What we're doing to improve the Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment (EHCNA) process, how to get help.
We last updated this page on 1 April 2026.
EHCNA waiting times
We know that many families in Bristol are currently waiting longer than expected for an Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment (EHCNA). We're working hard to improve our services and have invested in more capacity to support the rise in demand.
The law says that the EHCNA process should be completed within 20 weeks. Some assessments are completed within the 20-week timescale, while others take longer. In England, based on data for the 2024 calendar year, 46.4% of new Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) were issued within the statutory 20 week timeframe. In Bristol, the range as of December 2025 was between 19 and 64 weeks.
Some children and young people are given priority, such as if they're in care or there are concerns about their safety. This is why the waiting times are different for different families. You can read more about the priority criteria in our pdf EHCNA Improvement Plan(1.84 MB) .
We know these waiting times are too long and we recognise the impact this has on children, families and schools. We're working hard to make improvements as quickly as possible and reduce delays.
EHCNA Improvement Plan
In September 2025, we launched our pdf EHCNA Improvement Plan(1.84 MB) . We created this plan with health partners and Bristol Parent Carers.
We also have an pdf Easy Read version of the ECHNA Improvement Plan(6.10 MB) .
The plan sets out the main areas we're working on to improve the experience families and schools have of the EHCNA process. These include:
- reducing waiting times
- improving quality
- improving communication
- making the process clearer and more consistent
Reducing waiting times
We now have a permanent special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) service manager and a permanent head of inclusion.
We've increased the size of the SEND team, social care team and educational psychology service.
We're also adding extra temporary staff to the educational psychology service from April 2026. This means teams can work more quickly and reduce delays.
We've already completed more work and are on track to meet our targets for improving timeliness this year. This should help children, young people, families and schools get support sooner.
We extended the non-statutory top-up funding for those in receipt of top-up when it ended so that support can continue during assessment.
If there are delays, EHCP funding will be backdated to the date it should have been finalised (the 20 week point), so schools won't lose out.
We launched our new inclusive learning service in September 2025 to improve early help and inclusion in schools. We also have other support services that schools can refer to outside of the EHCNA process.
Improving quality
We launched our pdf SEND Quality Assurance Framework(765 KB) in May 2025.
Since November 2025 we've used a tool called Invision 360 to review our EHCPs. This tool checks the plan's quality.
We do these checks with professionals from different services, including Bristol Parent Carers.
Since January 2026, we've included feedback from parent carers about their experience of the EHCP in our multi-agency quality assurance audits.
We use what we learn from these checks to improve how we do EHCNAs and plans.
Improving communication
We're improving the letters families and schools receive so they're clearer and easier to understand.
We're employing more staff so that when families contact us, we can respond quickly.
We'll will also tell families and schools sooner if there are delays, so everyone knows what to expect.
Get help
We know that waiting for an EHCP can feel stressful and uncertain for families. Many parents and carers tell us that the waiting period can be the hardest part.
Your child should still receive support while you're waiting. Schools should continue to work with you to understand your child's needs and put support in place.
You're not expected to manage this process on your own. There are services in Bristol that can offer advice, information, and support.
You can get help from:
- your child's school teacher or SENDCO, they should work with you to support your child duringwhile the assessment is taking place
- Bristol Parent Carers, which has support and resources available, including:
- Building inclusive practice in Bristol education settings for graduated response resources
- pdf Emotionally Based School Avoidance(2.16 MB) , guidance for parents and carers and schools
- SEND and You
- NHS Bristol neurodiversity hub
- Bristol Family Hubs
