Who Can Request an EHC Needs Assessment?

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

One of the most persistent myths in the SEND world is that only schools can "put a child forward" for an EHC needs assessment. It leaves parents waiting on someone else's timetable for something the law lets them do themselves. Section 36(1) of the Children and Families Act 2014 names exactly who can make a request, and parents are on that list in their own right. Here is who can ask, what each route means in practice and why the differences matter less than most people think.

The three routes in section 36(1)

Section 36(1) of the Children and Families Act 2014 provides that a request for an EHC needs assessment may be made by:

• the child's parent
• a young person over 16, on their own behalf
• a person acting on behalf of a school or post-16 institution

These are three separate doors into the same room. Whichever one the request comes through, the council must apply the same legal test and the same statutory deadlines. There is no premium route and no second-class route. The DfE's January 2026 release shows 110,700 new plans were issued during 2025, 13.3% up on 2024. The system is slow and stretched, but plans are being issued at scale and a well-made request is how families join that number.

Route one: the child's parent

Parents have a free-standing right to request an assessment. You do not need the school's agreement, a professional's referral or anyone's permission. You write to the local authority's SEN team, the request lands and the council must notify you of its decision as soon as practicable and in any event within 6 weeks (regulation 5(1) of the SEND Regulations 2014). Our step-by-step guide to requesting an assessment covers the whole process from letter to decision.

Route two: a young person over 16

From age 16 a young person can make the request themselves under section 36(1). The request and the council's response then belong to them, which matters for sixth formers and college students who want ownership of the process. Parents can still do the heavy lifting behind the scenes: gathering evidence, drafting views and helping the young person put their own wishes into words. Nothing about this route reduces the support a family can give; it simply changes whose name is on the letter. If a young person finds forms and letters hard, that is not a barrier either: the request itself can be short and the evidence can come from everyone around them. The point of the route is control, not paperwork stamina.

Route three: a person acting on behalf of a school or post-16 institution

The third route is a request made by a person acting on behalf of the school or college, in practice usually the SENCO or the head teacher. Schools often hold strong evidence: attainment data, intervention records and professional observations across years. When a school is willing to apply and applies promptly, that is genuinely helpful. But the wording matters: this route belongs to the institution, not to you, and its existence takes nothing away from yours. A school deciding not to apply, or not yet, has no legal effect on a parent's right to apply today.

Parent and school requests have the same legal force

Whoever makes the request, the council must ask the same question, the one in section 36(8): does the child have or may the child have special educational needs, and may it be necessary for special educational provision to be made through an EHC plan? The same 6 week decision deadline applies, the same assessment duties follow and the same 20 week outer limit governs any final plan (regulation 13). What differs between a strong request and a weak one is the evidence enclosed, not the sender. A parental request built around the legal test, attendance figures, school records and detailed parental views competes on equal terms. If you are unsure what to enclose, start with the attendance printout, anything in writing from the SENCO and your own dated notes. Our guide to what to include in the request letter shows how to build the rest.

Why waiting for the school is usually a mistake

Schools have real constraints: stretched staff, competing demands and sometimes local advice to exhaust more rounds of SEN support first. None of that changes your position, but it does explain why "we will apply next term" can quietly become next year. Meanwhile demand keeps climbing. Local authorities received 162,700 requests for assessment during 2025, 5.3% more than in 2024, and 718,800 children and young people in England now have an EHC plan, the largest annual rise since 2014 (Department for Education, January 2026 release). Every term spent waiting for someone else to write a letter is a term without the assessment your child may need.

Waiting also buys nothing legally. The school cannot veto your request and the council cannot refuse to consider it because the school has not applied. You can also do both: tell the school you are applying yourself and invite it to send its evidence to the council in support. Many schools are relieved when a parent takes the pen. If the school has said no outright, our guide on what to do when school will not apply explains how to move forward without them and how to keep the relationship workable while you do.

The 6 month rule

There is one timing restriction to know about. Under section 36(6) of the Children and Families Act 2014, if an EHC needs assessment has taken place within the last 6 months, the council need not consider a new request until 6 months have passed since that assessment. Note what the rule covers: an assessment that actually took place. If your earlier request was refused at the decision stage, no assessment happened, so section 36(6) does not stop you from appealing that refusal or from applying again with stronger evidence. If the rule does apply to you, use the waiting time well: gather attendance data, chase referral letters and draft parental views so the new request lands complete on the day the 6 months are up.

Frequently asked questions