Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment recovery plan

Along with other local authorities across the country, Buckinghamshire Council has seen a significant rise in demand for Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment (EHCNA) in recent years.

To address these challenges and ensure families and children can access the support they need in a timely manner, we have implemented an EHCNA Recovery Plan.

The plan includes a major new financial investment, with £3m of additional funding being allocated. Key priorities of the Recovery Plan include:

• Recruitment and retention of more educational psychologists and other professionals who are critical to the EHCNA process.
• Streamlined assessment processes to improve compliance with the 20-week statutory timeframe.
• Continued support for families during the assessment period, including improved communication and transparency.
• Monitoring and accountability measures to track progress and ensure the timely delivery of plans.

Buckinghamshire Council has developed a recovery plan to address this issue in our county.

Short-term investments and dedicated resources have enabled us:

• to recruit additional staff
• improve processes
• introduce new ways of working to accelerate assessments

We aim to ensure timely, high-quality support for every child who needs it.

Our plan is not just to reduce wait times but to invest in the future of our children and young people, reduce the backlog, and restore trust in the system. Effective coordination across our teams and partners will be essential to achieve this. This is part of a wider improvement plan for our SEND services.

Our recovery plan has been developed to ensure assessments are as efficient as possible and maintain a high quality of assessment. We have strengthened the workforce by recruiting new associate educational psychologists. However, this has still not been sufficient to meet the demand, which has resulted in children, young people and their families waiting longer for assessments and not receiving the service we would like to provide.

EHCP assessments will continue to be completed in chronological order (oldest first). Exceptions will be made in cases assessed as having high vulnerabilities or a safeguarding concern, or are due to transfer to the next phase of education. Those cases are being prioritised for completion on time (in addition to other support and safeguards being put in place as appropriate).

We aim to provide as much clarity as possible about when children and young people will be assessed over the coming months, with regular communications to update on progress.

Buckinghamshire Council understands the difficulties caused by delays in completing EHCP Needs Assessments.

It looks forward to making improvements in both waiting times and the support offered to children and young people who need it.

We acknowledge that the wait time is challenging, and we remain committed to improving communications and wait times following the recovery plan. In the interim, we have support available. If you feel like your child is struggling and feeling low for a long period of time, or you have serious concerns, it might be helpful to seek support from a professional:

• Talk to your GP – they can refer your child to children and young people’s mental health services (CYPMHS).
• Make a referral to Bucks CAMHS. Bucks CAMHS are a specialist mental health service for children and young people provided by the NHS. You can refer yourself or someone you care for using their online referral form.
• Talk to your child’s school. If you express your concerns to a teacher, they might be able to tell you if they’ve noticed any changes in your child’s behaviour. They could also help refer your child to the school counsellor or mental health support team.
• Find mental health information, advice and support on our website.
• Search our directory for local organisations and services available to help support your child’s mental and emotional health