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Most children and young people’s needs will be met by the help available through their early years setting/school/post 16 years educational placements. Coventry is working closely with schools to support children with additional needs through My Support Plan.
My Support Plan allows professionals to work together effectively to identify a child’s needs and in time to consider whether an EHC Needs Assessment is appropriate for them. It allows professionals to evidence the support that is in place and have regular review periods to see if the support is working. Schools will involve parents closely in this process and invite you to regular review meetings of the support being implemented.
However, for a very small number of children and young people who need a lot of extra help at school, the Statutory Assessment and Review Service may decide that an Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment is required to find out exactly what extra help is needed.
If you would like to talk to someone about your concerns, then please talk to your child's educational setting in the first instance. If you would like further information, then please get in touch with the Statutory Assessment and Review team.
When is an Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment necessary?
An Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment may be recommended for your child or young person if they do not make progress, despite getting appropriate extra help from their educational setting. If your child's educational setting feel that an assessment is necessary, they will discuss with you the reasons for moving to an education, health and care needs assessment. At this point if you feel it would be beneficial, you will be offered a meeting with the school SENCo (Special Education Needs Coordinator) and the link Education, Health and Care Plan Coordinator from the Local Authority to discuss your child’s additional needs before a formal request is made to Coventry Local Authority (LA). This is part of Coventry’s person centred Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment Pathway which sets out how we will work with parents, children and young people to enable co-production with families.
An Education, Health and Care needs assessment is sometimes referred to as formal assessment and is carried out by Coventry LA under the 2014 Children and Families Act and in accordance with the SEND Code of Practice 2014. Your child's progress, your views and the views of your child's educational setting or those who work closely with your child (this may include health professionals) will all be considered by Coventry LA before an assessment goes ahead.
Criteria for EHC Needs Assessment (Statutory assessment)
Most children and young people with SEN or disabilities will have their needs met in their local mainstream early years settings, schools or colleges. Some children and young people may need to have an EHC Needs Assessment in order for the local authority to decide whether it is necessary for it to make provision in accordance with an EHC Plan. Local authorities use criteria to help them make fair and transparent decisions about whether or not to carry out EHC needs assessments. In addition to these criteria, the panel that makes the decision will consider all the abilities, strengths and needs of the child or young person. Although Coventry has criteria this is not applied as a blanket policy and we will consider every request individually based on the information provided.
