Essex is the worst in England for Send assessments

Rebecca Hall has been waiting more than 20 weeks to get her son Tommy assessed

Essex is the worst place in England for completing children’s special educational needs and disabilities assessments (Send), a senior council officer has confirmed.

Only 1% of children in the Essex county area receive an assessment for an educational health care plan (EHCP) within the legal time limit of 20 weeks.

Ralph Holloway, the head of Send strategy at Essex County Council, told councillors “we are at the bottom” and “we are not completing assessments in a timely manner”.

Marie Goldman, a Liberal Democrat opposition councillor, described the figures as “shocking”.

'It's awful'

Rebecca Hall, 32, from Chelmsford, is part of the 99% who have not had their child assessed in time despite, she said, the local authority agreeing that one should take place.

The 32-year-old said she had waited 21 weeks and "nothing has been done" for her four-year-old son Tommy.

“It’s appalling, I had tears in my eyes, because it’s not only us going through that. There are thousands of other children being failed by the system. It’s completely and utterly broken.”

Ms Hall said she felt she has been ignored by the local authority and has considered pursuing legal action.

Tony Ball, Essex County Council's education cabinet member, was questioned by parents

Ms Hall, along with other parents with children who have Send, attended a meeting at the council to ask questions and listen to councillors discuss the issue.

Tony Ball, cabinet member for education at the Conservative-run council, told the meeting that parents "want the best for their children".

But he said "sometimes they are advised badly by ambulance-chasing lawyers who make it very difficult for the council to then communicate directly with the parent. This goes across many cases."

Ms Goldman described his remarks as "insulting" to parents who "are not experts in the system that they are fighting" and sometimes required legal support, she said.

Mr Ball added that the "ability to pay [for an assessment] does not take any relevance on where people stand on priorities and how their cases are submitted".

Amy Greenfield says it took seven years to get her child into a special needs school

Amy Greenfield, 37, from Clacton-on-Sea, has three children and two have needed EHCPs. She said Mr Ball’s comments were "disgusting".

"Parents are seeking advice from professionals to get the diagnosis and [the council] is not listening to anything. It’s awful."

Ralph Holloway, the head of Send strategy, said Essex is "not completing assessments in a timely manner"

Requests for a special needs assessment increased by 143% between 2015-16 and 2022-23.

Of the almost 4,000 made between 2022 and 2023, the council agreed that 56% of them should take place.

In January 2024, there were 13,278 children with high needs in Essex, according to figures released by the council.

Mr Holloway said there “were pressures on the system” and the budget was forecast to be in deficit next year.

He added that the council, which is the local education authority, was looking to recruit "educational psychologists on mass" to address "the really bad data around completion of assessments".