During an EHC needs assessment, is there any requirement for the experts to meet the child/young person?

August 4, 2022

The SEND Code of Practice: 0 – 25 years states that advice prepared should be clear, accessible and specific. Experts should provide advice about outcomes which are relevant for the child or young person’s age and phase of education and strategies to achieve them. The LA may provide guidance for experts as to how they should structure and format their advice. The Code of Practice also states that professionals should limit their advice to their own area of expertise and can comment on the amount of provision they consider a child or young person requires. Advice requested by the LA for an EHC needs assessment should be provided within 6 weeks, or less, wherever possible.

Each expert will need to complete their work taking into account the requirements of their professional body. Whilst there is no explicit requirement in the Code of Practice for experts to meet the child or young person when preparing a report, in reality, most professionals prefer to meet the child/young person in order to carry out an assessment. Some assessments can be carried out remotely, via video link, if it is considered appropriate taking into account the child or young person’s particular difficulties and age. If it is not possible to assess a child or young person experts may ask to carry out an observation or may prepare their report based on consideration of previous reports, discussions with professionals involved with the child or young person and the parents.

Contact us

At Tayntons we can advise you on the best course of action if you are having difficulties with the local authority over your child’s needs.  Our team represents parents of children with a range of SEN.

If you would like to speak to our expert SEN law solicitor, Imelda Brennan, call us on 0800 158 4147, email us at info@tayntons.co.uk  or request a call back and a member of our team will be in touch promptly.