EHCP Evidence Gathering Checklist: What to Collect Before Requesting an Assessment

The most common reason EHCP assessment requests are refused is inadequate evidence. The local authority has a 6-week window to decide whether to assess, and gatekeeping staff are looking for a reason to say no. A request letter that arrives with no attachments, or with only a brief letter from a concerned parent, gives them that reason.

A well-prepared evidence bundle changes the dynamic. It raises the cost of a refusal — because every professional report you submit is a document the LA must address, and a refusal that ignores a credible EP report or CAMHS letter becomes far harder to defend if you appeal.

This checklist covers every category of evidence that strengthens an EHCP assessment request in England.

Category 1: School Records

School reports and tracking data: Request copies of all annual school reports from the past two to three years. Look for any mentions of learning difficulties, social concerns, or attainment gaps. If the school has been tracking your child's progress against national expectations, request this data explicitly.

SEN Support documentation: If the school has been providing SEN Support — even informally — they should have a written record. This may be called a SEND Support Plan, an Individual Support Plan, or similar. Request all versions that have existed. These plans should show the interventions tried, the targets set, and the progress (or lack of it) made over each review cycle. Two or more cycles of targeted intervention with insufficient progress is evidence for EHCP.

Intervention records: Ask the school for records of any specific interventions run with your child: reading programmes, social skills groups, maths catch-up, counselling. Ask for the start date, end date, the baseline assessment taken before the intervention, and the outcome measurement taken after. If no outcomes were measured, note this — it suggests the intervention was not being run with rigour.

Attendance data: If your child has had significant absences related to anxiety, illness linked to their condition, or school refusal, request full attendance data. A pattern of condition-linked absence is relevant evidence of unmet need.

Subject Access Request: You are entitled to request all data the school holds on your child under UK GDPR (a Subject Access Request / SAR). Schools sometimes hold internal notes, emails between staff, or assessments they have not shared with you. A SAR reveals whether the school is aware of more than they have communicated.

Category 2: Medical Evidence

GP letters: If your GP has referred your child to CAMHS, a community paediatrician, or a specialist service, request a copy of the referral letter. The referral letter documents the GP's clinical concern and provides corroborating professional evidence.

Diagnosis letters: If your child has a clinical diagnosis — autism, ADHD, dyslexia, DCD, anxiety disorder, or any health condition affecting their ability to learn — include the formal diagnosis letter from the issuing clinician. Include all versions if the diagnosis has been updated.

Paediatric reports: If a community paediatrician or specialist paediatrician has assessed your child, request a copy of their report. Paediatric reports that document neurodevelopmental concerns, developmental delays, or health conditions affecting education are highly relevant.

CAMHS correspondence: Any letters from CAMHS — including referral acknowledgements, assessment letters, waiting list confirmations, or clinic letters — should be included. Even a letter confirming your child is on a waiting list for autism or ADHD assessment signals that clinical concerns exist.

Category 3: Therapeutic and Professional Reports

Private EP assessments: If you have commissioned a private Educational Psychologist assessment, include the full report. Ensure the EP is HCPC-registered. Ensure the recommendations are specific and quantified.

SALT reports: Any speech and language therapy assessments — whether NHS or private — are relevant if communication needs are part of the picture. Include standardised test scores and the therapist's recommendations.

OT reports: Occupational therapy reports covering fine motor skills, sensory processing, or handwriting difficulties.

CAMHS clinical reports: Any completed CAMHS assessment reports, not just waiting list correspondence.

Category 4: Your Parental Evidence

Your written parental submission is a legally required component of the EHC Needs Assessment and should accompany the initial request. It does not need to be perfect or polished. It needs to be specific.

Include:

• A description of your child's needs across different settings (home, community, school)
• Specific examples with dates of incidents that illustrate those needs
• The history of seeking support from the school and what responses you received
• The impact on your child of their unmet needs: emotional health, sleep, family relationships, self-esteem
• Your views on what provision your child needs and why the school's current support is insufficient

Parental evidence is frequently the most powerful document in the bundle because it is specific, contemporary, and human. A parent who writes: "On 14 November, my daughter refused to get out of the car for the third time that month and said she felt sick every morning before school because she doesn't understand what the teacher is saying" is more persuasive than a school report that says "social communication difficulties noted."

Building a comprehensive evidence bundle takes time but dramatically increases your chances of a positive response. The UK Assessment & Evaluation Guide includes a complete evidence-gathering framework and template letters for requesting documents from schools under Subject Access Request provisions.

Category 5: Standardised Comparison Data

If your child's school reports include age-equivalent or standardised data — reading ages, maths standardised scores, or teacher assessments referenced against age-related expectations — include these. A reading age 2–3 years below chronological age is quantified evidence of unmet need.

If the school's reports only use vague qualitative descriptions ("making some progress," "still developing"), request explicit standardised data. The school has collected this data (all maintained schools track pupil progress against national expectations) and is obligated to share it with you.

How to Submit Your Evidence

Do not submit an enormous disorganised folder. Organise your evidence with a cover sheet listing every document included, with a one-line description of each. Attach this to your request letter. This tells the LA officer reading the file that you have come prepared, that you know what evidence looks like, and that a refusal will need to address every document on that list.

Submit by recorded delivery to have proof of receipt, or by email to a named caseworker with a read receipt requested. Keep copies of everything.

After Submission

The local authority has 6 weeks from receipt of your request to decide whether to assess. Within those 6 weeks, they may contact the school for their views, and may request additional information from you. Respond promptly to any requests for information.

If they refuse to assess, the reasons must be given in writing. Compare those reasons against your evidence bundle — if the refusal ignores or mischaracterises your evidence, that is grounds for an appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (SEND). The appeal must be submitted within 2 months of receiving your mediation certificate.

In England in 2024, local authorities refused 25.2% of all assessment requests nationally. If you are refused, you are not alone — and appealing this refusal is how 98% of parents who reach tribunal succeed.

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