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Get information and support  Free legal guides, resources and template letters
 How should the local authority help?

How should the local authority help?

Your local authority (LA) must do certain things to help Latest
your child, or you as a young person.
Preparing a legally
compliant EHC plan:
What your LA must do 2nd May

All LAs need to identify and assess the special SEND Tribunal hints
educational needs (SEN) of children and young people in and tips (2): 8th
their area when they become aware that they have or February
may have SEN. You can find details of your LA online.
My daughter’s school
Under the Children and Families Act 2014, your LA must has said it cannot
always think about how your child, or you if you are a hold the annual
review meeting, it is
young person, can be supported to facilitate too short staffed.
development and to help your child or you achieve the What should
“best possible educational and other outcomes”. happen?
If your child goes to an early years setting or school, I would really like my
then they need to support your child – in particular, child’s youth worker
through SEN Support. If, as a young person, you go to to attend his annual
college or another post-16 institution, then these review meeting. Can
settings need to support you too. they?

If your child needs, or you as a young person need (or

may need) more support than nursery, school or college Related
can give, then your LA must carry out an education,
Quick guides
health and care needs assessment.
How do I get a
This assessment may lead to an education, health and personal budget or a
care plan (EHC plan) being produced for your child, or direct payment?
you. An EHC plan will set out the additional support
needed and the school or other institution your child, or What support should
you, will go to. the LA give me if my
child is out of school
Once special educational provision has been detailed in for any reason?
an EHC plan, the LA has a legal duty to provide it. This
What support should
is the case even if your LA’s SEN funding policies or other
the LA provide if I am
internal funding arrangements say something different. home educating my
child?
The Local Offer
Your LA must publish a Local Offer containing
information about all the services and support it expects Most read
to be available for children and young people with SEN Asking for an EHC
and/or disabilities for whom it is responsible. needs assessment
This must include not only what services are available in EHC needs
the geographical area but also all services outside your assessments
LA’s area which its children and young people are
Making a request for
accessing. This will include independent schools or an EHC needs
colleges, therapy services and care placements. assessment: Model
letter 1
The Local Offer should not be just a directory of services
or series of links. It must say clearly what your LA Model letters
expects to be available in terms of:

what schools, colleges and other settings will provide

from the funding they receive for SEN
what schools, colleges and other settings in its area
will provide from the funding they receive to support
those with a disability
educational, health and care provision How you can
training provision help IPSEA
transport arrangements between home and school,
college or early years settings, and Have you found the
support for preparing for adulthood and information on our
independent living. website helpful
today? If so, please
The Local Offer is not legally binding. There is no
consider donating! At
guarantee that a service mentioned in the Local Offer
IPSEA, we rely on
will be available. However, the Local Offer can be useful
your donations and
for working out whether your LA has resources which
fundraising efforts to
can support your child, or you as a young person, or if it
help keep our vital
will be necessary to look to neighbouring LAs or the
services running.
private sector for support.

Your LA must consult with children, parents and young Donate

people in developing the Local Offer and in periodically
reviewing it. It must make sure there is a way for public
comments to be made and published about the Local
Offer and it must then take them into account.

Public Sector Equality Duty

As well as the duties we describe above, your LA must
comply with its Public Sector Equality Duty.
This means that when carrying out its duties, exercising
its discretion, making individual decisions, or in any of its
other day-to-day activities your LA must consciously
consider the need to:

eliminate discrimination
advance equality of opportunity, and
foster good relations.

For an LA, this duty extends to everything from setting a

school’s budget to closing libraries. This means that your
LA needs to comply with this duty for example when:

drafting SEN policy

implementing SEN policy
deciding whether to carry out an EHC needs
assessment, or
deciding whether to provide transport for a child in
nursery.

If your LA does not comply with the general duty then its
actions, or failure to act, can be subject to a compliance
notice or be challenged by judicial review.

Making a complaint
If your LA is not complying with its legal duties, there are
a number of ways in which you can challenge this.

If you haven’t been able to find the answer to your

question on this page, see our FAQs on how LAs should
help.

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