If your child has special educational needs or a disability, navigating Kingston Council's system can feel like learning a second language — mid-crisis. This guide walks you through the Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) process, step by step. It also explains why the system is under exceptional strain right now, and what that means for your family in practice.
An Education, Health and Care Plan is a legally binding document, issued by the local authority, that sets out a child's special educational needs and the support they must receive. It covers children and young people from birth to age 25.
If your child needs more support than a school can provide from its own resources — and that need cannot be met through a standard SEND Support Plan — an EHCP may be the appropriate next step.
The key word is legally binding. Unlike a school's internal support plan, an EHCP places a statutory duty on the council. That matters — especially in a borough under financial pressure.
Anyone can request an EHC Needs Assessment for a child — a parent, carer, school, GP, or other professional. You do not need a referral. You do not need the school's permission, though their co-operation helps.
You submit your request in writing to Kingston Council's SEND team. The council must then decide within six weeks whether to carry out a full assessment.
That decision is binary: they either agree to assess, or they decline. If they decline, they must explain why in writing — and you have the right to appeal to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (SENDIST) if you disagree.
What to include in your request: A clear description of your child's difficulties, evidence from professionals already involved (teachers, paediatricians, speech therapists), and — crucially — how their needs cannot be met without an EHCP. The more specific and evidenced your request, the harder it is to decline.
If the council agrees to assess, it has 16 weeks from your original request to issue a final EHCP. That statutory clock starts ticking from the date of your written request — not the date they agreed to proceed.
During the assessment, Kingston will gather advice from a range of professionals: the school, an educational psychologist, health services, and social care if relevant. You, as the parent or carer, must also be asked for your views — and your child's views must be sought if they are old enough to express them.
An educational psychologist (EP) assessment is almost always central to this process. EP waiting times have been a pressure point in many London boroughs. Kingston has not published real-time waiting time data for EP assessments in an accessible format, which makes it difficult for parents to know what to expect before they begin.
If the assessment concludes your child needs an EHCP, the council must send you a draft plan. You have 15 calendar days to review it and request changes — including requesting a specific school by name.
This is one of the most important moments in the process. Read the draft carefully. Vague language — phrases like "some support" or "as appropriate" — is not sufficient. The plan must be specific: what support, how often, delivered by whom.
You can request amendments. If you and the council cannot agree on the final content, you again have the right to appeal to SENDIST.
Once the final EHCP is issued, the named school must provide the support it specifies. The plan must be reviewed at least annually — more frequently for children under five.
If your child's needs change, you can request an early review at any time.
Here is the context the council will not put in one place for you.
Kingston's High Needs Block is in serious trouble. The High Needs Block is the portion of the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) ring-fenced for SEND provision. Kingston is currently running a £12.67 million overspend on this block. That figure reflects the gap between what the government allocates and what Kingston is actually spending to meet statutory EHCP obligations.
This is not unique to Kingston — many English councils face similar pressures — but the scale matters locally. Rising demand for EHCPs, combined with the increasing complexity of needs and the cost of specialist placements (particularly independent specialist schools, which carry very high price tags), has pushed the budget well beyond its allocation.
The council's wider finances are also stretched. Kingston is facing a projected £18 million four-year budget gap in its Medium Term Financial Strategy for 2026–2030, with council reserves standing at just £14.2 million. The total Band D council tax bill for 2026/27 is £2,608.12 per year, up £119.77 — or 4.99% — from last year's £2,488.35. Residents are paying more, but the underlying SEND pressure has not eased.
What this means in practice: When a local authority overspends its High Needs Block, the pressure to reduce the number and scope of EHCPs intensifies — not through stated policy, but through slower processes, more requests for evidence, and tighter thresholds for what triggers a full assessment. Parents can find requests declined or delayed without always understanding why.
This is the critical point. The overspend does not change your child's legal rights. If your child meets the threshold for an EHCP, the council is legally obliged to issue one. The statutory timescales — six weeks to decide, 20 weeks total to issue a final plan — remain enforceable regardless of financial pressure.
If Kingston misses those deadlines, you can complain to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. If they decline to assess without adequate justification, or issue a plan that is too vague to be enforced, SENDIST is your route.
Keep records of everything. Date-stamp every letter, email and phone call. Request decisions in writing. If a deadline passes, write to the SEND team formally noting the breach.
Kingston's Local Offer website (available via the council's main site) lists services available to children with SEND. The Independent Provider of SEND Information Advice and Support (IASS) — sometimes called SENDIASS — provides free, impartial advice to families in Kingston. They are not part of the council and can advise you on challenging decisions.
Contact a Family and IPSEA (Independent Provider of Special Education Advice) are national organisations with strong resources on EHCP law.
The £12.67 million overspend is a significant figure. Residents — and parents in particular — deserve clear answers to several questions:
These are not unreasonable questions. They are the questions a borough spending £12.67 million more than its allocation on high needs should be able to answer publicly.
If you are a parent struggling with the EHCP process in Kingston — or if you simply want your councillor to know that SEND provision and the High Needs Block overspend are priorities for you — message your local councillors directly through Council Clarity. It takes two minutes, it creates a written record, and elected representatives need to hear from the residents most affected. Don't wait for a consultation that may never come.
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