Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will commit to reviewing the Education and Health Care Plan to permit children with special educational needs and disabilities to apply for additional support via a fast track process.

Schools, colleges, and other institutions are required to identify and address the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) of the pupils they support, and to use their best endeavours to make sure that a child or young person who has SEND gets the support they need

Where a child or young person has a greater need, parents, or the education provider, can ask the local authority to carry out an education, health and care (EHC) needs assessment, which gives additional support on top of what is already being supplied.

The current system includes a time limit of 20 weeks for completion of an EHC plan, which was set to reflect the changed process of assessment, as well as responding to the need to ensure a smoother and swifter system for determining special educational provision for children and young people. Local authorities and health bodies currently have the flexibility to provide additional support from their high needs’ budgets, regardless of whether a child or young person has an EHC plan.

The SEND review will consider all elements of the SEND system, including the effectiveness of EHC plans, and​ will publish as a green paper for full public consultation in the first three months of 2022.