How long does an EHCP take in South Gloucestershire?
The law allows 20 weeks; in 2025, South Gloucestershire issued 56.6% of new EHC plans within that deadline (197 of 348 plans, excluding exceptional cases), ranking it 74 of 148 reporting English councils. The England average was 46.1%.
The trend since 2019
† DfE changed the collection method between calendar years 2022 and 2023; treat cross-break trend comparisons with care. Bracketed figures are the number of plans each percentage is based on, excluding cases the regulations treat as exceptional. Counting exceptional cases as well, the 2025 figure is 54.2%.
The two statutory clocks
Two deadlines apply to every request. The council must decide whether to carry out an assessment within 6 weeks (regulation 5), and any final plan is due within 20 weeks of the original request (regulation 13).
- Decision within 6 weeks: South Gloucestershire decided on time for 76.5% of requests in 2025. England: 87.4%.
- Final plan within 20 weeks: South Gloucestershire issued on time for 56.6% of new plans. England: 46.1%, down from 46.4% the year before.
- Waits over a year: 0.8% of plans issued in 2025 took longer than 52 weeks.
Requests and refusals
South Gloucestershire received 848 requests for an EHC needs assessment in 2025 and refused to assess 39.5% of them. The England average refusal rate was 26.6%. Requests that are refused never reach the plan stage, so they are not counted in the 20-week timeliness figure above; the two are worth reading together.
Demand
South Gloucestershire maintained 3,669 EHC plans as at January 2026, up 91% from January 2019. Rising caseloads stretch the same statutory deadlines, which is context for the timeliness figures above, though the duties are unchanged by demand.
When families challenged the council
In 2025, 141 mediation cases and 34 SEND Tribunal appeals related to South Gloucestershire's assessment-request decisions. Across England, most decided appeals are found at least partly in the family's favour.
Annual reviews
Every EHC plan must be reviewed at least annually, and the council must give its decision within 4 weeks of the review meeting. In 2025, South Gloucestershire completed a review for 70.9% of the 3,153 plans where one was due, and gave its decision within 4 weeks in 50.9% of cases (England: 47.6%).
Area SEND inspection
Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission inspected the South Gloucestershire local area partnership (report published 2025-11-05 00:00:00). Outcome: inconsistent experiences and outcomes. Find the inspection report on Ofsted's site.
What the regulations require
The Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014 set the deadlines on this page: the 6-week decision (regulation 5) and the 20-week final plan (regulation 13), with limited exceptions set out in regulation 13(3). These are duties, not targets. In 2025, South Gloucestershire met the 20-week requirement in 56.6% of cases. New to the process? Start with what an EHCP is and how to apply.
The wider system is changing: the government's February 2026 white paper proposes reserving EHCPs for the most complex needs by 2035, with reassessments from September 2029. Nothing changes today, and every deadline above still applies in full. What the SEND reforms actually say.
If a deadline has been missed
- IPSEA's template letters cover chasing a late decision or a late plan.
- Every council funds a free, statutory information and advice service. Search "South Gloucestershire SENDIASS" to find yours; it is independent of the council's SEND team.
- GOV.UK explains the complaint and appeal routes, including when mediation applies.
Support while you wait
Many families arrange tutoring while an assessment or plan is delayed. Tutors on Tutorperch set their own rates and you contact them directly.
About this data
Source: DfE "Education, health and care plans", reporting year 2026 (published 2026-06-25), covering calendar year 2025. Inspection outcomes are from the Ofsted and CQC Area SEND management information. Figures describe South Gloucestershire as the local authority responsible for EHC plans. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. This page is updated when the DfE publishes each annual release.