Understand your EHC plan
Understand the sections of a plan and prepare questions about its contents.
Read the guide →Free for parents
Resources for SEND parents
Free guides, checklists and practical worksheets to help you find your next step.
All of our resources are free. Create a free account to save letters, record your case stage, and download templates pre-filled with your child’s case details.
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Choose a starting point, or search the full library below. These guides and worksheets are available without signing in.
Ask for an EHC needs assessment →Find guidance on preparing your request.Check the support in an EHC plan →Understand Section F and prepare questions about provision.Get ready for a meeting →Bring your questions, priorities and evidence together.Understand a refusal →Explore the guidance and where to find independent advice.
Practical resources
Save useful pages on this browser without an account. Anyone using this browser can see them; clearing browser data removes them.
17 resources
Request an EHC needs assessment
Guidance and a request template to help you explain needs and support tried.
Read the guide →Check Section F: educational provision
Read about the support recorded in Section F and points to check.
Read the guide →Annual review checklist
Prepare for a review, organise contributions and follow up afterwards.
Read the guide →Understand and challenge an assessment refusal
Explore next steps after a refusal and sources of independent advice.
Read the guide →SEND Tribunal guide
An introduction to the appeal process and preparing for a hearing.
Read the guide →Moving school or preparing for a transition
Prepare questions about support when a child or young person moves settings.
Read the guide →Meeting preparation
Organise questions, evidence, your child's views and access needs before a meeting.
Fill in or print worksheet →Observations and support log
Record situations, participation, support tried, what helped and related documents.
Fill in or print worksheet →What matters to me
A flexible young-person voice sheet for writing, drawing, speech or communication aids.
Fill in or print worksheet →Meeting actions tracker
Keep agreed actions, owners, dates, check-ins and unanswered questions together.
Fill in or print worksheet →Plain-English SEND glossary
Search 80 SEND terms and abbreviations, with plain-English explanations.
Read the guide →Your rights as a SEND parent
Key legal rights during the EHCP process and what they mean in practice.
Read the guide →Children in care and SEND
PEPs, EHCPs, who can request what, key contacts and letter templates.
Read the guide →Local authority directory
Find your English council's SEND contact details and Local Offer.
Read the guide →Support directory
Find independent organisations offering information and human advice.
Read the guide →SEND news and policy updates
Current SEND news linked to original publishers.
Read the guide →A little clarity, one step at a time
Find your next step
Choose one useful step. These guides work on screen, with a keyboard or with a screen reader.
Your EHCP journey
You do not need to understand everything at once. Explore the stages, or start with the question that matters to you today.
Feel ready for your meeting
Make room for your child's voice, your questions and a clear record of what happens next.
Before, during and after your meeting
1. Before: prepare together
Bring what matters to your child, using their words, pictures or preferred way of communicating.
2. During: share and ask
Choose your three main questions. Bring a few examples of what helps and what is difficult.
3. After: keep track
Write down agreed actions, who will do them and when you will check progress. Ask for clarification if anything is unclear.
Make your evidence easier to find
Start small. A clear example can be more useful than a large pile of unsorted papers.
Collect
Keep relevant reports, school messages and examples of what is working or difficult. Include your child’s views.
Label
Give each item a clear name and date. Note who wrote it and what question or need it helps explain.
Summarise
Make a short list of your key points and the documents that support them. Keep original copies somewhere safe.
Share only the information needed with the intended recipient. This organiser does not replace any instructions or deadlines from a tribunal.
Practical checklist
Organise your next step
Tick only general tasks. Do not enter names, diagnoses or case details. Progress is stored in this browser tab for this session only and is not sent to us.
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Can't find what you need?
If there's a guide, template or piece of information you wish we had, tell us. Email help@ehcpcompass.co.uk and we'll look into adding it.
Accessible process maps
The EHCP process at a glance
These text-based diagrams stay sharp at every size and can be read by assistive technology. Timescales are the normal statutory limits in England; limited exceptions can apply.
1. The journey
- Notice needsRecord what is difficult and what support has been tried.
- SEN SupportTalk to the setting’s SENCO. A diagnosis is not required for support.
- Request assessmentA parent, young person or education setting can ask the council.
- Six-week decisionThe council decides whether an EHC needs assessment is necessary.
- Assessment and adviceThe council seeks relevant education, health, care and family views.
- Plan decisionThe council decides whether an EHC plan is necessary.
- Draft and representationsIf a draft is issued, there must be at least 15 days to comment.
- Final plan and reviewThe final plan is normally due within 20 weeks and reviewed at least yearly.
Sources: Children and Families Act 2014, section 36 · SEND Regulations 2014.
2. Normal statutory timeline
By week 6
Assessment decision
The council tells you whether it will assess.
By week 16
Plan decision
If it decides not to issue a plan after assessment, it normally notifies you by this point.
By week 20
Final plan
If a plan is needed, the council normally issues the final EHC plan by this point.
The draft consultation period is at least 15 days. Regulations 10 and 13 contain limited exceptions; use the 20-week guide for the sourced detail.
3. Sections A to K
Section B: The needs
What support does your child need?
Section F: The provision
What special educational support will be provided?
Section I: The placement
Which school or type of setting is named?
- A
- Views, interests and aspirations
- B
- Special educational needs
- C
- Health needs related to SEN
- D
- Social care needs related to SEN
- E
- Outcomes
- F
- Special educational provision
- G
- Health provision
- H
- Social care provision
- I
- Placement or type of placement
- J
- Personal budget
- K
- Advice and information gathered
Under section 42 of the Children and Families Act 2014, the council must secure the special educational provision specified in Section F. Specific wording makes that duty easier to understand and enforce. Read the Section F guide.
Further reading
Free official and specialist resources
Start with official law and guidance, then use specialist charities for independent explanations and advice.
Extra help at school: Special Educational Needs
GOV.UK
Official overview of SEN Support, EHC assessments, draft plans and the normal 20-week process.
Open resource →SEND Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years
Department for Education and Department of Health
Statutory guidance for organisations working with children and young people with SEND in England.
Open resource →Appeal an education, health and care decision
HM Courts & Tribunals Service
Official routes, deadlines and forms for parents considering a SEND Tribunal appeal.
Open resource →IPSEA resources
IPSEA
Independent SEND legal information and model letters. It is not statutory guidance.
Open resource →Cerebra guides
Cerebra
Free guides for families of children with brain conditions, including education, sleep and benefits topics.
Open resource →