EHCP Timeline Tracker
Enter the date Kent County Council received your EHC needs assessment request to map the normal timetable, record decisions and prepare questions about progress. The tracker cannot determine which exceptions apply to your case.
What if KCC misses these deadlines?
The 20-week timeframe is statutory — that means KCC is legally required to meet it except in narrow, evidenced circumstances. Here's what to do at each stage of delay.
Week 6 missed — KCC hasn't told you whether they'll assess
Ask the SEND case officer for the assessment decision in writing and refer to regulation 5. If there is no prompt response, use the current KCC escalation or complaints route and seek advice if the delay is causing urgent loss of education. Silence does not itself amount to a refusal that can be appealed.
Week 16 passed — check the decision and any refusal notice
If KCC decides no plan is necessary, Regulation 10 normally requires the refusal notice by week 16. If KCC is issuing a plan, the initial draft must allow at least 15 days for representations and the final plan is normally due by week 20. Ask for the current decision and timetable; no draft at week 16 does not itself prove a statutory breach.
Week 20 missed — no final EHCP issued
Ask KCC for the final plan or a written explanation immediately and keep every email. You can use KCC's complaints process for administrative delay. Once that process is complete, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman may be able to consider the complaint; there is no automatic “after 12 weeks” rule that replaces checking its current criteria.
Are exceptions ever allowed?
Regulations 5, 10 and 13 contain the exceptions relevant to the normal assessment and plan timetable. They do not create a general extension for workload or staffing pressure. This tool cannot assess their application; ask KCC to identify the exact provision, why it applies and the timetable it proposes.
Does going to Tribunal restart the clock?
The ordinary pre-appeal clock does not simply restart. Separate compliance limits in regulation 44 apply to a Tribunal order: an order to assess or reassess requires KCC to notify you within 2 weeks that it will start; an order to make and maintain a plan requires a draft within 5 weeks and a final plan within 11 weeks. Read the order itself because its directions and any applicable exception matter.
Next steps & helpful guides
- Free EHCP request template — if you haven't sent your request yet
- EHCP application Kent — full step-by-step guide including how to formally complain about delays
- EHCP checklist — what to gather and check at each stage
- EHCP solicitors directory — for serious or contested delays
- DLA criteria reflection tool — evidence prompts only; no eligibility or rate prediction