Increase in special educational needs assessment requests

More requests for special educational needs assessments were made for children in Lancashire last year, new figures show.

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An education, health and care plan is a legal document identifying the needs of a child or young person, and setting out the additional support required to meet those special educational needs.

To receive an EHCP, a request must be made to the relevant local authority to carry out an assessment.

A charity said EHCP plans are crucial for many children to access education, but warned of the impact of "disastrous" waits for an assessment.

Department for Education figures show 3,658 requests for an EHC needs assessment were made in Lancashire in 2024 - up from 2,560 the previous year.

A total of 1,937 EHCP needs assessments were carried out in the area last year, and the decision was to issue a plan in 99 per cent of cases.

Of the new plans issued, 17 per cent were issued within the statutory 20 weeks.

Meanwhile, 69 per cent were issued between 20 and 52 weeks, and 14 per cent took over a year.

Across England, 154,500 requests for an EHCP assessment were received in 2024-up 12 per cent on the year before.

The number of new EHCPS issued has increased each year since their introduction in 2014, with 97,700 plans issued last year.