EHCP Timeline Explained (UK Guide for Parents)

The EHCP process has a clear legal timeline. From the moment you submit your request to the day the final plan is issued, the law says it should take no more than 20 weeks. That is roughly five months.

In reality, many families wait far longer. Six months. Nine months. Over a year. Some parents report waiting two years or more for a plan to be finalised. These delays are not just inconvenient. They are unlawful. And every week of delay is a week your child goes without the support they are entitled to.

This guide explains the legal timeline, where delays typically occur, why local authorities miss deadlines, and what you can do to hold them to account.

The Legal EHCP Timeline

The Children and Families Act 2014 and the SEND Code of Practice set out clear timescales for each stage of the EHCP process. These are legal deadlines, not guidelines. Local authorities are required to meet them.

These deadlines exist for a reason. Children with special educational needs cannot wait indefinitely for support. The 20-week timeline was designed to ensure that once a family identifies a need, the system responds within a reasonable timeframe. Unfortunately, many councils treat these deadlines as aspirational rather than mandatory.

Where Delays Actually Happen

Delays can occur at every stage of the process, but some stages are more problematic than others.

The initial decision (weeks 0-6). Some councils take longer than six weeks to decide whether to assess. They may claim they are waiting for information from the school, or that the panel has not yet met. None of these are valid reasons for exceeding the six-week deadline. The clock runs from the date your request was received, regardless of whether the council has gathered all the information it wants.

The assessment phase (weeks 6-16). This is where the most significant delays tend to occur. The council needs to commission reports from educational psychologists, speech and language therapists, and other professionals. Many areas have severe shortages of these specialists, particularly educational psychologists. Waiting lists for assessments can stretch to months, and the council may use this as a reason for delay. Again, these delays are the council's responsibility to manage within the legal timeframe, not yours.

The draft plan (week 16). Even after all assessments are complete, some councils are slow to produce the draft plan. The plan may sit with a caseworker for weeks before being sent to the family. In some cases, the draft is issued so late that the 20-week deadline has already been breached before the family even sees it.

The final plan (week 20). After you receive the draft, there should be a period for you to comment and for the council to finalise the plan. But if earlier stages have already overrun, the final plan is often delayed further. Some families receive their final plan months after the 20-week deadline has passed.

Why Local Authorities Delay

Understanding why councils miss deadlines helps you understand how to respond. The reasons are rarely about your individual case. They are systemic.

Limited resources. Local authorities across England are under severe financial pressure. SEND budgets have been stretched thin, and many councils do not have enough staff to process the volume of EHCP requests they receive. Educational psychologist shortages are particularly acute, with some areas reporting waiting times of several months just for an initial assessment.

Backlogs. The number of EHCP requests has risen significantly in recent years. Many councils have accumulated large backlogs of cases at various stages of the process. New requests join the back of the queue, and timelines slip further with each passing month.

Financial pressure. Every EHCP that is issued commits the local authority to funding the provision it describes. For a child with complex needs, this can amount to tens of thousands of pounds per year. Some councils delay the process because every week of delay is a week they do not have to fund the support. This is not speculation. It has been identified by the Local Government Ombudsman in multiple investigations.

Delay as strategy. In some cases, delay becomes a deliberate strategy. If a family gives up waiting and stops pursuing the case, the council avoids the cost of the assessment and the plan entirely. This is cynical, but it happens. The families who persist, who chase, who escalate, are the ones who get results.

What You Can Do When Deadlines Are Missed

If your local authority has missed a legal deadline, you are not powerless. There are clear steps you can take to hold them accountable and push the process forward.

Chase formally and in writing. Every communication should be in writing, whether by email or letter. State clearly which deadline has been missed, reference the specific legal requirement (for example, "the 6-week decision deadline under Section 36(8) of the Children and Families Act 2014"), and ask for an immediate response with a clear date by which the action will be completed. Keep copies of everything.

Escalate your complaint. If the council does not respond to your initial chase, escalate to a formal complaint. Most councils have a two-stage complaints process. Make it clear that the delay is a breach of their statutory duty and that you expect it to be resolved urgently. If the internal complaints process does not resolve the issue, you can escalate to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.

Reference legal timelines explicitly. Councils are more likely to act when they know you understand the law. Quoting specific sections of the Children and Families Act and the SEND Code of Practice signals that you are informed, that you are tracking the process, and that you will not accept unlawful delays quietly.

Prepare for tribunal. If the delay relates to a refusal to assess or a refusal to issue a plan, you can appeal to the SEND Tribunal. The tribunal process itself creates pressure on the council to act, because they know they will have to justify their decisions before an independent panel.

How Tracking Changes the Outcome

Parents who actively track their EHCP case get better outcomes. This is not a vague claim. It is a straightforward observation about how the system works.

When you know exactly where you are in the process, you can respond faster. When a deadline is missed by a day, you can chase immediately rather than waiting weeks before realising something has gone wrong. When you have a clear record of every communication, every missed deadline, and every delay, you have evidence that can be used in complaints, ombudsman investigations, and tribunal appeals.

Tracking also changes the dynamic with your local authority. When a council knows that a parent is monitoring every deadline and following up promptly, they are less likely to let the case drift. Your case moves up the priority list because it is clear that delay will be challenged, not accepted.

Many parents try to track the process manually, using calendars, spreadsheets, or notebooks. This can work, but it requires you to know the deadlines in advance, calculate them correctly, and remember to check regularly. It is easy for things to slip, especially when you are already dealing with the stress of your child's needs and the complexity of the EHCP process.

How EHCP Expert Helps

EHCP Expert was built to solve exactly this problem. When you enter your case details, the tool automatically calculates every legal deadline based on the date of your request. It tracks where you are in the 20-week timeline and flags any deadlines that have been missed or are approaching.

When a deadline is breached, EHCP Expert tells you immediately and suggests the next action to take. It can generate chase letters and formal complaints that reference the specific legal requirements your council has failed to meet. Everything is documented, timestamped, and stored in one place, so you always have a clear record of your case.

The tool also helps you understand what should be happening at each stage. If you are at week 10 and have not heard anything, it tells you what the council should have done by now and what to do about it. If you are approaching week 16 and no draft has appeared, it alerts you and prepares the right letter.

The EHCP timeline is there to protect your child. EHCP Expert helps you enforce it.