Guides and tools
The statutory SEND process, written for a SENCO with a caseload
Every timescale cites the regulation it comes from. Every statistic names its source and date. Reviewed October 2026.
Tools
Two calculators for the dates you chase most
Dates are computed in UK time from the regulations, with the rule behind each one. Nothing you type is sent anywhere.
EHC needs assessments and plans
The statutory process from request to final plan, and how to write the school’s part of it well.
EHCP timescales: the 6, 16 and 20-week deadlines explained
Every statutory deadline in the EHC needs assessment process, with the regulation behind each one and what the school should be doing at each point.
7 min read · reviewed 5 Oct 2026Read
What evidence to send with an EHC needs assessment request
The evidence local authorities look for under Code of Practice paragraph 9.14, how to organise it, and the gaps that most often lead to a refusal to assess.
5 min read · reviewed 5 Oct 2026Read
Writing the school’s contribution to an EHCP: Sections B, E and F
A practical structure for the school’s written advice, with the language that survives contact with a local authority template and a tribunal.
6 min read · reviewed 5 Oct 2026Read
EHCP sections A to K explained
The twelve statutory sections of an EHC plan, in plain English, with the checks a SENCO should make on a draft.
6 min read · reviewed 5 Oct 2026Read
Annual reviews
Running reviews that meet the regulations and actually change provision.
The EHCP annual review process: steps and timescales
Each stage of the annual review with the regulation behind it, from the authority’s notice to the amended plan, written for the SENCO who has to run it.
6 min read · reviewed 5 Oct 2026Read
Annual review checklist for SENCOs
A printable, week-by-week checklist that keeps every annual review inside the statutory timescales without a last-minute scramble.
5 min read · reviewed 5 Oct 2026Read
Gathering parent and pupil views for an EHCP annual review
Practical methods for collecting views that are honest, dated and usable, and that satisfy the Code of Practice without adding a week of chasing.
5 min read · reviewed 5 Oct 2026Read
SEN support
The graduated approach and the register that underpins it.
SEN support and the graduated approach: assess, plan, do, review
The graduated approach from Code of Practice chapter 6, with a recording model that stands up when a parent, an inspector or a local authority asks to see it.
5 min read · reviewed 5 Oct 2026Read
The SEND register: who goes on it, what to record and how to keep it accurate
A register that answers the questions governors, inspectors and the local authority actually ask, and that feeds the graduated approach rather than sitting beside it.
5 min read · reviewed 5 Oct 2026Read
SEN information report: what the law requires and a structure that works
The 13 things Schedule 1 of the SEND Regulations requires, a practical structure, and how the report links to the proposed inclusion strategy.
3 min read · reviewed 10 Oct 2026Read
One-page profiles for pupils with SEND: what to include, with examples
A short, person-centred summary every adult can read in a minute: the three headings, worked examples, and common mistakes.
2 min read · reviewed 10 Oct 2026Read
SEND reform 2026
Individual Support Plans, inclusion strategies and costed provision: what the Schools White Paper proposes and how to prepare.
Individual Support Plans (ISPs): what the SEND reforms propose and how to get ready
The proposed statutory Individual Support Plan for every pupil with SEND, what is settled and what is not, and a practical way to start now.
3 min read · reviewed 9 Oct 2026Read
School inclusion strategy: what to include before the December 2026 deadline
The proposed duty to publish an inclusion strategy, a section-by-section structure, and how to evidence funding, training and impact.
2 min read · reviewed 9 Oct 2026Read
Costed provision map: how to build one and show impact
A step-by-step method for costing interventions, tagging funding and measuring impact, so the provision map answers the questions governors and inspectors ask.
2 min read · reviewed 9 Oct 2026Read
SENCO workload
What the evidence says about the role, and practical ways to protect time.
SENCO workload statistics: what the surveys say and how to protect time
Every figure sourced, with the Code of Practice paragraphs on protected time and a realistic list of changes a school can make this term.
5 min read · reviewed 5 Oct 2026Read
Choosing SEND software for your school: a buyer’s checklist for SENCOs
Twenty questions to ask any SEND software supplier, grouped by what matters to a SENCO, a data protection officer and a business manager.
2 min read · reviewed 10 Oct 2026Read
Logging local authority communication about EHCPs: what to record and when to chase
A communication log that answers “what did they say and when” in seconds, and a chasing routine built on the statutory dates rather than frustration.
5 min read · reviewed 5 Oct 2026Read
Keep these dates without a spreadsheet
Sendiphany tracks statutory deadlines, annual reviews and local authority correspondence for every pupil on your register. Free for 30 days, no card needed.