SEN diagnosis and EHCPs: a step-by-step guide
You know your child. You have known for a while that something is making life harder for them than it should be, and you have probably been told to wait and see more than once. This guide covers the two practical things most parents are trying to do at this stage: getting their child properly assessed, and getting the right support in school, including an Education, Health and Care Plan. Both processes are slow and confusing. Neither is as locked as it can feel, and you are allowed to start both today. It focuses on England, with notes for the rest of the UK at the end.
Sound like you?
If you are at the start of this and have no idea which door to knock on first, you are in the right place.
💜You do not need to wait for one thing before starting the other. A diagnosis and an EHCP are separate processes, and you can run them side by side.
Part one: getting a diagnosis
How assessment for autism, ADHD and other needs actually works, and how to stop the wait from swallowing a year of your child's life.
Start writing things down now
Before you see anyone, start a simple log. What happens, when, where, and what it costs your child: the meltdown after school, the lunch not eaten, the friendship that fell apart, the homework that takes three hours. Add their early history too, when they walked, talked, slept, and anything the health visitor noted in the red book. Clinicians need to see that difficulties show up across different settings and have been there for a long time. Concrete examples written at the time carry far more weight than “he struggles a bit” said in a ten-minute appointment.
Ask for a referral, from more than one door
The usual route is your GP, who can refer to a community paediatrician or to CAMHS, depending on your child's age and what your area offers. In many areas the school SENCO can also refer, or has to supply evidence for a neurodevelopmental pathway, so ask both. For under-fives, your health visitor is often the starting point. For speech, language or communication worries, many areas let parents self-refer to NHS speech and language therapy, which is worth checking on your local NHS trust's website. Book a double GP appointment if you can, bring your log, and say clearly: “I would like a referral for an assessment for [autism / ADHD / whatever you suspect].”
Know your options while you wait
NHS waits for autism and ADHD assessments are often a year or more, and in some areas much longer. In England you may have the Right to Choose: if your GP agrees an assessment is needed, you can ask to be referred to a different provider that holds an NHS contract, sometimes with a much shorter wait. Not every provider sees children and not every GP knows about it, so the charity ADHD UK has clear guidance you can take with you. Private assessment is another option if you can afford it, often costing well over a thousand pounds. If you go private, check it follows NICE guidance and involves more than one professional, and ask up front whether your GP will accept it for things like ADHD medication.
Prepare for the assessment itself
Assessments usually involve a detailed conversation with you about development and daily life, questionnaires for you and the school, and time spent observing or talking with your child. Girls, and children who mask, are regularly missed because they hold it together in front of strangers. Say so directly, and bring evidence from home that shows what happens once the effort stops. Write your key points down beforehand, because it is very easy to forget the most important thing when you are nervous. You can ask for the report in writing, and you can ask what the next steps are before you leave the room.
What a diagnosis does, and does not, unlock
A diagnosis can bring real relief and a language your child can use to understand themselves. It can open the door to condition-specific services, medication for ADHD, and support groups. It is also strong evidence for school and for an EHCP. But it is not a legal requirement for support. Schools must respond to needs, not labels, and a child without a diagnosis can still get SEN support and an EHCP. Whatever the outcome, including “does not meet criteria”, the difficulties you logged are still real and still evidence.
You do not need a label to ask for help. You need evidence of need, and you have been collecting it for years.
Part two: requesting an EHCP
The process from first letter to final plan, the deadlines the council has to meet, and what to do when the answer is no.
Check what school is already doing
Ask the SENCO, in writing, whether your child is on the SEN register and what support is in place, and ask to see any support plan. This is not a hoop you must jump through first. It is useful because it shows what has been tried and what difference it has made. If support is in place and your child is still struggling, that is evidence the school cannot meet their needs from its own resources, which is exactly what an EHCP is for.
Send the request yourself
You can ask your local authority for an EHC needs assessment directly. You do not need the school's agreement, a diagnosis, or anyone's permission. Email the council's SEND team and say you are requesting an EHC needs assessment under section 36 of the Children and Families Act 2014. Include your child's name, date of birth and school, a short summary of their difficulties and the impact on their learning and wellbeing, and attach whatever evidence you have: your log, school reports, and any professional reports. IPSEA publishes a free model letter you can adapt. Keep a copy and note the date you sent it, because the clock starts that day.
The six-week decision, and the legal test
The council has six weeks to tell you whether it will assess. The legal test is lower than many councils imply: they must assess if your child has or may have special educational needs, and may need provision through an EHCP. It is not about whether they are the most severe case, or whether they are behind academically. If they agree, the council gathers advice from school, an educational psychologist, health, social care where relevant, and from you. Write your own parental views properly, and include your child's views in whatever way works for them, a drawing or a list of likes and worries counts.
Read the draft plan like it is a contract
If the council decides to issue a plan, you receive a draft, usually around week sixteen, and you have fifteen days to comment and name the school you want. Focus hardest on section B, your child's needs, and section F, the provision. Every need in B should have matching provision in F, and F should be specific and quantified: how many hours, how often, delivered by whom. Phrases like “access to” or “opportunities for” are not enforceable, so ask for them to be replaced. The final plan should be issued within twenty weeks of your original request.
If they say no, challenge it
A refusal to assess, a refusal to issue a plan, and a plan you disagree with can all be appealed to the SEND Tribunal. It is free, you can represent yourself, and most appeals that reach a decision go the family's way. You usually have two months from the date of the decision letter to appeal, and before appealing you normally need to contact a mediation adviser to get a certificate, even if you choose not to mediate. Do not let the deadline slip while you decide. Call IPSEA or your local SENDIASS the week the letter arrives.
🧰Your diagnosis and EHCP tool kit
✨Try this: get both processes moving this week
You do not have to do all of this at once. Pick the first two, and the rest will follow:
- Start a log in your phone's notes or a notebook. One line a day about what was hard and what it cost your child.
- Book a GP appointment and ask for a referral for an assessment. Ask the SENCO whether they can refer too.
- Email the SENCO asking what SEN support your child currently gets and whether there is a written plan.
- Download IPSEA's model letter for requesting an EHC needs assessment and fill in what you already know.
- Put the date you send it in your calendar, plus the six-week and twenty-week deadlines.
Going deeper: timelines, words and the rest of the UK
These processes are designed around deadlines and written evidence. Knowing both is most of the advantage.
The EHCP timeline at a glance
Week 0: you send your request. Week 6: the council must tell you whether it will assess. Weeks 6 to 16: reports are gathered from school, the educational psychologist, health, social care and you. Week 16: the council decides whether to issue a plan and sends you a draft. Fifteen days to comment and name a school. Week 20: the final plan should be issued. Plans must then be reviewed at least every twelve months.
Delays are common. When a deadline is coming up, a short email stating the date and asking the council to confirm it will be met is more effective than a general request for an update. If deadlines are missed, SENDIASS or IPSEA can explain your options, including a formal complaint.
The words worth knowing
Three things parents are told that are not accurate
If you live in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland
The EHCP process described here applies in England. Wales uses the additional learning needs (ALN) system, where support is set out in an Individual Development Plan, usually starting with the school's ALN coordinator. Scotland uses additional support for learning, with a co-ordinated support plan for children with the most complex needs. Northern Ireland uses statutory assessment and statements of special educational needs, run by the Education Authority. Diagnostic routes through your GP are broadly similar, but Right to Choose applies in England only. For Wales, SNAP Cymru gives free advice. For Scotland, Enquire does the same. For Northern Ireland, SENAC can help.
Why this matters
Many families lose years waiting. They wait for a diagnosis before asking school for help, then wait for school before asking the council, then accept a first refusal because it sounds final. Every one of those waits is optional. Starting the diagnosis and the EHCP request at the same time, keeping a written record, and knowing the deadlines puts the time back on your child's side. You are not being pushy. You are asking for what the law already says your child is entitled to. For the longer road after this, including the exhaustion, see SEN parenting: fighting for your child and surviving the fight.
Understand it
Diagnosis and educational support run on separate tracks in the UK. Health services decide on a diagnosis, while the local authority decides on an EHCP based on your child's needs. Knowing that they are separate means one slow process does not have to hold up the other.
You might also notice:
- You suspect autism, ADHD, dyslexia or something you cannot name, and nobody has taken it seriously yet.
- School says your child is “fine in class”, but home is a very different story.
- A gentle place to start: Start writing things down now.
- Another thing worth trying: Send the request yourself.
In real life
You might be told the assessment waiting list is two years long and feel like there is nothing to do but wait. In that same week you could send an EHC needs assessment request, and have a council decision within six weeks.
Other ways this can show up:
- You have been told the waiting list is years long, and you do not know what to do in the meantime.
- Someone mentioned an EHCP and you nodded, then went home and searched what it meant.
- One small thing to try: Know your options while you wait.
- You might also try: Read the draft plan like it is a contract.