EHCP timeline calculator

How the dates are worked out

The clock starts on the day the local authority receives the request for an education, health and care (EHC) needs assessment (Children and Families Act 2014, section 36). The SEND Regulations 2014 then set the maximum time for each stage: six weeks to decide whether to assess (regulations 4 and 5), six weeks for anyone asked for advice to provide it (regulation 8, counted from the request for advice), sixteen weeks to notify a decision not to issue a plan (regulation 10), and twenty weeks to issue the final plan (regulation 13). The calculator adds whole weeks to the request date; the regulations count in weeks, so a request received on a Tuesday falls due on a Tuesday.

If the request date is in the past, the calculator shows which week of the process today falls in, so you can see at a glance whether a chase is due. For the full process, including what the school should be doing at each point, read EHCP timescales explained, and for keeping the correspondence straight see logging local authority communication.

What the calculator does not do

It does not know whether an exception in regulation 13(3) applies, whether the authority has agreed a different received date, or whether a bank holiday falls on a due date (the regulations do not move dates for bank holidays). Use it as a prompt, confirm the start date with the authority in writing, and check the current text of the regulations on legislation.gov.uk before quoting a date in correspondence.