EHCP letter templates for parents in England
Three free EHCP letter templates you can copy, fill in and send. Each one is written in a parent's voice, quotes the exact regulation the council has to follow, and tells you when the letter is the right move and when it is not. No signup, no email address needed.
Read this first. These templates state the law accurately, but they have not yet been reviewed by a solicitor. A SEND solicitor review is scheduled before our full launch. This site gives legal information, not legal advice. For advice on your individual case, contact IPSEA or your local SENDIASS.
The three letters
Challenging a refusal to assess
Use this when the council has written to say it will not carry out an EHC needs assessment.
Asks the council to reconsider, sets out why the low "has or may have" threshold is met, lists your evidence, and protects your two month mediation and appeal window at the same time.
Section 36(8), Children and Families Act 2014
Read and copy the letterComplaining about a missed deadline
Use this when a statutory deadline has passed and nothing has arrived.
A stage 1 corporate complaint that names the regulation breached, sets out the dates, closes off the four lawful exemptions, and asks for a dated remedy plan before the Ombudsman gets involved.
Regulations 5(1), 10(1) and 13(2), SEND Regulations 2014
Read and copy the letterResponding to a draft plan
Use this in the 15 day window after the council sends you a draft EHC plan.
Section by section representations, with wording that forces Section F to be specific and quantified, moves therapy into the right section, and formally requests the school you want in Section I.
Regulation 13(1), SEND Regulations 2014
Read and copy the letter
How to use them well
- Get your dates straight first. Almost every one of these letters turns on a date: when the council received your request, when it sent a decision, when a draft landed. The free deadline checker works out which deadlines apply to your case and cites the regulation on each one.
- Read the "when not to use this" section. Sending a complaint when you should be appealing, or a reconsideration request when your appeal clock is nearly out, costs you time you may not get back.
- Replace every placeholder. Anything in [SQUARE BRACKETS] is for you to fill in or delete. A letter with brackets left in it reads as a template and gets treated as one.
- Keep it factual. Dates, quotes from the council's own letters, and what the reports actually say. The regulation does the arguing for you.
- Send it by email and keep the sent copy. If the case ever reaches the Tribunal or the Ombudsman, your paper trail is the case.
Where to go next
- The free deadline checker: enter your dates, see every deadline the council owes you and whether any are already breached.
- The guides: how the process works, what each section of the plan is for, and what to do at each stage.
- If the council has refused to assess: the full picture on reconsideration, mediation and appeal.
- If the council has missed a deadline: which route to take, and when the Ombudsman is the right one.
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.