EHCP Request Letter Wording: A Practical Wording Bank for Parents

Parents often search for EHCP request letter wording because they want to make sure their request for an Education, Health and Care Plan assessment is taken seriously from the start.

Many requests are rejected at the first stage not because the child does not have needs, but because the evidence is unclear, scattered or poorly explained. Local authorities assess requests based on the information presented. If the wording does not clearly link needs to evidence and educational impact, the request may be refused before a professional has even reviewed the child's situation in any depth.

This guide explains how to structure an EHCP request, provides a practical wording bank you can use when describing your child's needs, and explains what decision panels are actually looking for when they read an assessment request.

What Is an EHCP Request Letter and Why Does the Wording Matter?

An EHCP request letter asks the local authority to carry out an Education, Health and Care needs assessment. The legal right to request that assessment comes from Section 36 of the Children and Families Act 2014, which places duties on local authorities to identify and assess children who may require special educational provision through an EHCP.

The statutory framework for how requests are considered is set out in the SEND Code of Practice 2015. Panels are required to follow this guidance when deciding whether to proceed to assessment, which means understanding what the Code of Practice asks them to consider helps you frame your request more effectively.

When councils review a request, they are asking three core questions: are the child's needs clearly described, is there evidence that the support already in place is not sufficient, and is specialist provision potentially required beyond what a school can normally provide from its own resources? A request that addresses all three clearly is far harder to refuse than one that describes difficulty in general terms.

BCP Council explains how parents can request an Education, Health and Care needs assessment through its SEND services pages, which sets out the local process and what happens after a request is received.

From experience: local authorities do say no at the first stage, sometimes more than once. It is not uncommon for families to have an initial request refused even when the child’s needs are genuine and well-documented. In a number of cases the same request, resubmitted with clearer wording and more structured evidence, has been taken forward where the first was not. If your request is refused, the refusal notice must explain the reasons. Those reasons tell you exactly what to address in a challenge or resubmission. A first no is not necessarily a final no.

What Evidence Do Local Authorities Look For?

Local authorities are not deciding whether your child has difficulties. They are deciding whether those difficulties may require specialist provision beyond what a school can normally provide from its own budget and resources. That distinction shapes what you need to include.

Decision panels typically review school reports and SEN support plans showing what provision has been tried, educational psychology input where available, speech and language therapy or occupational therapy reports, attendance records that may indicate the impact of needs on school participation, pastoral or behaviour support notes, and medical information where health needs affect education.

Evidence becomes significantly stronger when it shows a pattern over time rather than isolated incidents. A single difficult term carries less weight than two years of documented support that has produced limited progress. Where possible, reference the date ranges of support rather than describing it as something that has simply been happening.

If you are unsure how concerns about EHCP provision or assessment requests compare to other types of disputes with schools or local authorities, the range of situations commonly raised is outlined on the LetterLab's areas we help with page.

Step-by-Step: How to Structure an EHCP Request Letter

A clear structure makes it easier for decision-makers to assess the request quickly and accurately. Each step below addresses one of the elements panels are required to consider.

Step 1: State Clearly That You Are Requesting an EHCP Assessment

The opening sentence should leave no ambiguity about the purpose of the letter. Many requests are delayed at the administrative stage simply because the nature of the correspondence is unclear.

"I am writing to formally request an Education, Health and Care needs assessment for my child, [name], date of birth [date], currently attending [school name], under Section 36 of the Children and Families Act 2014."

This signals that the request is formal, grounded in statute and directed at the correct legal process. It also ensures the letter is routed to the SEN team rather than a general enquiries inbox.

Step 2: Describe Your Child's Needs With Specific Examples

Vague statements such as 'my child struggles at school' or 'my child finds learning difficult' give the panel very little to work with. Describe observable, specific difficulties that have a direct impact on access to education.

"My child experiences significant difficulties with reading comprehension and written expression. Despite targeted support in school over the past eighteen months, they remain working significantly below age-related expectations in literacy and are unable to complete written tasks independently."

The more concrete the description, the clearer the picture for the panel. Where you can, include the gap between your child's attainment and age expectations, the frequency of adult support required, and any specific tasks or situations that illustrate the difficulty.

Step 3: Explain What Support Is Already in Place

Local authorities expect schools to have provided SEN Support before an EHCP is considered. Your request needs to show that this has happened and that it has not been sufficient to close the gap.

"The school has provided small group literacy intervention twice weekly since September 2023, additional classroom support during English lessons and a structured reading programme. Despite this support, which has been in place for over a year, progress remains limited and the gap between my child's attainment and age expectations has not narrowed."

Naming the specific interventions and the duration they have been in place is more persuasive than a general statement that the school has been trying to help. It also makes it harder for the panel to conclude that support simply needs more time to work.

Step 4: Describe the Impact on Education

Decision-makers need to understand how the difficulties affect your child's ability to access and benefit from education, not just that difficulties exist. The impact on learning is what crosses the threshold from school-managed need to potential EHCP need.

"These difficulties mean that my child is unable to access the curriculum independently and requires frequent adult support during the majority of lessons. Without that support, they are unable to complete work to any meaningful standard and fall further behind peers in whole-class activities."

Emotional and social impact can also be relevant where it affects school participation. If your child's anxiety about their difficulties is causing attendance problems or distress, include that as part of the educational impact.

Step 5: Reference Any Professional Evidence Available

Where professional reports exist, reference them by name, date and key finding. You do not need to reproduce the reports in full, but naming them clearly allows the panel to request copies and confirms that independent professional opinion supports the request.

"An educational psychologist assessment carried out in March 2025 identified significant phonological processing difficulties and working memory deficits affecting reading, spelling and written output. The report recommended specialist literacy support beyond what is typically available in a mainstream classroom."

If you do not yet have a formal educational psychology assessment, it is worth noting this in the letter and explaining why. The SEND Code of Practice makes clear that the absence of a formal assessment does not prevent a local authority from carrying out an EHC needs assessment if other evidence indicates it may be necessary.

EHCP Request Wording Bank

The following wording examples are grouped by type of need. They are designed to help parents describe difficulties accurately and in a way that links clearly to educational impact. They are not intended to exaggerate or fabricate need but to help parents who know what their child experiences day to day put it into words that decision panels can assess fairly.

Wording for Learning and Literacy Difficulties

"My child requires repeated explanations and individual adult support before they can begin tasks that peers are able to start independently. Despite this support being consistently provided, they are unable to retain and apply new information without ongoing prompting."

"My child is currently working at the level expected of a child approximately two years younger and has not made measurable progress in reading or writing despite targeted intervention being in place throughout the current academic year."

"My child struggles to complete written work within normal lesson time even with adult support and frequently requires extended time or reduced task demands in order to produce any written output."

Wording for Communication and Interaction Needs

"My child has difficulty following multi-step verbal instructions and frequently misunderstands classroom directions, requiring individual clarification from an adult before they can proceed with tasks."

"My child finds it very difficult to participate in group discussion or partner work. They misinterpret the language and intentions of peers, which has led to repeated misunderstandings and social difficulties that are affecting their engagement with learning."

"My child’s speech is not yet intelligible to unfamiliar adults in a classroom setting, which limits their ability to communicate needs, ask questions and participate in oral learning activities."

Wording for Emotional, Social and Mental Health Needs

"My child experiences high levels of anxiety during school activities including transitions between lessons, unstructured times and situations involving unexpected change. This anxiety regularly prevents them from engaging with learning and has contributed to a pattern of school avoidance."

"My child requires adult support to regulate their emotional responses during the school day. Without this support they become overwhelmed in busy or loud environments, which disrupts their learning and affects the learning environment for those around them."

"My child’s social and emotional difficulties mean they are unable to sustain friendships or navigate peer relationships without adult support. This has resulted in significant social isolation that is affecting their motivation to attend school and their general wellbeing."

Wording for Physical and Sensory Needs

"My child’s fine motor difficulties mean they are unable to write at a pace that keeps up with classroom expectations, even with support. This creates a significant barrier to demonstrating knowledge in written form and affects their ability to record learning independently."

"My child has sensory processing difficulties that mean they find the standard classroom environment extremely challenging. The noise and visual stimulation in a typical classroom causes significant distress that regularly prevents meaningful engagement with learning."

Weak Request vs Strong Request: A Comparison

The difference in outcome between a weak and a strong EHCP request often comes down to a small number of specific wording choices. The following comparison shows the same situation described in two ways.

Weak wording:

"My child is struggling at school and needs more help."

This tells the panel nothing specific. The difficulty is not described, the evidence is not referenced and the impact is not explained. A panel reviewing this wording cannot determine whether the need might reach the threshold for an EHC assessment.

Stronger wording:

"My child is currently working approximately two years below expected reading levels and requires frequent adult support to complete any written work. Despite targeted literacy intervention being in place throughout Year 4 and Year 5, progress remains limited and the gap between my child’s attainment and age expectations has not narrowed. They are unable to access the curriculum independently and require adult support for the majority of classroom activities."

The second example describes the specific difficulty, references the duration of support, explains why existing provision is insufficient and sets out the impact on curriculum access. Each sentence addresses one of the elements a panel needs to see. This difference in wording regularly determines whether a request is taken forward for assessment or returned to the family.

Why Some EHCP Requests Are Refused

Local authorities sometimes refuse assessment requests because the evidence does not demonstrate need that may require specialist provision, because the school has not documented its SEN support clearly enough for the panel to assess what has been tried, because difficulties are described too broadly without specific examples or impact statements, or because the request does not address the statutory threshold set out in the SEND Code of Practice. Panels must follow that statutory framework, which is why understanding what it asks them to look for gives you an advantage when drafting your request.

A refusal notice must give reasons. If your request is refused, read those reasons carefully. They will tell you which element of the threshold the panel concluded had not been met. In many cases the gap is not in the child's needs but in how those needs were explained. A resubmission that directly addresses the stated reasons, with more specific wording and additional evidence, often reaches a different outcome.

Self-Check Before Sending Your EHCP Request

Before sending the letter, run through these six questions.

1. Does the opening sentence clearly state that you are requesting an EHC needs assessment under Section 36 of the Children and Families Act 2014?

2. Have you described your child's needs using specific examples rather than general statements?

3. Have you explained what SEN support has already been tried, for how long and with what result?

4. Have you described how the difficulties affect your child's ability to access education, not just that difficulties exist?

5. Have you referenced any professional evidence available, including the name, date and key finding?

6. Would someone who has never met your child understand the level and nature of difficulty from reading this letter alone?

Many requests fail simply because the opening paragraph does not clearly establish the purpose and legal basis of the request. If you want to make sure your letter is framed correctly from the first line, the team at LetterLab can review and strengthen the opening before you submit.

How EHCP Requests Are Assessed Internally

Assessment panels typically include SEN professionals, educational psychologists and sometimes representatives from health and social care. They review each request against the statutory threshold, which requires them to consider whether the child has or may have special educational needs and whether it may be necessary for special educational provision to be made for the child through an EHCP.

They look for a clear connection between identified needs, evidence that support has been tried and has not been sufficient, and an indication that the level of provision required may exceed what a school can reasonably provide from its own resources. Requests that present these elements in a clear sequence are easier to assess and harder to refuse on the grounds that the threshold has not been met.

Panels also look at whether the evidence is current. Reports that are several years old carry less weight than more recent documentation. If your most recent professional report is more than two years old, it is worth noting in the letter that the difficulties described have continued or developed since the report was produced.

The Key Takeaway: Clear Wording Does the Work

Writing an effective EHCP request is not about using legal language or lengthy reports. It is about clearly explaining needs, what has been tried, and what the impact on education is. Those three elements, presented in a structured sequence, give decision-makers what they need to take the request forward.

The wording bank in this guide helps parents describe concerns in language that panels can assess fairly. Use it to check that each paragraph in your request serves a purpose and addresses one of the elements the panel will be looking for.

If your initial request is refused, read the reason carefully and address it directly in your response. A first refusal is not uncommon and is not always the final outcome.