Assessment steps and timescales

Please note: The SEND Code of Practice states that Education, Health and Care (EHC) assessments must be completed within 20 weeks. Whilst the council has invested additional resources and is finalising more plans than ever, due to a range of factors EHC plans are not currently being issued within the expected timescales. As of September 2025, the average length of time taken is 54 weeks.

We know that this will be a worrying time for some families and there is a range of support available to you from multi-agency health, education and Local Authority services.

The following resources are also available to offer support to children and families, with or without an EHC plan.

You can visit the Leeds SEND Local Offer, which is a dedicated resource for children and young people with SEND aged 0 to 25, their families, and professionals. It includes:

• support available in schools and early years settings
• local services and activities
• information about education, health, social care, transport, and leisure
• advice for parents and carers

You can contact Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information Advice and Support Services (SENDIASS) Leeds for free, confidential and impartial advice.

There is also a one-stop information resource to support all neurodivergent children, young people and families in Leeds both with and without a formal diagnosis.

The Council is improving our EHCP processes and regularly updating our SEND and Inclusion Transformation page to keep you informed of our progress. You can read more about these changes on the SEND and Inclusion Transformation page.

Making a decision

The SEND Code of Practice sets a statutory timescale of up to six weeks to decide whether an EHC needs assessment is needed. To do this, we hold a panel to discuss needs and decide if an assessment is needed.

Making a decision at panel

We will decide if your child needs an assessment or not based on the evidence provided. When making a decision, we'll review a wide range of evidence including:

• checking academic attainment, developmental milestones and rate of progress records.
• information about the SEN and care or health needs.
• assessing any actions already being taken to meet needs.
• giving consideration to information provided by the parent or carer and child or young person.

Gathering evidence

If we think an assessment is needed, we will gather any further evidence from our own teams, the school SENCo, parents and carers and any healthcare professionals involved.

For more information visit the requesting an EHC needs assessment.

If a plan is not to be created

We will notify you if a decision has been made not to create an education health and care plan (EHCP). You will be notified of the decision, your right to appeal, and your right to a meeting to discuss the reasons and voice objections.

Writing a draft plan

If it is agreed that an EHCP is needed, we will start to write a draft plan. We will send you a copy of the draft EHCP and you will have 15 days to respond in writing.

Final version of the plan

A final version of the plan will be available.

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