The short version
When an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) application has been waiting for months, a school still has duties under the Children and Families Act 2014 to the child in question. The fact that the plan is not yet in place does not suspend those duties.
What matters during a delay is not just what the school is doing. It is what the school can prove it is doing. A record that cannot be produced is not a record that will protect the school or the child in the event of a dispute, an area special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) inspection, or a tribunal case.
MeritDocs keeps SEND documents in one searchable hub, so staff can filter by pupil, see what is current, and export when needed. Schools that can demonstrate a coherent, current record of provision are in a materially stronger position than those working from email threads, old plans, and memory.
MeritDocs keeps the evidence, current plan, review dates and actions together in one searchable record, with controlled access and export. It helps staff find the trail but does not replace professional judgement or statutory processes.
The legal framework
Section 42 of the Children and Families Act 2014 requires the local authority to secure the provision specified in an EHCP once the plan is finalised. Until it is finalised, that specific duty does not apply.
However, the school or institution's duty is set out in section 66 of the same Act. The local authority's duty to secure the special educational provision specified in a final EHC plan is set out in section 42. Section 29 concerns cooperation between the appropriate authority and the responsible local authority. "Best endeavours" is not a vague aspiration. In practice, schools should identify need, put appropriate support in place, and keep a clear record of what is being provided and whether it is working.
The relevant section for schools during an EHCP delay is Section 66. Schools must demonstrate they are using their best endeavours. That means having a current, written record of what is being done, why, and what effect it is having.
What best endeavours looks like in practice
Best endeavours during an EHCP delay typically means several things running at the same time:
The school has identified the child as having SEN and placed them on the SEN register at SEN support level. The school has appointed a case manager, usually the class teacher or form tutor, and a lead special educational needs coordinator (SENCO) contact. The school has a written support plan that sets out current provision, intended outcomes, and review dates. The school has engaged with outside agencies where needed and has records of those engagements.
What to do when an EHCP is delayed is not a new problem. It is an existing problem with a specific legal framing. The challenge for most schools is not knowing what to do. It is knowing how to record what is being done in a way that is coherent, current, and exportable.
The inspection risk
Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted)'s current school inspection operating guide says inspectors gather evidence to build a clear and typical picture of the school's work, with inclusion a key area of focus. That makes a current, coherent record useful when a school is explaining its SEND provision. It does not mean that a particular document, software system, or record guarantees an inspection outcome.
Area SEND inspections assess local area partnership arrangements, rather than grading an individual school's records. The area SEND inspection framework and handbook says inspectors evaluate a range of evidence about how local partners improve experiences and outcomes for children and young people with SEND. Schools may be visited or asked to help inspectors understand provision, but a school's record is one part of the evidence, not a standalone inspection judgement.
This is not about paperwork for its own sake. It is about having evidence that can be produced if it is needed. Patchwork systems work until they do not. Shared drives, old Word documents, email threads, and handwritten notes can keep a school going for a while. They are much less good at giving staff one dependable version of the truth when the day changes quickly.
What to keep and how
The school should maintain a live document for every child where an EHCP application is active or has been delayed. That document should record:
The date the application was submitted and to which local authority
The current stage of the application (check with the local authority (LA) caseworker and note the date and what was said)
Any correspondence received from the LA and the school's response
The provision currently in place for this child, with dates
Any outside agency involvement, with dates and what was discussed
Progress notes, with dates and who wrote them
Review dates and outcomes
This is not a separate EHCP substitute. It is a working record that keeps the child's needs visible to whoever is working with them, including cover staff, supply teachers, and anyone who steps in mid-year.
MeritDocs helps schools run this properly by keeping SEND documents in one place, with current information easier to find, review dates visible, and exports straightforward. When a caseworker calls and asks what provision is in place for a specific child, the answer should be a two-minute retrieval, not a 20-minute search.
Escalation and what to do when the LA is not responding
The EHC needs assessment and plan process is normally intended to take no more than 20 weeks, subject to exceptions in the statutory framework. If that timetable has been exceeded, the school should:
Document each contact with the LA in writing and keep copies. Write to the SEN caseworker with a formal update request and keep a copy. If the local authority is not responding, use its published SEND complaints or escalation route. Contact the EHCP Advice and Assessment Service at the local authority, or IPSEA if the family needs independent advice. If the family is considering mediation or a SEND Tribunal appeal, check the current eligibility, deadlines, and procedure rather than relying on a general timetable in a blog post.
Recording all of this activity in the same place as the provision records means the school is building a documented case rather than a collection of informal emails.
What good looks like
A school with a delayed EHCP case and sound records management has: a named case manager for the child, a live provision document that is reviewed at least termly, written evidence of all LA contact, and a record of what outside agencies have been engaged and when.
If that picture is not what the school has right now, the starting point is not legal action. It is pulling everything into one place before the situation gets complicated. MeritDocs helps schools do that without building an elaborate system.
The real gain is not just speed. It is a record people can actually rely on when the day changes quickly.
Sources and scope
This article applies to England. The legal duties discussed here come from the Children and Families Act 2014, section 29, section 42, and section 66. The wider EHC needs assessment and plan process is explained in the SEND code of practice: 0 to 25 years. Ofsted's current inspection approach is set out in its school inspection operating guide and its area SEND inspections framework and handbook. This is general information, not legal advice, and local authority escalation routes can differ.
Sources
school inspection operating guide
area SEND inspection framework and handbook