From Crisis to Innovation: Why EHCPs Can’t Wait Any Longer

The numbers don’t lie: the EHCP system is on the brink of collapse.

In just nine years, the number of children and young people in England with an Education, Health and Care Plan has rocketed by 140%. That’s over half a million children depending on a system that was never designed for this level of demand. The result? Families waiting months – even years – for support, councils drowning in paperwork and deficits, and professionals stretched to breaking point.

And here’s the starkest fact of all: parents win up to 98% of their tribunal cases. That means the system is routinely failing to deliver children’s legal entitlements. It’s adversarial, it’s costly, and it’s unsustainable.

A Perfect Storm

The crisis is being fuelled by three interlocking problems:

• Demand outstripping resources: Budgets for high needs education haven’t kept pace with the explosion in EHCP requests. Councils are forced into impossible choices, rationing support and building up deficits that run into the tens of millions.
• Workforce shortages: Key professionals such as Educational Psychologists are in short supply nationwide. Councils can’t recruit at the scale needed, leaving assessments delayed and families in limbo.
• Complexity of need: Rising numbers of children with autism, mental health difficulties, and multiple disabilities require highly individualised support – yet the system is still mired in outdated, paper-heavy processes.

The outcome is devastatingly predictable: children waiting too long for help, parents forced into legal battles, and staff burnt out by a workload that only grows heavier.

Why Incremental Change Won’t Cut It

We’ve been papering over the cracks for too long. Emergency funding injections, temporary accounting fixes, and short-term workforce initiatives haven’t solved the problem – they’ve simply bought time. Meanwhile, the backlog grows, trust with families erodes, and councils shoulder ever-increasing risk of non-compliance.

If nothing changes, demand will overwhelm the system completely.

Enter EHCP Plus: Innovation That Works

This is where innovation must step in. EHCP Plus is not a pilot idea or a theoretical fix – it’s already in use, already saving time, and already improving outcomes.

By using AI to draft EHCPs from professional reports, EHCP Plus saves 5–6 hours of staff time per plan. Multiply that across the tens of thousands of plans written each year and the gains are enormous. More importantly, it gives caseworkers their most precious resource back: time to actually support families.

It’s not about replacing professional judgement – it’s about removing the bureaucracy that stops professionals from doing their real job. The AI produces a high-quality first draft in minutes; staff refine, personalise, and ensure quality. The result? Faster plans, higher compliance with statutory deadlines, and fewer children stuck waiting.

A Call to Action

Every council leader, Director of Children’s Services, and SEND professional knows the truth: the system is broken. What matters now is whether we carry on firefighting or take bold steps to rebuild.

The choice is stark:

• Stay in crisis mode, watching backlogs grow and families lose faith.
• Or embrace practical innovation that reduces delays, restores trust, and ensures children get the support they deserve – when they need it.

EHCP Plus isn’t a silver bullet, but it’s a decisive step in the right direction. The councils already adopting it are showing what’s possible: faster processes, better compliance, and less strain on staff.

The time for incremental tweaks is over. Transformation isn’t optional anymore – it’s essential.

The question is: will you lead it, or will you let the crisis deepen?

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