Concern Raised About ‘Vulnerable’ Children Waiting For Bristol EHCPs
Bristol EHCP timeliness causes councillor concern
When do we expect to be compliant with the law regarding plans for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (Send)? It’s the question a councillor has asked Bristol City Council in advance of a meeting today.
Councillor for Hengrove and Whitchurch Park, Tim Kent raised his concerns about lengthy waits for Education Health Care Plans (EHCP) ahead of Members Forum today.
It was revealed at Children and Young People Policy Committee last month that Bristol City Council had only finalised 05 per cent of EHCPs on time for the whole of 2025 up to the beginning of September.
The Children and Families Act 2014 states that an EHCP, following the start of a Needs Assessment, must be completed and finalised within 20 weeks.
But Bristol City Council has historically failed to do so.
In its answer to Kent’s question, the council says: “While full compliance will take time, the trajectory is positive, and we remain committed to achieving the statutory 20-week timeframe.”
It’s a statement Bristol families have heard repeatedly since the Send reforms. Bristol has never been on top of timeliness with EHCPs.
In 2020, former Executive Director of People, Jacqui Jensen, told People Scrutiny Commission that a backlog from 2018 had finally been cleared. However, during this time, a backlog from 2019 had grown to replace it.
Jacqui Jensen can be heard below telling families in July 2019 that it would take ‘months’ for the 2019 EHCP backlog to be cleared.
If you are in the Bristol EHCP process, it’s going to take months for the council to bring them back into statutory timeframes according to Bristol City Council’s Executive Director of Adults, Children, Education and Public Health this week. This is unlawful @southwestEHCP pic.twitter.com/gDYDlIOg9n
— Chopsy Bristol (@ChopsyBristol) July 21, 2019
For the whole of 2025 to 31 August 2025, Bristol City Council received 1,010 EHCNA requests, which was a decrease of 06 per cent compared to the same time period last year.
The rate of requests per 10,000 population in Bristol for Quarter 1 2025/26 sits 22.0. The England national rate is 23.2, meaning Bristol has not overtaken the national average.
Tim Kent, who had previously chaired People Scrutiny Commission before the change to a committee system in Bristol has a long history of challenging poor performance around EHCPS.
He said: “I’m concerned about the amount of EHCPs that are still not being completed within the statutory 20-week deadline leaving our vulnerable children without essential support. When do we expect to be compliant with the law and ensure all EHCPs are determined within the 20-week statutory deadline?”
The progress around EHCPs is managed by Bristol City Council’s Children’s Quality, Improvement and Performance Board.
It’s ‘independently chaired’ by Steve Crocker, an ex-president of Association of Directors of Children’s Services and current non-executive board member at the Department for Education.
The secretive board refuses to release any information regarding its work under the Freedom of Information Act, because the council does not wish families to have the information.
In answer to Councillor Kent’s question for today, Bristol City Council said:
- We recognise the impact that delays in completing Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) have on children and families. Meeting the 20-week timeframe is a statutory requirement and a top priority for our service. Demand for EHCPs has risen sharply, approximately 35% in 2024, mainly due to the withdrawal of non-statutory top-up funding, which previously supported children without requiring an EHCP; this has created significant pressure on the system.
- Our published EHCNA Improvement Plan sets out the reasons for these challenges and the actions we are taking. These include recruiting additional staff, investing in Educational Psychology capacity, introducing monthly performance clinics and improving processes. Where there have been delays in issuing EHCPs, funding is being backdated to the date by which the plan should have been finalised. This ensures schools are not financially penalised and support for children is maintained.
- The link to the published plan is here: Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment
Improvement Plan. - Progress against the EHCNA Improvement Plan, which was co-designed with our Health partners and parent carers, is being monitored by Children’s Quality, Improvement and Performance Board. A total of 686 EHCPs were issued in 2025 (up to August 2025), an increase of 41% (201 plans), compared to the same period in 2024.
- There has also been a significant increase in the number of Educational Psychology (EP) reports being completed each month (104 EP reports completed in August) and 889 EP reports completed in 2025, a 39% increase from 2024.
- The significant increase in the number of plans being issued in 2025 has reduced the average time children are waiting to have their plans issued (down to 42 weeks in August 2025, from 52 weeks in May 2025) which is a positive trajectory.
- While full compliance will take time, the trajectory is positive, and we remain committed to achieving the statutory 20-week timeframe.
Home: https://backstagebristol.com/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/chopsybristol.bsky.social
TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@chopsybristoltt
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/backstagebristol
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/chopsybaby