SEND & EHCP
Help make the SEND issue clear, evidenced and actionable.
When letters, reviews and provision stop matching what is actually happening for your child, we help organise the problem and work out what needs answering next.
Common problems we may help with
Read what to check after an EHC needs assessment refusal in Kent or Medway before deciding whether the next step is evidence, mediation, appeal or specialist advice.
September 2026 SEND reforms do not replace current EHCP duties
Experts at Hand and other SEND reform proposals may change how support is organised locally, but current EHC assessment tests, appeal rights and duties to secure provision in an existing EHCP remain in force. DfE guidance says Experts at Hand must be additional to existing provision and must not replace provision specified in an EHCP.
If a council or partnership wants fewer assessment requests, complaints or appeals, that does not by itself change the legal test that applies to your child's case.
The latest Ofsted/CQC area SEND inspection identified inconsistency including EHCP timeliness and oversight around annual reviews. If that reflects your case, the report may support the wider context — but build the individual case from the actual review papers, professional advice, decision letters, draft/amended plans and dated missed actions. See what the inspection means in practice →
What we can actually do
- Read the relevant EHCP sections, review papers and correspondence.
- Build a chronology of needs, provision, decisions and changes.
- Identify where evidence directly supports a specific need or provision issue.
- Help prepare focused questions before an annual review or meeting.
- Help draft written follow-up so important points are not left only in verbal discussion.
- Help identify whether the issue appears suitable for complaint/escalation or whether specialist SEND legal advice is more appropriate.
Read our guide to SEN Support without a formal diagnosis.
What evidence tends to matter?
Evidence is strongest when it explains functional impact: what the child cannot currently access, what support is actually required, what has been tried, what happened, and what professionals are observing.
Useful sources can include
School and special educational needs coordinator (SENCO) reports, professional assessments, therapy reports, attendance information, behaviour/support records, review documents and relevant health/social-care evidence.
More is not always better
A 300-page bundle is not automatically stronger than five documents that directly answer the decision-maker's question. We help organise relevance.
Use the EHC needs assessment evidence toolkit to map needs, functional impact, support already tried, professional advice and evidence gaps. You can then use the evidence organiser and professional evidence builder to make the information easier to use.
EHCP reviews
The current SEND Code of Practice remains the core statutory guidance for the SEND system in England while reforms are developing. For individual cases, the exact legal position can matter, so where a dispute becomes legal/tribunal-focused we will recommend specialist advice rather than pretending advocacy and legal representation are the same thing.
Use the SEND meeting preparation and action tracker alongside the chronology and decision log. If you are checking a draft or existing plan, the EHCP quality checker helps map needs, provision and wording.
Where our role stops
We can support the organisation and communication of a SEND case. We do not give regulated legal advice, conduct tribunal proceedings or guarantee that an EHCP will be issued, amended or enforced in a particular way.
Support should be based on identified need, not diagnosis alone
A child’s needs do not begin on the date of diagnosis. SEN Support can be needed while assessment is pending. The EHC needs assessment test concerns whether the child or young person has or may have SEN and whether provision through an EHC plan may be necessary; it does not require a particular diagnostic label. A diagnosis can inform the evidence but does not itself determine provision or placement.
See the Children and Families Act 2014, section 36(8), the SEND Code of Practice, chapters 6 and 9, and our SEN Support without a diagnosis guide.
Practical parent-advocacy guidance, not legal or clinical advice. Reviewed 23 September 2026 against the official sources linked on this page. See how we write, check and correct guidance.
Official sources / further reading
SEND Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years (GOV.UK) ↗SEND reform consultation / current reform information (GOV.UK) ↗Process and policy can change. This page was reviewed 23 September 2026. Official sources take priority over this general information.
Ofsted: Kent area SEND inspection — September 2026 ↗Questions parents ask
Answers for parents and carers in England. These answers were checked on 27 September 2026; use the linked official source where your next step depends on a legal duty or process.
Does my child need an EHCP to get help at school?
No. SEN Support and, where the disability test is met, reasonable adjustments can be needed without an EHCP. Ask what support is being provided now and how its effect is reviewed. An EHC needs assessment is a separate question where needs may require provision through a plan.
Official source: GOV.UK: support for children with SEND.
Can I request an EHC needs assessment myself?
Yes. A parent can request an assessment from the local authority; a young person can also have the right to request one. You do not need the school to submit a parent’s request. Describe the needs, existing support and why further assessment may be necessary.
Prepare an assessment request.
Official source: GOV.UK: EHC assessments.
What if the support in my child’s EHCP is not being provided?
Identify the precise provision in Section F, what is missing and since when. Write to the local authority, copying the school where appropriate, and ask how it will secure that provision. Section 42 places the duty to secure specified special educational provision on the authority, subject to statutory exceptions. Disagreement with the wording of a plan is a different issue from failure to deliver it.
Official source: Children and Families Act 2014, section 42.