EHCP Process In Bristol Hits 1 Per Cent Timeliness

Bristol City Council EHCP data shows system in severe crisis again

The process for families, schools, children and young people applying for Education Health Care Plans (EHCP) in Bristol, is now taking almost a year to complete. This is more than twice the legal time frame of 20 weeks.

When families or young people make a request for a plan, they submit what is called an Education Health Care Needs Assessment (EHCNA) to their local authority.

Bristol City Council says it has seen a ‘decrease’ in the number of EHCNAs it received in February this year compared to February 2024.

But the council only managed to finalise 1 per cent of plans issued in February 2025 within 20 weeks.

The year to date timeliness for the EHCP process from EHCNA request to a finalised plan is just 3 per cent. This was even lower than the 17 per cent issued on time at the end of 2024.

Families and young people are waiting an average of 49.3 weeks for an EHCP in Bristol based on February’s statistics.

Bristol City Council says it is bringing ‘additional capacity’ into the service and its educational psychology service

As of the end of February this year, there were also 248 children and young people waiting for a place in a specialist setting.

The data comes from the Children and Young People Policy Committee Update Report by Executive Director for Children and Education – Hannah Woodhouse – which is due to be delivered at the council house on 08 May 2025.

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