EHCP guides for every stage of the process
These guides walk through the EHCP process in England stage by stage, from your first request for an assessment to appealing at the SEND Tribunal. Each one cites the regulation or Code of Practice paragraph behind what it says, so you can check it and quote it to your council.
Applying for an EHC plan
- How to apply for an EHCP
Who can ask, what the council must do, and what happens after you send the request.
- What happens at an EHC needs assessment
The evidence the council gathers and what your part in it looks like.
If it goes wrong: refusals and appeals
- EHCP refused: what to do next
Your options after a refusal to assess or a refusal to issue a plan.
- SEND mediation: how it works
The certificate you need before most appeals, every mediation deadline, and when to go straight to the Tribunal.
- How to appeal to the SEND Tribunal
The mediation step, the deadline to appeal, and what the tribunal actually looks at.
- SEND Tribunal success rates
How often parents win at tribunal, with the source data behind the figure.
Deadlines
- The 20 week deadline explained
How the clock is counted, and the four lawful exceptions councils can use.
- Council missed a deadline: what to do
The escalation ladder, from a formal complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman.
- Phase transfer deadlines: 15 February and 31 March
The dates that apply when your child changes school phase, such as primary to secondary.
- EHCP delays: the national picture and your options
How common delays really are, why they happen, and what you can do at each point, including compensation.
Understanding your plan
- EHCP sections A to K explained
What belongs in each section, and why Section F carries legal weight the others do not.
- Annual reviews: process and deadlines
How often a plan must be reviewed and what the council has to do afterwards.
- Personal budgets and direct payments
What a personal budget can pay for, how the amount is set, and what to do if the council says no.
- When your child cannot attend school: EOTAS and section 19
The two legal routes to education outside school, how they differ, and how to ask for each.
Tools and templates
- Free EHCP eligibility checker
Five short questions to see whether your child may qualify for an assessment, with the legal test explained.
- Free EHCP deadline checker
Enter your dates and see every deadline that applies to your case, free and on your device.
- EHCP timescales in your area
How your council performs against the 20 week deadline, for all 153 English local authorities.
- Letter templates
Templates for the letters parents send most often, matched to the law behind them.
Case Manager works out every deadline in your child's case from your dates, emails you seven days and one day before each one, and has the right letter ready with the regulation cited. One subscription covers up to four children.
£29 a month. Cancel from your account at any time and your case stays readable.