Definition
"Statutory assessment" is the legal name for an EHC needs assessment, the local authority's process under section 36 of the Children and Families Act 2014 for deciding whether a child needs an EHCP. The term survives in older documents and is sometimes used interchangeably with "EHC needs assessment" by parents and professionals.
In context for parents
Key checkpoints
- The legal name for an EHC needs assessment, the LA's process under Children and Families Act 2014, s.36.
- The term survives in older documents and is sometimes used interchangeably with "EHC needs assessment".
- Pre-2014 statutory assessments led to a Statement of SEN under the Education Act 1996.
- Modern statutory assessment carries 20-week timeline and six advice strands (SEND Regulations 2014, regulation 6).
- Different from the Key Stage 1 / 2 statutory assessments (SATs) despite the shared name.
Before the 2014 reforms, "statutory assessment" was the recognised name for the LA's process under the Education Act 1996, which led to a Statement of SEN. After the Children and Families Act 2014, the equivalent process is called an EHC needs assessment, leading to an EHCP. The two terms refer to legally distinct processes, but the older term is still in everyday use, particularly in LA SEND team conversation and in schools' SEN policies that pre-date 2014.
Substantively, the modern statutory assessment is the EHC needs assessment described at Children and Families Act 2014 section 36, with the 20-week timeline and the six statutory advice strands (EP, school, parent, child or young person, health, social care, plus any others where needed) set out at regulation 6 of the SEND Regulations 2014.
The statutory underpinning is what distinguishes this assessment from school-side assessment, private clinical assessment, or paediatric assessment. A statutory assessment carries the statutory protections and timelines: the LA must complete it; refusal carries a right of appeal; the outcome is a legally binding document.
For families using the term in correspondence with the LA, "statutory assessment" and "EHC needs assessment" are interchangeable. The LA's response will use whichever term their team conventionally uses. The legal duties and timelines apply identically.
The other place "statutory assessment" appears in English education is in the Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 statutory assessments, the SATs. These are unrelated to the SEND statutory assessment process despite the shared name.
Related terms
The terms parents most often see alongside Statutory Assessment.
EHC Needs Assessment(EHCNA)
The local authority's statutory process for gathering advice from professionals to decide whether a child needs an EHCP. The LA has 20 weeks from request to issuing a final plan.
Education, Health and Care Plan(EHCP)
A legally binding document, issued by a local authority in England, that describes a child or young person's special educational needs and the provision the LA must arrange to meet them.
Children and Families Act 2014
The primary legislation reforming SEND in England. Part 3 of the Act created EHCPs, replaced Statements of SEN, and established the duties behind the SEND Code of Practice.
Where parents ask about this
Parents usually find this page when an older school policy uses the term, or when uncertain whether "statutory assessment" and "EHC needs assessment" mean the same thing. Searches include "statutory assessment SEND", "statutory assessment versus EHC needs assessment", and "request a statutory assessment". A Beaakon SEND solicitor or advocate can draft the EHC needs assessment request letter and run any appeal, using whichever terminology the local LA prefers, while securing the same statutory protections.
References
The primary legislation, statutory guidance, research, and clinical tools this page draws on.