Requesting an Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment (EHCNA)
Information for parents and carers of children and young people aged 0 to 25 years with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND)
An Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment (EHCNA) is a careful look at what your child might need help with and can only be undertaken if your child has or may have special educational needs (SEN). Lots of people will be asked to think about what your child might need and then they will write reports.
Download a sample letter to request an Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment (EHCNA).
Asking for an Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment
Your request will be sent to the SEND Team. The SEND Team are responsible for coordinating the assessment and they decide whether to issue an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) for your child.
Please send your request for an EHCP Assessment to:
SEND Team
Children Services
Westmorland and Furness Council
4th Floor
Craven House
Michaelson Road
Barrow-in-Furness
Cumbria
LA14 1FD
or email your request to: SEND@westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk
If you need any further advice or support, please contact our Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities Information, Advice and Support (SENDIAS) Service.
How you are involved
We aim to ensure that you and your child are always involved, and your views listened to.
If the EHCNA is agreed, you will be allocated an EHCP Coordinator who will work with you during the assessment period. Your EHCP Coordinator will keep you be informed of progress and will let you know if the process is delayed for any reason.
The EHCNA process will start with you and your EHCP Coordinator holding a Family Conversation. This will help to gain a better understanding of what is going well and not so well.
This is an opportunity to share information about:
- yourself, your child and your family
- the impact your child’s special educational needs have on their daily life
- any barriers that are preventing your child from accessing opportunities within the community
- who is involved in supporting you and your child
- you and your child’s hopes and aspirations for the future
- what outcomes you and your child would like to achieve
You can contact your EHCP Coordinator on: 01229 407 403 or email: SEND@westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk if you would like to talk about the process or if you would like an update.
Your EHCP Coordinator will call you to tell you the outcome of the EHCNA.
What is an EHCP?
An EHCP is a legal document that includes what support your child will get. The support for your child will help them to meet their Special Educational Needs (SEN) across education, health and social care and to achieve positive outcomes. The focus of your child's EHCP is on what is important – what you and they want to achieve now and in the future.