Who can ask for an Education, Health and Care (EHC) needs assessment?

The following people can ask us to carry out an education, health and care (EHC) needs assessment:

• The parent/carer of the child or young person
• A young person over the age of 16 but under 25
• A professional acting on behalf of an education setting, such as an early years provider, a school, or post-16 setting. This should only be done with agreement of the parents or young person, where possible
• Other people who know the child/young person well, such as a health or social care professional. This should only be done with agreement of the parents or young person, where possible.

How to request an EHC needs assessment

If you are considering making a referral for your child or young person, we always recommend that you speak to the school/setting’s SEND coordinator first.

You can make a referral at any time, but the school/setting will have the evidence of your child or young person’s assessed SEN, including the impact of the graduated approach they have taken and your child or young person’s SEN support plan.

Sometimes there may be a disagreement between you and the school/setting about if an EHC needs assessment is needed. It is important that you speak to the school/setting to understand why there is a difference of opinion and work together to find a solution.

If you decide to put in a referral, the SEND team will write to the school/setting and ask them for their evidence. They have a legal duty to cooperate with this request.

If you are considering making a referral, you should contact the SEND team to discuss the request. The SEND team will be able to advise you on next steps.

Contact the SEND team, or if you would prefer to write the postal address is: SEND team, Wigan Life Centre (South), College Avenue, Wigan, WN1 1NJ.

What will happen next?

Once we have received your referral, you will receive a letter or email from the SEND team. The type of response will depend on how you submitted your referral.

The Council’s SEND panel will consider the referral and decide whether to assess your child or young person using the evidence provided as part of the referral. It is important that you provide all the information you have gathered on your child or young person’s needs, including information from health and therapy services, the school/setting, and any other specialist services who have seen and/or supported your child. 

The panel will need to see written evidence of your child or young person’s needs and that the provision required to meet these needs is above the help and support ordinarily provided in the school/setting in the SEN support plan. 

Following the panel meeting, the SEND team will contact you to let you know the panel decision, no longer than six weeks after receiving the referral.

The email/letter will provide further information on your right of appeal if the request for an assessment is declined by the panel.

What if we decide not to assess your child/ young person?

If we decide not to assess your child or young person for an EHC plan, it is because the panel are of the opinion that there is no evidence that your child or young person has special educational needs (SEN) and requires special educational provision to be made for them in an EHC plan.

We will write to the person who made the referral and inform you of the decision explaining the reason why.

If we decide not to carry out an assessment, we will give the reasons of why and offer advice and guidance.

As part of the process, you will be advised of your right to appeal formally. Please see appealing a decision made by the Council.

Moving out of Wigan during the referral and assessment process

If you are moving out of Wigan, you should contact Wigan's SEND team and let us know the date you will be moving and the postal address of your new home.

We will transfer your child or young person’s paperwork to your new local authority who will complete the assessment process.

Where to go if you need help

If you need some advice or help to make a referral or during the EHC needs assessment process, you can:

• Have a discussion with the SEND coordinator at your child or young person's school/setting about the different options available to support them. If possible, it is best to request an assessment with the school/setting. Requesting an assessment yourself isn’t any quicker, and the same criteria will still need to be met
• Contact the SEND team if you are thinking of starting the process yourself
• SEND Information, Advice and Support Service (SENDIASS) (external link) is also available and will provide you with impartial advice and guidance, particularly if you or your child or young person's school/setting have a difference of opinion about how best to meet your child or young person's SEND.