Investigation by the BBC shows families waiting too long for EHC plans

An investigation by the BBC has found that thousands of children with SEN have been waiting an unacceptable amount of time for their EHC plans to be issued. Data from the government released in June 2022 showed that only just under 60% of plans were issued within the 20 week timescale meaning 2 in every 5 plans were late. The BBC requested information from 152 councils in England about the time it took to issue EHCPs, with 65 councils responding with data for the last four academic years. Over that period, 26,505 plans took longer than 20 weeks and of those 6,000 were in the past year.

The most shocking details are those around waits experienced for individuals to receive their finalised EHC plan (Source: BBC Research):

• Suffolk: 1,023 days
• Tower Hamlets: 1,014 days
• Isle of Wight: 1,005 days
• West Sussex: 973 days
• Liverpool: 945 days
• Dorset: 924 days
• Haringey: 915 days
• Havering: 898 days
• Southend-on-Sea: 871 days
• Worcestershire: 870 days

Ofsted’s annual report highlights that half of local authorities have “significant weaknesses” in their SEND provision and that children’s education post-pandemic is being held back by staff shortages. Ofsted chief inspector Amanda Spielman told the BBC these delays were her "most acute concern".

The delays within the system were one of the driving factors behind the recent consultation on EHCP timelines and the Green Paper SEND Review. Gillian Keegan has been on BBC news to state that these will be part of the Improvement Plan due to be issued early next year.