EHCP for Global Developmental Delay

Updated 4 July 2026 · Legal citations verified against legislation.gov.uk

"Global developmental delay" is often the first phrase a paediatrician writes when a young child is developing more slowly than expected across more than one area. It is honest language for an uncertain picture: something is different, the cause may not be known and the future is unwritten. Many parents assume that this uncertainty rules out an EHC plan, that they must first wait for a "proper" diagnosis. The opposite is true. The legal test for an EHC needs assessment was drafted for children exactly like yours, and waiting is the one move that helps nobody.

How GDD presents day to day

Because the delay is global, it rarely hides in one lesson or one setting. At nursery or school, staff may describe a child who needs an adult alongside them to attempt what others do independently: following a two-step instruction, holding a pencil or scissors, joining pretend play, managing the toilet, sitting through carpet time. Words come later and fewer. Routines that other children absorb after a week still need walking through in the summer term. The gap between your child and the class does not close with time; on many measures it widens quietly, because typically developing children accelerate.

At home the same picture wears different clothes. Dressing, feeding and sleep may all need more adult scaffolding than your child's age suggests. New environments and changes of plan can overwhelm. You find yourself translating for your child at family gatherings, breaking every task into smaller pieces than the instructions on the box and celebrating milestones on your child's calendar rather than the health visitor's. Write these things down with dates: they are evidence, not anecdotes.

Which areas of the Code of Practice apply? Often several

The SEND Code of Practice describes four broad areas of need: communication and interaction, cognition and learning, social, emotional and mental health, and sensory and/or physical. GDD's signature is that it usually touches more than one. Learning new concepts sits in cognition and learning; late or limited speech sits in communication and interaction; motor delays sit in sensory and/or physical. In your request, map your child's profile onto each relevant area explicitly. Multi-area need is a strong signal that coordinated, planned provision may be required, which is precisely what an EHC plan exists to deliver.

Why the "may have" threshold fits GDD perfectly

Look again at the wording of section 36(8). The council must assess where the child "has or may have" special educational needs and where it "may be necessary" for provision to be made through a plan. Parliament chose the language of possibility, and GDD is a possibility-shaped need: the whole label says "this child's development may follow a different path, watch carefully". A council that demands diagnostic certainty before assessing has inverted the statute. Uncertainty is not a reason to refuse an assessment; on this test, uncertainty is a reason to carry one out. If anyone tells you to come back when the picture is clearer, they are describing their preference, not the law. Our guide to EHC assessments without a diagnosis covers this ground in more depth.

Milestone evidence: the strongest card a young family holds

For children under compulsory school age, the SEND Code of Practice (paragraph 9.14) points councils towards evidence of development, alongside the familiar heads of attainment and progress, the nature and extent of the need, action already taken and whether progress relies on extra intervention. In practice, build your bundle from:

• Health visitor development reviews and the red book, showing when each milestone arrived
• Paediatrician letters, especially any that use the words "global developmental delay" and describe which domains are affected
• Speech and language, occupational therapy and physiotherapy reports, with targets and frequency of input
• Portage or early years SEN service notes
• Nursery or school observations comparing what your child can do independently with what needs one-to-one adult support
• Your dated home diary: skills emerging late, tasks needing full prompting, examples of the gap in daily life

Regulation 7(b) of the SEND Regulations 2014 requires the council to consider information you provide, including anything private, so the bundle you assemble cannot lawfully be ignored.

Regulation 6(1): pulling the professional picture together

GDD cases live and die on joined-up advice, because no single professional sees the whole delay. During the assessment the council must seek advice from you, the setting, an educational psychologist and health and social care, and from any person you reasonably request (regulation 6(1)). Reasonable requests for a child with GDD typically include:

• The community paediatrician coordinating your child's care
• A speech and language therapist
• An occupational therapist and, where motor skills are affected, a physiotherapist
• Portage or the area SEN early years team
• Genetics or neurology, where investigations are ongoing and reports exist

Name them individually in the request letter. "Please consult the professionals involved" is easy to skim past; a list of names with services attached is a legal obligation the council must act on.

Brush-offs that should not stop you

Parents of children with GDD tend to hear soft refusals that sound kind and cost a year. "Let's give him time to catch up" has no anchor in section 36(8), which asks about the present possibility of SEN, not a hoped-for future. "We cannot assess without a formal diagnosis" is wrong in law; the test says "may have" precisely so that undiagnosed children are covered. "He needs to be two years behind first" and "we do not assess children still under the paediatrician" are the kind of across-the-board rules that make decisions unlawful, as we explain in our guide to blanket policies. Whatever the reason given, the decision must arrive within 6 weeks and a refusal must include your appeal rights (regulations 5(1) and 5(3)). Appeals against refusal to assess go in on form SEND35A and are normally decided on the papers.

Frequently asked questions