Explain
Bringing a child to the council's attention
Anyone can tell the council about a child or young person in its area who has, or may have, special educational needs. It could be a health visitor, a doctor, a nursery or a family friend. The council then becomes responsible for them. It must decide whether to carry out an EHC needs assessment, and tell the parent or young person within 6 weeks. This is separate from a formal request, which only a parent, young person, school or college can make.
Integrated care boards, NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts have a duty of their own. When they think a child under compulsory school age has, or probably has, special educational needs or a disability, they must tell the parent and give them a chance to discuss it. They must then bring the child to the council's attention.
- Type of rule
- Law (Act or Regulations)
- Rule id
brought_to_attention- Rules version
- england-2026.10
- Law as at
- 30 September 2026
Sources
- Children and Families Act 2014, s 24Law (Act or Regulations)
- Children and Families Act 2014, s 36(3)Law (Act or Regulations)
- SEND Regulations 2014, reg 5(1)Law (Act or Regulations)
- Children and Families Act 2014, s 23Law (Act or Regulations)
Related
- Asking for an EHC needs assessment
- The council (local authority)
- Time limits for assessments and plans (6, 16 and 20 weeks)
In an assistant, the ehcp_calculate_deadlines tool helps with this: EHCP deadlines.
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