Six editable templates for parents preparing for an EHC needs assessment in England. Sixty-plus pages of structure for the moments the system gives you a blank page and a short deadline.
"The letters are how you ask. This is what you do before, during, and after. The two weeks of trying to remember what Tuesday actually looked like. The slow realisation that ‘access to speech and language therapy’ in the draft EHCP meant nothing in practice. The moment I sat down to write the parent views statement and didn't know where to start."
The EHCP process is the part of the SEN system that most often goes badly for parents, not because the system is hostile, but because the work that determines whether it goes well happens before you ever submit a formal request. The fortnight of noticing what your day looks like. The pile of professional reports you can't keep straight. The parent views statement the Local Authority asks for with three weeks' notice and no template.
This pack is the version of that work I wish I'd had when I was doing it for the first time. Six templates that walk you through the whole assessment process from preparation to draft review, including the document I most wish someone had handed me at the start.
Fourteen dated pages with structured prompts: morning routine, school drop-off, the school day, after school, evening, sleep, what worked, what was hard. Fill in one a day for a fortnight. By the end you have a pattern to point to, not a single bad day that could be dismissed.
A running log of every report, email, professional letter, and contact you accumulate during the EHCP process. Two formats: a quick portrait layout for handwriting and a wider landscape one for more detail. Stops you losing track when there are seventeen PDFs on your laptop and no idea which one says what.
The formal contribution the Local Authority asks for during the assessment, structured to map directly onto the sections of an EHCP. Prompts for Section A (your aspirations and your child's voice), Section B (the four areas of need), Section E (outcomes, with worked examples of weak versus strong wording), Section F (provision), and Section I (placement).
Four side-by-side worked examples showing common vague provision rewritten as specific and quantified language a Local Authority can be held to. Speech and language therapy, sensory and OT, teaching assistant support, emotional regulation. Plus the five tests every line of Section F should pass, and a list of the weasel words to push back on.
You have at least fifteen days from receiving the draft to comment. Most parents read it once, feel relieved it exists, and miss the vague provision. This checkbox-style checklist walks you through every section (A to K) and flags the internal consistency checks that catch the things people miss.
For SEN reviews, EHCP draft meetings, annual reviews, and any school meeting you've called or been called to. Before / during / after structure. Prompts for what you want to raise, what you want to come away with, the questions you want to ask, and the things you find hard to say out loud.
Section F is the legally enforceable heart of an EHCP. It's the part the school and the Local Authority must deliver. Vague Section F language is the single most common reason a plan looks good on paper but delivers nothing in practice, and the single biggest reason parents end up at tribunal.
The Section F Examples document shows four common vague phrases ("access to speech and language therapy", "1:1 support", "pastoral support and a quiet space when needed") rewritten as specific, quantified provision the Local Authority can be held to. Type of provision. Who delivers it. How often. For how long. Where. How reviewed. Plus the words to push back on.
It's the document I most wish someone had handed me at the start of the process.
These are preparation templates, not legal advice. The SEND system is complex and varies between Local Authorities. For complex cases (tribunal appeals, refusals to assess, disputes about placement), please contact IPSEA or your local SENDIASS. Both are free, both have specialist knowledge I don't, and both are the right next step when the templates take you as far as they can.
Six templates, plus printable PDF versions, for £6.99.
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