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The Empowering Families of
Children with SEND Blog
Stay up to date with the latest news and insights from the Empowering SEND Families team, all conveniently collated in one place for you.

EHCP & Needs Assessments


What is an EHCP's and How do I Apply for One?
This article explains what an EHCP is, how it supports your child/young person and how we can support you.

Anna
May 12


Special Educational Needs Interventions, Approaches and Strategies seen in EHCPs.
Professional reports, Individual Education Plans (IEPs) and EHCPs often name interventions, approaches and strategies that your child will receive. This blog explains key interventions and approaches that we regularly see in IEPs and EHCPs.
Anna and Sarah
May 10


My Local Authority Have Agreed An EHC Needs Assessment. What Happens Now?
This article explains what happens during an EHC Needs Assessment and how you can ensure the best identification of needs and provision possible. An EHCP is only ever as good as the professional advice obtained during the EHC needs assessment process. The identification of outcomes, needs and provision in professional reports will be used to write your child’s EHCP, so it is extremely important that professional advice is as accurate and thorough as possible. What happen

Anna
Apr 27


My LA Have Refused an EHC Needs Assessment. What Can I Do?
My LA have refused an EHC needs assessment request. What are my options?

Anna
Apr 25


SEND Abbreviations, Acronyms and Terminology
Are the abbreviations, acronyms, and terminology used in SEND (there goes another!) driving you to distraction and back again?

Sarah
Apr 12


The Importance of Checking EHCP
This article explains why it's imperative to check your EHCP, when you must be doing this, and how.

Anna
Mar 30


What does a Good EHC Plan Section B and F Look Like?
Not sure if your child’s EHCP is fit for purpose? We guide you through what a good Section B (needs) and Section F (provision) should look like, in plain English.

Sarah
Mar 23


Top Ten Phrases and Words you don’t Want in your EHCP and Why: EHCP Section F Wording
In this blog post, we will discuss how to effectively communicate your child's needs in their Education, Health, and Care Plan (EHCP).

Sarah
Jan 20


How do I Know if my EHCP is Good Enough?
The EHCP is like a ‘menu’ for your child, and it is unique to your child, written exclusively for your child.

Sarah
Jan 5


My Local Authority have Refused to Make the Amendments I Requested to my Draft EHCP. What can I do?
Find out what to do if your LA ignores your EHCP amendments. Learn what evidence must be included in Sections B and F of an EHCP to support your appeal and ensure your child’s SEN are fully specified and met.

Anna
Jan 5


My LA Have Refused to Issue an EHCP. What Can I Do?
It is not unusual for Local Authorities to conduct an EHC Needs Assessment and then refuse to issue an EHCP. This is not legal.

Anna
Jan 4


I Am Not Happy With The Contents Of My Child’s EHCP. What Can I Do?
If you disagree with your child's EHCP, you can either accept, request mediation, or appeal to SENDIST, each requiring thorough.

Anna
Jan 3


I Am Not Happy With The School Named In My Child’s EHCP. What Can I Do?
This blog will explain your options if you are not happy with the school that is named in your childs EHCP.

Anna
Jan 2


Mainstream School with an EHCP
Learn how the law supports mainstream education for SEND children, and how to evidence when a special school or alternative provision is truly needed.

Sarah
Jan 1


Should I use AI to Help with EHCP's and Tribunals?
There's a lot of talk at the moment about artificial intelligence (AI). Tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and CoPilot are being recommended more and more for things like writing documents, drafting emails, and even preparing for legal cases. Some services are encouraging parents to use them when applying for an EHCP or preparing for a Tribunal or Judicial Review. On the surface, this might sound like a smart, cost-saving option. But we want to be absolutely clear: using AI tools to

Lillie
Dec 30, 2025


Annual Reviews
This article explains what an Annual Review is, and why they are so important to your child's SEND education.

Anna
Dec 29, 2025


Top Tips for Annual Reviews
Annual Reviews must happen at least every year that you have an EHCP. They can happen more frequently if an early annual review is called and can happen twice within 12 months if your child is in a Phase Transfer year. It is best practice for a child under the age of 5 to have an annual review every 6 months. See more on this here.

Sarah
Dec 28, 2025


Phase Transitions – Moving to the Next Stage of Education with an EHCP.
This article covers the transition years and the EHCP in deeper detail. Transition years are when a child moves to a new phase of education. The EHC plan must be reviewed and amended during a transition year before a specific deadline. What are transition years? Transition years are when your child moves to a new phase of education. A transition year is detailed in Regulation 2 of the SEN and Disability Regulations 2014: (a) early years education to school; (b) infant schoo

Anna
Dec 22, 2025


School Year Transitions with an EHCP
Whether it’s moving to a new school, or from class to class, a new school year or a new school type, school transitions can be an anxious time for our children and young people, and for us.

Sarah
Dec 19, 2025


Preparation for Adulthood from year 9 onwards
Preparation for Adulthood is such a grey area as far as what ‘should’ and must happen that it makes the previous experiences of ‘woolly wording’ seem positively silken. The SEND Code of Practice for Preparation for Adulthood has ‘shoulds’ and ‘coulds’ thrown around as generously as old fashioned school cake has Hundreds and Thousands sprinkled on the top.

Sarah
Dec 17, 2025
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