What level of need qualifies for an EHCP?
Start with your child’s educational needs and the provision required—not a diagnosis or a fixed severity score.
There are two separate decisions: whether to assess and, after assessment, whether to issue a plan. Understanding the difference helps you present the evidence at the right stage.
Guidance for England · EHC needs assessments, evidence and next steps.
Assessment is not the same as issuing a plan.
You do not have to establish the final outcome before an assessment can begin.
Should an assessment be carried out?
The local authority must assess when it considers both that:
- the child or young person has SEN, or could have SEN; and
- an EHCP may be needed to arrange their special educational provision.
The question is whether a plan may be necessary. Assessment helps establish the needs and provision more fully.
Should an EHCP be issued?
After assessment, the authority considers whether special educational provision needs to be made through an EHCP.
If the assessment shows that a plan is necessary for that provision, the authority must prepare and maintain one.
An assessment therefore does not automatically guarantee an EHCP.
There is no single diagnosis or severity score that settles the question. Explain the individual needs, educational impact, provision required and why an EHCP may be necessary.
Legal references: Children and Families Act 2014, section 36 and section 37.
What kinds of needs may be relevant?
Special educational needs can occur in one area or several interacting areas. Multiple diagnoses or difficulties in every category are not prerequisites.
Communication and interaction
Understanding language, expressing needs, communicating distress or accessing social demands.
Cognition and learning
Literacy, numeracy, processing, memory, task organisation or other learning difficulties.
Social, emotional and mental health
Difficulties affecting regulation, wellbeing, participation or sustainable access to education.
Sensory and physical
Sensory, physical or medical-related barriers that call for special educational provision.
Describe the educational impact. A label tells only part of the story. Explain what happens in lessons, transitions and everyday activities, what help is required and what difficulties remain.
What evidence might suggest a plan may be needed?
These are prompts for reviewing the situation. They are not a compulsory checklist or a guarantee of eligibility.
Persistent difficulties
Limited progress or continuing barriers despite relevant support and adjustments.
Significant support needs
Substantial assistance, specialist teaching or provision that requires clearer specification and coordination.
Uncertain or unmet provision
Questions about whether the school or setting can reliably provide all the educational support required.
Access is deteriorating
School-related distress, reduced attendance, failed returns or difficulty sustaining a placement.
Professional evidence
Advice explaining needs and recommending provision that is not adequately reflected in current arrangements.
High effort behind apparent progress
Achievement depends on intensive prompting or support, while wellbeing or independence remains affected.
What does not decide eligibility on its own?
A diagnosis
A diagnosis does not automatically establish the need for an EHCP. Equally, a child can have special educational needs without a confirmed diagnosis.
Focus on the difficulties, educational impact and provision required.
Academic grades
Grades are relevant information, but do not describe every need. Consider communication, independence, emotional wellbeing, sensory access and the support required to maintain progress.
Explain the wider picture rather than rely on attainment alone.
A fixed number of APDR cycles
School records and previous support are useful evidence. There is no statutory requirement to complete a set number of cycles or wait for every possible intervention to fail before requesting assessment.
The school’s opinion
School evidence matters, but a parent can request assessment directly from the local authority even if school does not agree or will not apply.
A local checklist
Local forms and guidance may help organise information, but cannot replace the statutory assessment test. Ask how a refusal addresses that test rather than only a local policy.
What information can help?
Use the relevant evidence already available. Explain any important gaps and why assessment may be needed to understand the provision fully.
Needs and daily impact
Parent observations, pupil views, school reports and professional information showing how difficulties affect education.
Support and its effect
SEN Support plans, APDR, intervention records, adjustments, progress information and the assistance required.
Remaining concerns
Unmet recommendations, ongoing distress, attendance evidence, access difficulties or questions about sufficient provision.
Connect the evidence to the request.
Describe the need, its impact, what support is being provided, what remains difficult and why special educational provision through an EHCP may be required.
Do not treat collecting every possible report as a reason to delay a request that may already be justified.
How does SEN Support fit in?
The graduated approach helps identify needs, agree provision, deliver support and review its impact. Those records can show what has been tried and what provision may still be required.
Keep checking delivery and impact
Ask whether provision matches needs, whether it actually happened and what progress or remaining difficulty the evidence shows.
When SEN Support is not working →Discuss the next stage
Ask the SENCo what school can provide, what further advice may help and whether an EHC needs assessment should be explored.
School support should continue to respond to needs while an assessment request is considered.
Prepare for a SENCo meeting →If you think the assessment test may be met.
Clarify the needs
Summarise the difficulties and their educational impact, using specific examples.
Organise relevant evidence
Bring together the useful school, professional, parent and pupil information.
Request assessment
Explain why your child has or may have SEN and why an EHCP may be needed for provision.
If the local authority refuses to assess
Read the decision and reasons carefully. A refusal can be challenged through the relevant appeal process. Check the notice for appeal rights, mediation information and deadlines, and seek advice promptly.
Explore refusal-to-assess support →EHCP eligibility: your questions answered.
Does a diagnosis automatically qualify a child?
No. The decisions concern special educational needs and whether provision may need, or after assessment needs, to be made through an EHCP.
Can a child qualify without a diagnosis?
Yes. Use evidence of needs and educational impact. A diagnostic label is not a prerequisite.
Is assessment a guarantee of a plan?
No. Assessment establishes further information. The authority then makes the separate decision about whether a plan is necessary.
Who makes the decisions?
The local authority decides whether to assess and whether to issue a plan. Relevant refusals can be appealed to the SEND Tribunal.
What if school says an EHCP is unnecessary?
You can request an EHC needs assessment directly. Include school information where available and explain your reasons and supporting evidence.
Does my child have to fail every intervention first?
No. Evidence of support is useful, but there is no requirement for every possible intervention to fail before an assessment request can be made.
Can attendance or anxiety be relevant?
Yes, where the information helps explain SEN, barriers to education and provision required. Attendance or anxiety alone does not guarantee an EHCP.
Further reading: section 36 assessment test, section 37 plan decision and IPSEA assessment guidance.
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