Can School Refuse an EHCP Assessment? Your Rights Explained

Your child's school has told you they do not think an EHC Needs Assessment is necessary. The SENCO has said things like "let's try a bit longer at SEN Support first" or "the local authority won't agree to assess at this stage." You are left wondering whether the school can actually block you from getting an assessment.

The direct answer: the school cannot refuse your right to request an EHC Needs Assessment. What the school can do is decline to make the request on your behalf — and what they cannot do is prevent you from making it yourself.

Understanding this distinction is one of the most important things a parent can know.

Who Can Request an EHC Needs Assessment?

Under Section 36(1) of the Children and Families Act 2014, the following parties can request that a local authority conduct an EHC Needs Assessment:

• A parent or carer of a child
• A young person aged 16 to 25
• A school or other educational setting

The parent's right to request is independent. It does not require the school's agreement, cooperation, or endorsement. You do not need the SENCO's blessing. You do not need to wait until the school has exhausted every tier of SEN Support. You do not need a medical diagnosis.

When a school tells you "we don't think it's the right time" or "the local authority won't fund it," they are expressing an opinion. They are not exercising a legal power to prevent your request.

What Happens When a School Says No to Their Request

Schools and other educational settings have their own separate right to trigger a request — and they can decline to use it. A SENCO who believes a child does not yet meet the threshold for an EHCP assessment is entitled to that professional view. The school may genuinely believe SEN Support provision is sufficient, or they may be responding to informal guidance from the local authority about what requests are likely to succeed.

Either way, the school declining to submit their own request does not affect your rights. You submit the request yourself, directly to the local authority's Director of Children's Services or the relevant SEND team.

The Legal Threshold for Assessment

The threshold for an EHC Needs Assessment is deliberately set low. Under Section 36(8) of the Children and Families Act 2014, the local authority must conduct the assessment if it is of the opinion that:

1. The child "has or may have" special educational needs, AND
2. It "may be necessary" for special educational provision to be made in accordance with an EHCP

"May have" and "may be necessary." Not "definitely has" and "definitely requires." The test is about possibility, not certainty. This is a low bar — deliberately so, because the assessment itself is how needs are determined.

A school's view that current provision is sufficient is relevant context, but it cannot override this legal threshold. If the local authority later refuses to assess, that refusal decision is appealable to the First-tier Tribunal (SEND). In 2024, local authorities refused 25.2% of all assessment requests nationally — and the vast majority of those refusals are successfully challenged at Tribunal.

What "School Gatekeeping" Actually Looks Like

Schools cannot legally block a parental request, but they can make the process significantly harder through informal gatekeeping. This typically manifests as:

Discouraging language. "The LA won't agree to this." "Your child is managing in class." "We need to try more interventions first." These statements are designed to discourage you from submitting a request — they have no legal force.

Withholding records. When you submit a request, you can ask the local authority to obtain information from the school. The school is required to provide it within the statutory timescales. If you suspect the school will be unhelpful, gather your own copies of any reports, progress data, intervention records, and correspondence before submitting the request.

Providing a negative professional view to the LA. During the EHC Needs Assessment process, the LA collects advice from various parties — including the school. A SENCO who downplays your child's difficulties in their written advice will harm your case. You can counter this with your own evidence: private assessments, medical reports, school attendance data, and your own written parent views.

Minimizing in meetings. Annual Review meetings and SEN Support review meetings can become arenas in which a school minimizes recorded difficulties to avoid triggering the assessment pathway. Always submit your views in writing, even if they are already discussed verbally in a meeting.

If the school is creating obstacles or the local authority has already refused an assessment request, the UK Special Education Assessment Guide covers the full four-nations statutory process — including how to build a request that is hard to refuse, what evidence to gather before you submit, and what your options are if the LA says no.

How to Submit a Parental Request That Bypasses the School

Your request goes directly to the local authority. It does not pass through the school. To submit an effective request:

Address it to the right person. In England, the request should be addressed to the Director of Children's Services (or their SEND equivalent) at your local authority. Contact the council's SEND team if you are uncertain of the specific address.

State the legal basis clearly. Your letter should say: "I am requesting an Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment under Section 36 of the Children and Families Act 2014." Stating the statutory basis triggers the formal six-week decision window. If the request does not reference the legal basis, there is a risk it is processed informally rather than as a statutory request.

Describe why the threshold is met. Explain, in plain terms, why your child "has or may have" SEN and why it "may be necessary" for provision to be made via an EHCP. You do not need to write a legal argument — a clear description of your child's difficulties, their impact on learning, and why school-based interventions have been insufficient is sufficient.

Attach supporting evidence. Any reports you have — from GPs, paediatricians, SALTs, private EPs, or school-issued progress data — should be included with the initial request. If you have nothing formal yet, a detailed parent statement describing observed difficulties carries weight. The LA must take all submitted evidence into account.

Send it in a traceable way. Email creates a timestamped record. If sending by post, use recorded delivery. The LA has six weeks from receipt of the request to inform you of its decision to assess or not.

What If the Local Authority Also Refuses?

If the LA refuses to assess, you have the right to appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (SEND). Before lodging most appeals, parents must contact a mediation adviser and receive a mediation certificate — even if they choose not to attend mediation. The certificate is required before the Tribunal will accept the appeal.

The appeal landscape is significantly weighted in favour of families. In 2024, 98% of Tribunal hearings across all appeal types found partly or wholly in favour of parents. The most common reason refusals are overturned is that local authorities apply criteria that are stricter than the legal test — for example, requiring that a child have a formal diagnosis, or that the school's resources are exhausted, before agreeing to assess. Neither is a lawful criterion.

Building a strong initial request — so that the LA agrees to assess without requiring a Tribunal — remains the most efficient path. That means submitting clear evidence of need, referencing the correct legal provisions, and not waiting for the school to take the lead.

What If My Child Is in Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland?

The Children and Families Act 2014 applies only in England. The parental right to request a statutory assessment exists across all four nations, but the mechanisms differ:

• Wales: Parents can request that the school or local authority determine whether their child has Additional Learning Needs and requires an Individual Development Plan under the ALNET Act 2018
• Scotland: Parents have a statutory right under the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 to request an ASN assessment or Co-ordinated Support Plan
• Northern Ireland: Requests for Statutory Assessment are submitted to the Education Authority (EA) under the Education (Northern Ireland) Order 1996

In all four nations, the parent's right to initiate the statutory process is independent of the school's cooperation. Schools can advise, support, or obstruct — but they cannot block.

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