Application Wizard - Assessments

When an Needs Assessment is carried out, the Local Authority will seek advice from an Educational Psychologist. We believe that most children and young people would also benefit from assessments from an Occupational Therapist and a Speech and Language Therapist. We request these as standard. You can also request that other organisations are involved too.

You may also want assessments for the following:

CAMHS assessment

Why ask for a CAMHS assessment on top of the normal EHC Needs Assessment — and will they assess Autism or ADHD?

1. Mental health is often missed in the EHCNA process

• The standard EHC Needs Assessment (EHCNA) usually focuses on things like learning, speech and language, and physical needs.
• Emotional or mental health needs (like anxiety, ADHD, low mood, OCD, behaviour struggles, etc.) can be skipped unless you actively ask for a CAMHS assessment.

2. CAMHS can diagnose and evidence things the LA can't ignore

• A CAMHS assessment can provide official evidence or a diagnosis which the local authority must consider.
• That makes it harder for them to downplay your child's anxiety, behaviour struggles or mental health needs in the EHCP.

3. It strengthens your EHCP section B & F

• More professional reports = stronger EHCP.
• CAMHS might recommend things like therapy, emotional regulation support, behaviour strategies, sensory strategies – and those can be written into the plan and funded.

4. Will CAMHS do an ASD assessment during the EHCNA?

• Usually, CAMHS won't automatically do a full Autism assessment as part of the EHCNA, unless there was already a separate referral for ASD.
• During the EHCNA, CAMHS may write a report about mental health or behaviour — but a full ASD diagnosis usually goes through a separate neurodevelopmental pathway, which often has its own waiting list.

• That’s why it’s important to ask in writing for:

  “A full neurodevelopmental assessment, including ASD and ADHD, to be carried out by CAMHS or the relevant health team, as part of the EHC Needs Assessment.”

5. Ask both the LA and CAMHS

• In your EHCNA request, you can ask the local authority to seek medical and psychological advice from CAMHS (this is a legal requirement under the SEN regulations).
• At the same time, ask your GP or CAMHS directly for an Autism/ADHD referral — so it’s not ignored.

Health Care assessment

Why ask for a Health/Medical assessment as part of an EHC Needs Assessment?

1. The basic EHCNA often misses the medical side

• The local authority often sends forms to school and maybe speech therapy, but medical issues like sleep, eating, seizures, motor skills, sensory issues, continence, fatigue, medication side-effects, genetic conditions can be completely overlooked.

2. A Health (medical) assessment brings in NHS professionals

• You can ask for input from:
  • Paediatricians
  • Occupational Therapists
  • Physio
  • Dietitian
  • Epilepsy nurse / sleep clinic etc.
• Their reports count as medical advice and must be included in the EHCP (Section C and G).

3. Why it matters

• If a child has sensory issues, fatigue, coordination problems, low muscle tone, medication or sleep issues — these can affect school massively.

  With a medical assessment report, the EHCP can include things like:

  • Sensory breaks
  • Adapted PE
  • OT equipment
  • Medical care plans
  • Adjusted school day / reduced hours
  • 1:1 help for toileting / epilepsy / feeding etc.

4. Many parents don’t realise this is allowed

• The law says the LA must seek medical and psychological advice during the EHCNA (Regulation 6, SEND Regs 2014).
• But if you don’t ask, they may just write "No medical needs reported".

Social Care assessment

Why ask for a Social Care assessment on top of the normal EHC Needs Assessment?

1. The EHCNA mostly looks at school and education.

• The standard assessment focuses heavily on learning, speech and physical needs. It often misses emotional wellbeing and what’s happening at home.

2. A Social Care assessment looks at daily life outside school

• It can cover things like:
  • Behaviour at home
  • Safety concerns
  • Challenging behaviour that affects siblings or routines
  • Support needed for personal care, sleep issues, supervision needs
• They look at how the child's needs affect the whole family, not just school.

3. Section C and Section H of an EHCP

• Section C = Social Care needs
• Section H = Social Care provision (support/services)
• If no social care assessment is done, these sections often get left blank with “Not known to social care” written — even if the family is struggling.

Key clarification (Social Care):

A lot of parents assume you only get a social worker if there’s a protection issue. But in SEND, a Social Care assessment can be purely for support, like respite, short breaks, or practical help. You don’t need to be in crisis to ask.