as assess, plan, do and review.

What evidence helps with an EHCP request?

Useful evidence may include SEN Support plans, review notes, school records, assessment information, behaviour or attendance logs, professional reports and examples showing how the child’s needs affect learning or school life.

Can a school say there is no funding for support?

Schools have duties to identify and support children with SEND. Funding pressures may affect how support is organised, but they do not remove the need to consider a child’s needs and make appropriate provision.

Does a child need a diagnosis before SEN Support?

No. SEN Support should be based on identified needs, not only on diagnosis. A diagnosis can be helpful evidence, but support should not be withheld simply because a diagnosis has not yet been confirmed.

When should parents consider an EHCP request?

Parents may consider an EHCP request where their child’s needs appear to require support beyond what is normally available through SEN Support, or where school-based support is not leading to enough progress.

Must a school spend £6,000 before an EHC needs assessment can be requested?

No. The £6,000 figure relates to how additional SEND support is commonly funded in mainstream schools. It is not a legal threshold that must be reached before a parent, school or young person can request an EHC needs assessment. The legal test is whether it may be necessary for special educational provision to be made through an EHCP.

Can a school refuse SEND support because my child does not have an EHCP?

No. A child does not need an EHCP before a school can provide SEND support.
Schools should identify and respond to special educational needs through SEN Support where appropriate. Support may include changes to teaching, reasonable adjustments, targeted interventions, SENCO involvement or advice from external professionals.
An EHCP is a separate statutory route for children and young people who may need special educational provision beyond what is normally available through SEN Support.

Does my child have to try all universal and targeted support before an EHCP request?

No. A child does not have to work through every possible universal or targeted intervention before an EHC needs assessment can be requested.
Schools should normally identify needs, put appropriate support in place and review its impact. That evidence can be important when considering whether an EHCP may be needed.
However, if it may be necessary for special educational provision to be made through an EHCP, an EHC needs assessment can still be requested while school-based support is continuing.

If you are exploring school support, EHCPs or proposed SEND reforms, these guides may also help:

Further Guidance and Trusted SEND Support Resources

The following organisations provide independent guidance on SEND rights, support and education:

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If you offer SEND, EHCP, advocacy, education consultancy or SEN tutoring support, you can Submit a Support Listing or Claim a Listing.

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