SOCIAL CARE ADVICE FOR AN EDUCATION, HEALTH AND CARE
ASSESSMENT: NOTES ON COMPLETION
This guidance aims to assist social workers in the production of the report required
as a contribution towards an EHC Needs Assessment or transfer of a statement to
an EHCP of a child’s or young person’s education, health and care needs. The
purpose of the assessment is to gain a holistic picture of the child/young person as a
whole. However, the advice from professionals should be evidence based and
remain within their area of expertise. The purpose of the Social care advice should
be to identify social care needs, outcomes and provision. Related educational and
health needs will be obtained separately by professionals with expertise in these
areas.
Social Services must normally respond within a maximum of 6 weeks from the date
of receiving the request for advice letter as specified in the SEND Code of Practice.
Please use the provided template to provide your advice and fill in the required fields
as fully as possible.
Assessments of social care needs
Social care advice should be drawn from, if appropriate, the child in need or child
protection assessments, information from a looked after child’s care plan, or adult
social care assessments for young people over 18. In some cases, a child or young
person will have a statutory child in need or child protection plan, or an adult social
care plan, from which information should be drawn. On occasion, it may be
necessary to carry out further assessment if the required information cannot be
drawn from existing information.
The Social care advice should distinguish between social care needs which relate to
the child’s or young person’s special educational needs (SEN) or disability and social
care needs which are not directly linked to their SEN or disability. In the latter case it
will be necessary to seek the consent of the child and their parents before sharing
this information.
It should be explicit who has PR for the child or young person and if the child/young
person has been known to Social Services under different name(s) as well as who
should be consulted on any particular educational decision.
Descriptions of social care needs should outline the child, young person and family
care issues rather than any development objectives or recommended support, which
should be reflected in the subsequent sections.
Outcomes
If the child, or young person is an open case it should be noted that a qualified social
worker, usually the social worker allocated to the child’s/young person’s case, will be
required to attend an Outcomes meeting (or Transfer review) as part of the statutory
assessment. One purpose of this meeting will be to devise long term person centred
outcomes, in conjunction with the child and parents/carers. Any social care
outcomes devised should then form part of the advice and recommendations for
social care provision should be focussed on the child or young person achieving the
agreed outcomes. In the event that no social worker is able to attend the Outcomes
meeting (or Transfer Review) the advice will still need to identify suitable and
relevant outcomes directly linked to recommended social care provision. Guidance
regarding outcomes is separately attached.
Social care provision
Recommendations for social care provision should be split into two sections:
1) Social care provision recommended for a child or young person under 18
resulting from section 2 of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970
(CSDPA)

Provision should be detailed and specific and should normally be quantified,
for example, in terms of the type of support and who will provide it (including
where this is to be secured through a social care direct payment).

It should be clear how the provision will support achievement of the
outcomes, including any provision secured through a Personal Budget.

It must specify all services assessed as being needed for a disabled child or
young person under 18, under section 2 of the CSDPA. These services
include:
o practical assistance in the home
o provision or assistance in obtaining recreational and educational
facilities at home and outside the home
o assistance in travelling to facilities
o adaptations to the home
o facilitating the taking of holidays
o provision of meals at home or elsewhere
o provision or assistance in obtaining a telephone and any special
equipment necessary
o non-residential short breaks (on the basis that the child as well as his
or her parent(s) will benefit from the short break)

This may include services to be provided for parent carers of disabled
children following an assessment of their needs under sections 17ZD-17ZF
of the Children Act 1989.
2) Social care provision reasonably required by the learning difficulties or
disabilities which result in the child or young person having SEN.

Social care provision reasonably required may include provision identified
through early help and children in need assessments and safeguarding
assessments for children. It must only include services which are not provided
under Section 2 of the CSDPA. For children and young people under 18 this
includes residential short breaks and services provided to children arising
from their SEN but unrelated to a disability. This should include any provision
secured through a social care direct payment.

Social care provision reasonably required will include any adult social care
provision to meet eligible needs for young people over 18 (set out in an adult
care and support plan) under the Care Act 2014.

Any other social care provision reasonably required by the child or young
person, which is not linked to their learning difficulties or disabilities. Social
care provision such as child in need or child protection plans, or provision
meeting eligible needs set out in an adult care plan where it is unrelated to
SEN but appropriate to include in the advice.
Please make sure that your report is signed and dated