SEND City parents wait nearly a year for children's assessments

BRISTOL parents are waiting on average a year for crucial assessments on whether their children can get special educational needs support - but concerns the issue could bankrupt the council have been allayed for now.

- Alex SEABROOK Local democracy reporter [e-mail]

Budget cuts last year to early support have driven up demand for more expensive versions of help, and a massive backlog in assessments.

However, there are now signs the council is turning the situation around, with a huge investment in educational psychologists.

Parents have to wait an average of 50 weeks in Bristol to get an education, health and care plan, much longer than the legal deadline of 20 weeks. The latest data from March shows that three per cent of plans were finalised within 20 weeks, slightly up from just one per cent in February.

EHCPs are personalised plans for children with special educational needs and disabilities, which sets out what support they require. Across England an average of half of EHCPs are finalised within 20 weeks.

Bristol’s performance has worsened over the past couple of years, dropping from two-thirds in August 2023, to a third in August last year, and now at just three plans for every 100 children.