EHC needs assessments and timeliness
Parents, schools and professionals can ask the council for an education, health and care (EHC) needs assessment. The law sets two deadlines. The council must say within 6 weeks whether it will assess. It must issue the final plan within 20 weeks of the request (legislation.gov.uk, The Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014 (September 2014), regulations 5 and 13).
Plans issued within 20 weeks
New EHC plans issued within 20 weeks
The share of new EHC plans finalised within the 20-week legal deadline, not counting cases where a legal exception applies. Calendar years.
London boroughs, 2025
- 1Wandsworth
- 2Barnet
- 3Kensington and Chelsea
- 4Kingston upon Thames
- 5Richmond upon Thames
- 6Sutton
- 7Merton
- 8Westminster
- 9Haringey
- 10Lambeth
- 11Harrow
- 12Hammersmith and Fulham
- 13Islington
- 14Hillingdon
- 15Camden
- 16Bromley
- 17Brent
- 18Enfield
- 19Bexley
- 20Croydon
- 21Hounslow
- 22Ealing
- 23Tower Hamlets
- 24Southwark
- 25Hackney
- 26Havering
- 27Newham
- 28Greenwich
- 29Redbridge
- 30Barking and Dagenham
- 31Waltham Forest
- 32Lewisham
Show the numbers
| Area | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waltham Forest | 56.5% | 89.6% | 89.6% | 89.7% | 90.7% | 50.8% | 25.7% |
| London | 64.6% | 61.8% | 63.9% | 54.7% | 70.0% | 66.9% | 61.6% |
| England | 60.4% | 58.0% | 59.9% | 49.2% | 50.3% | 46.4% | 46.1% |
Source: DfE, Education, health and care plans: Timeliness of new education, health and care plans, including those issued within the statutory 20 weeks (downloaded 2026-10-25)
What the council reports to its own boards
The improvement plan tracks the same measure each month. These figures come from the council's case management system, so they won't exactly match the DfE figures above.
| Period | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Q4 2025 | 33.8% (n=47) Labelled 'Q4 2025' in a plan published in April 2025, so probably January to March 2025 (financial-year quarter 4 of 2024/25). |
London Borough of Waltham Forest and NHS North East London, SEND Local Area Improvement Plan (July 2025), p. 15 |
| March 2025 | 31.9% (n=15) | London Borough of Waltham Forest and NHS North East London, SEND Local Area Improvement Plan (July 2025), p. 15 |
| June 2025 | 30.6% | London Borough of Waltham Forest, SEND Local Area Improvement Plan - Highlight Report (September 2025) (October 2025), p. 15 |
| August 2025 | 28% (n=96) The council blames delays in educational psychologist advice. |
London Borough of Waltham Forest, SEND Local Area Improvement Plan - Highlight Report (September 2025) (October 2025), p. 15 |
| 2025 to date (plan dated 1 Sept 2025) | 31% 'The EHCP 20-week statutory timelines have significantly dropped over the years from 90% previously to 50% in 2024 and 31% to-date.' The same plan also says 58% of the 375 new plans issued in 2025 to date went over 20 weeks (page 22). The two figures do not agree. |
London Borough of Waltham Forest, SEND Sufficiency Plan 2025-30 (in the Schools Forum pack, 10 December 2025) (December 2025), p. 58 |
| July 2026 report | 12% 'Timeliness in statutory processes remains 12% within 20 weeks.' From the summary of the SEND Reform Plan submitted to the DfE in June 2026. The report does not say what period the figure covers. |
London Borough of Waltham Forest, Schools Forum report pack, 8 July 2026 (DSG outturn 2025-26; SEND Reform Plan) (July 2026), p. 178 |
Published target: none. The improvement plan records a baseline but sets no target or trajectory. It relies on a recovery plan to clear backlogs "by end of 2025".(London Borough of Waltham Forest, SEND Improvement Plan - Progress So Far (October 2025), p. 4)
Legal requirement: All plans must be issued within 20 weeks of the request, unless a legal exception applies. (legislation.gov.uk, The Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014 (September 2014), Regulation 13)
What the council's own records showed for 2025
The SEND Sufficiency Plan, dated 1 September 2025, gives these figures from the council's case management system for 2025 so far.
Requests for an assessment
Requests for an EHC needs assessment
The number of new requests for an EHC needs assessment the council received each calendar year.
Show the numbers
| Area | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waltham Forest | 390 | 389 | 641 | 699 | 871 | 796 | 703 |
| London | 13,336 | 12,074 | 14,342 | 16,934 | 19,488 | 21,583 | 22,024 |
| England | 82,329 | 75,951 | 93,302 | 114,482 | 138,242 | 154,489 | 162,702 |
Source: DfE, Education, health and care plans: Requests for an education, health and care needs assessment received during the calendar year (downloaded 2026-10-25)
Deciding whether to assess
Decisions on whether to assess made within 6 weeks
Of the requests decided, the share where the council said within 6 weeks whether it would assess. This is the legal deadline.
London boroughs, 2025
- 1Sutton
- 2Merton
- 3Brent
- 4Bromley
- 5Croydon
- 6Richmond upon Thames
- 7Westminster
- 8Southwark
- 9Kingston upon Thames
- 10Wandsworth
- 11Bexley
- 12Enfield
- 13Ealing
- 14Havering
- 15Kensington and Chelsea
- 16Hillingdon
- 17Haringey
- 18Greenwich
- 19Harrow
- 20Waltham Forest
- 21Hounslow
- 22Redbridge
- 23Barnet
- 24Hackney
- 25Lewisham
- 26Tower Hamlets
- 27Camden
- 28Newham
- 29Islington
- 30Hammersmith and Fulham
- 31Lambeth
- 32Barking and Dagenham
Show the numbers
| Area | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waltham Forest | 97.1% | 85.3% | 84.9% |
| London | 86.7% | 84.5% | 86.1% |
| England | 84.9% | 84.8% | 87.4% |
Source: DfE, Education, health and care plans: Requests for an education, health and care needs assessment received during the calendar year (downloaded 2026-10-25)
Requests refused (decided not to assess)
Requests where the council decided not to carry out an assessment, as a share of all requests received in the year.
Show the numbers
| Area | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waltham Forest | 15.5% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| London | 25.2% | 23.4% | 23.6% |
| England | 24.0% | 25.2% | 26.6% |
Waltham Forest reported no refusals to assess in 2024 or 2025. In the same years it recorded no decision for 35.7% and 17.6% of requests, against about 7–9% in London and England. The council has told its own board that data from its case management system is inaccurate.
Source: DfE, Education, health and care plans: Requests for an education, health and care needs assessment received during the calendar year (downloaded 2026-10-25)
Requests with no decision recorded
Requests received in the year with no decision recorded by the time of the DfE data return.
Show the numbers
| Area | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waltham Forest | 0.0% | 35.7% | 17.6% |
| London | 6.4% | 8.9% | 8.4% |
| England | 7.3% | 7.8% | 7.2% |
Source: DfE, Education, health and care plans: Requests for an education, health and care needs assessment received during the calendar year (downloaded 2026-10-25)
Assessments that end without a plan
Assessments that ended without a plan
Of the EHC needs assessments completed in the year, the share where the council decided not to issue a plan.
Show the numbers
| Area | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waltham Forest | 11.7% | 10.6% | 12.7% | 2.5% | 6.2% | 0.4% | 0.3% |
| London | 5.2% | 3.0% | 4.0% | 3.5% | 3.3% | 4.1% | 5.1% |
| England | 5.9% | 4.9% | 5.9% | 5.8% | 5.1% | 6.1% | 6.0% |
Source: DfE, Education, health and care plans: Assessments for an education, health and care plan carried out during the calendar year (downloaded 2026-10-25)
New plans issued
New EHC plans issued each year
The number of new EHC plans issued in each calendar year, including those where an exception applied.
Show the numbers
| Area | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waltham Forest | 265 | 303 | 466 | 534 | 695 | 463 | 571 |
| London | 8,967 | 9,929 | 9,582 | 10,314 | 12,503 | 13,697 | 14,603 |
| England | 53,327 | 59,097 | 61,269 | 65,512 | 80,945 | 90,392 | 102,203 |
Source: DfE, Education, health and care plans: Timeliness of new education, health and care plans, including those issued within the statutory 20 weeks (downloaded 2026-10-25)
Changes that could affect who gets assessed
Families keep the legal right to ask for an EHC needs assessment, whatever the council's funding arrangements (legislation.gov.uk, Children and Families Act 2014, section 36 (Assessment of education, health and care needs) (September 2014), section 36(1)). These council plans are aimed at reducing the number of EHC plans:
- SEND Reform Plan (June 2026). It aims to reduce projected annual growth in EHC plans from 11.3% to 9.8% from 2027/28, and raise the share of children on SEN support from 12.5% to 14%. This is to be done through an "Experts at Hand" offer to schools (London Borough of Waltham Forest, Schools Forum report pack, 8 July 2026 (DSG outturn 2025-26; SEND Reform Plan) (July 2026), p. 178).
- Early years funding in Reception (proposed October 2026). The council proposes to keep children on early years inclusion funding (SENIF) until the end of Reception instead of 1 January. It says an EHC plan "is often required solely for the purpose of additional support which can be better, and more quickly provided via the SENIF route". 106 Reception children currently get SENIF. The council says 87% of children on SENIF in Reception have an EHC plan by the end of the year (London Borough of Waltham Forest, Schools Forum report pack, 21 October 2026 (DSG forecast 2026-27; SENIF extension) (October 2026), pages 55 and 56).
- Deficit management plan (February 2026). It relies partly on "reducing the number of requests to assess children whose needs can be met outside the statutory framework" (London Borough of Waltham Forest, Budget and Council Tax Setting 2026/27 (February 2026), p. 34).