How to access and use the Citizen Portal
The Citizen Portal is a secure online service for parents, carers and young people involved in the Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) process. It allows you to share information and view documents online.
Register and/or sign in to the Citizen Portal
Who can use the Citizen Portal
The portal can be used by:
- parents and carers
- young people aged 16 and over
What you can do in the Citizen Portal
You can use the portal to:
- track the progress of an Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment (EHCNA)
- complete Section A of an EHCP
- view EHCP documents
- view annual review documents
If you prefer, you can send your views and your child's views directly to your SEND Officer.
Register for the Citizen Portal
If you already use the Citizen Portal for school admissions or childcare applications, you do not need to create a new account. Use your existing login details.
To register, complete the online registration form.
You will need:
- an email address
- a password with at least 10 characters
- at least one uppercase letter
- at least one lowercase letter
- at least one number
- at least one special character, such as !, *, ? or #
You can provide up to 3 telephone numbers, although only one daytime contact number is required.
Confirm your email address
After registering, you will receive an email from donotreply@cumbria.gov.uk.
Select the link in the email to confirm your email address and activate your account.
Your email address will become your username.
Sign in securely
When you sign in for the first time, you will be asked to set up two-factor authentication.
This means you will need:
- your password
- a security code sent to your email address
A new security code will be sent each time you sign in.
There's a walk-through video which will help you navigate your way around the system.
Access your child's information
The first time you access information about your child, you will need to complete a request authentication form. This helps us make sure only authorised people can view a child's records.
You only need to do this once.
Information you can view
The information available in the Citizen Portal depends on where your child is in the SEND process.
For a new assessment, you can view information about the assessment process and any Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) that is issued.
If your child already has an EHCP, you can view their current plan and annual review documents.
Access to information
The SEND service manages access to information held in the Citizen Portal.
Parents, carers and young people must be authenticated before they can access information. This helps ensure that personal information is only viewed by authorised people.
Existing Citizen Portal accounts
If you already use the Citizen Portal for another council service, you do not need to create a new account.
The SEND section will appear within your existing account when it becomes available to you.
Adding more than one child
You can use the same Citizen Portal account to access information for more than one child.
Additional children can be added to your account through the SEND section of the portal.
Keeping information secure
The Citizen Portal uses two-factor authentication to help protect your information.
When you sign in, you will need your password and a unique security code sent to your email address. A new code is generated each time you log in.
This provides an additional layer of security for you and your child's information.
Contact the SEND team
If you have problems registering or accessing the Citizen Portal, contact the SEND team.
Email: SEND@westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk
Telephone: 01229 407 403