Education Health and Care needs assessment (EHCNA)

Who decides if an assessment is needed and how?

Who decides if it is needed?

After a request for an EHCNA, (or the child or young person having otherwise been brought to the attention of the local authority (LA), the LA must determine if an EHCNA is necessary.

EHCNA requests are presented to the EHC Multi-Agency Panel for consideration.

The panel is made up of:

  • Chair
  • SEND Service Manager
  • Substantive panel members
    • SEND Casework Manager
    • SEND Assessment Manager
    • Early Years and Advisory Services Manager
    • Preparing for Adulthood Team Manager
    • Principal Educational Psychologist
    • Early Help and Family Support Practitioner
  • Rotating panel members
    • Senior Social Worker or Manager
    • Health representative consisting of
      • Principal Paediatric Speech and Language Therapist
      • Rehabilitation Clinical Manager
      • Lead Nurse for Special Schools and Epilepsy Service
      • Specialist Health Visitor for Children with additional needs
    • 1 Head Teacher (term time only)
    • 1 School SENCo (term time only)

How is it decided is an assessment is needed?

The panel will consider a wide range of evidence about the child or young person's special educational needs to determine if they meet the criteria to assess

Section 36.8 of the Children and Families Act 2014 says "The local authority must secure an EHC needs assessment for the child or young person if, after having regard to any views expressed and evidence submitted under subsection (7), the authority is of the opinion that:

  1. the child or young person has or may have special educational needs, and
  2. it may be necessary for special educational provision to be made for the child or young person in accordance with an EHC plan."

The definition of special educational needs is in section 20 (1) CAFA 2014 "A child or young person has special educational needs if he or she has a learning difficulty or a disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her." This definition has 2 elements.

  1. the child or young person must have either a learning difficulty or a disability; and
  2. that learning difficulty or disability must require Special Educational Provision to be made for him or her.

Element 1 - A learning difficulty or disability

This is defined in section 20 (2) CAFA 2014: "A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if he or she;

  1. has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age, or
  2. has a disability which prevents or hinders him or her from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 institutions".

Element 2 - Special educational provision

This is defined in section 21(1) of CAFA 2014: "Special educational provision", for a child aged 2 or more or a young person, means educational or training provision that is additional to, or different from, that made generally for others of the same age in:

  1. mainstream schools in England,
  2. maintained nursery schools in England,
  3. mainstream post-16 institutions in England, or
  4. places in England at which relevant early years education is provided.

"Special educational provision', for a child under 2 means educational provision of any kind.

Paragraphs 9.14 - 9.15 of the SEND Code of Practice set out the factors that need to be taken into account.

Evidence may include (but not limited to):

  • the child or young person's academic attainment (or developmental milestones in younger children) and rate of progress
  • information about the nature, extent and context of the child or young person's SEND
  • evidence of the action already being taken by the early years' provider, school or post-16 institution to meet the child or young person's SEND
  • evidence that where progress has been made, it has only been as the result of much additional intervention and support over and above that which is usually provided
  • evidence of the child or young person's physical, emotional and social development and health needs, drawing on relevant evidence from clinicians and other health professionals and what has been done to meet these by other agencies
  • The views, wishes and feelings of the child, their parent or the young person

If it is agreed that special educational provision is needed, the LA will carry out an EHCNA.

The LA must:

  • decide and;
  • communicate the decision to the child's parent or to the young person within 6 weeks of receiving the request. See SEND Code of Practice 2015 paragraph 9.11.