20 week timescale

The clock starts when the local authority Local authority Your local council. In England, Wales and Scotland, this is the body you ask to assess what extra help your child needs. Read the full definition of Local authority receives a request for an EHC needs assessment Request for an EHC needs assessment A letter you can send your local council asking it to assess your child's education needs. You do not need the school's permission, and the council must decide within six weeks. Read the full definition of Request for an EHC needs assessment , not at any later point. From that day, the final plan must normally be issued within 20 weeks.

Inside those 20 weeks sits an earlier deadline: the local authority has 6 weeks to decide whether it will assess at all. So a family should hear something within 6 weeks, and hold a final plan by week 20.

The regulations allow exceptions in limited circumstances, but the 20 weeks is the rule, and it is widely breached in practice. That is exactly why the number is worth knowing: if your case has gone past a deadline, you can chase in writing, quote the timescale, and complain if it slips further. Your local SENDIASS SENDIASS A free advice service for parents in every council area in England. Its advisers are on no one's side, and they help you work out what to do next. Read the full definition of SENDIASS service can help you do that.