The EHCP Timeline Explained: What Happens in the 20 Weeks

"How long will this take?" is the question every parent asks the moment an EHC needs assessment begins, and the honest answer sits somewhere between a legal framework and a frustrating reality. There is a statutory timeline, and there are the delays that so many families experience. Understanding both helps you know what to expect and when to chase. Here is the timeline, stage by stage.

The 20-Week Framework

In England, the law sets out that the process from a request for an EHC needs assessment to a final EHCP being issued should take up to 20 weeks in total. This is the standard statutory framework, and it is there to protect families from open-ended waits. It is important to know it exists, because it gives you a benchmark to hold the process against. That said, delays beyond the timescale are unfortunately common in practice, and the rules themselves may change under the current SEND reforms, so treat this as the framework rather than a guarantee.

What Happens in the Weeks

Broadly, the 20 weeks contains a sequence of stages with their own shorter deadlines within it:

• The decision to assess: after you request an assessment, the local authority has a set number of weeks to decide whether to carry one out, and to tell you
• Gathering advice: if they agree to assess, they seek information and advice from relevant people, including you, the school, and health and other professionals
• The decision to issue a plan: after assessing, the authority decides whether to issue an EHCP, and must tell you
• Draft plan: if they decide to issue one, you receive a draft, and you have a right to comment and to express a preference for a school
• Final plan: the finalised EHCP is issued, within the overall 20-week limit

Each of these stages has its own timescale within the total, which is why knowing the framework helps you spot when something has stalled.

What to Chase, and When

Because delays are common, it helps to be an informed, persistent partner:

• Note the date you made the request, and the deadline for the decision to assess
• Ask the local authority where things are if a stage's deadline passes without news
• Respond promptly yourself when asked for information or for comments on a draft, so you are not the cause of delay
• Keep a record of dates and correspondence, which is invaluable if you later need to challenge a delay
• Seek advice from SENDIASS or IPSEA if the process stalls significantly

Why Delays Happen

Delays can arise for many reasons: high demand on SEND services, waits for professional advice, and stretched local authority teams. Understanding that delays are widespread does not make them acceptable, and you are entitled to hold the authority to the legal timescales, but it can help you approach the process with realistic expectations and a clear record, rather than assuming something has gone uniquely wrong with your case.

Know Your Rights and Check the Current Rules

The EHCP process and its timescales are set out in SEND law and on gov.uk, with IPSEA providing detailed and reliable guidance, and SENDIASS offering free local advice. Because England's SEND system is under reform, the timescales and process may change: always check gov.uk and IPSEA for the current position rather than relying solely on this overview.

Tracking the Timeline

The 20 weeks is full of dates and deadlines, and keeping them straight is how you know whether the process is on track. My School Agent can pull the relevant emails and reminders into a daily briefing and shared calendar, so each stage's deadline is visible and you know when to follow up. The timeline is your friend here: knowing what should happen when turns a bewildering wait into a process you can actively, and reasonably, hold to account.