Commenting on government figures on the timeliness of education, health and care plan (EHCP) assessments, Nigel Minns, Chair of the ADCS Health, Care and Additional Needs Policy Committee, said:

“The number of requests to assess children for an education, health and care plan (EHCP) has risen at a huge rate since the implementation of the 2014 legislation. At the same time the SEND system hasn’t had the necessary level of investment in the workforce that it needs from the government to cope with the persistently higher demand we are experiencing. Local authorities report a substantial and worsening shortage in the number of qualified Educational Psychologists, for example, which is impacting on our ability to reduce delay for far too many children and their families. The health service is facing its own challenges too, EHCP assessments are a complex undertaking not simply an administrative task.”

ENDS