Section 05 · EHCP Tracking
Next action tracking
How to set and manage next actions in your EHCP case, deadlines, responsibilities, and reminders so nothing slips through.
After reading this article you can
- Add a next action to an EHCP tracking case
- Set a due date and assign responsibility
- Use the actions list to stay on top of statutory deadlines
EHCP cases are driven by deadlines, statutory timescales that the LA is legally required to meet, and practical deadlines that matter for your own case management. Next action tracking keeps these visible and organised so nothing gets missed.
What is a next action
A next action is any specific thing that needs to happen in your case, with a responsible party and a due date. This might be:
- Something you need to do ("Write to the LA requesting an EHCP assessment, by [date]")
- Something the LA is required to do ("LA to issue draft EHCP, statutory 20 weeks from request")
- Something a professional has committed to ("OT to send updated report, confirmed verbally on [date], promised within 4 weeks")
- Something you are waiting on ("School to complete their advice submission, requested [date]")
Adding a next action
Open your EHCP tracking case
From the EHCP Tracking section, select the active case. Go to the Actions tab.
Select Add action
Enter:
- What needs to happen: a clear description of the action
- Responsible party: you, the LA, the school, a professional, or your advocate
- Due date: when this should happen by
- Priority: routine, important, or urgent
Link to a statutory timescale (if applicable)
If this action is driven by a statutory timescale, you can flag it as such. The app will note the legal basis for the deadline, useful if you later need to demonstrate the LA missed it.
Key EHCP statutory timescales
The SEND Code of Practice sets out the following timescales. The app will help you track these automatically when you log key dates:
| Stage | Timescale | |---|---| | LA decision on EHC needs assessment | 6 weeks from request | | LA to issue draft EHCP (if assessing) | 16 weeks from request | | LA to issue final EHCP | 20 weeks from request | | Annual review meeting (from issue of final EHCP) | Within 12 months | | LA response to annual review | 4 weeks from meeting | | LA response to amendment request | 8 weeks from meeting |
Important
These timescales are frequently missed by LAs. If a statutory deadline passes without the required action, log it immediately as a missed deadline in your case notes and consider seeking advice from a SEND advocate.
Overdue actions
Actions that pass their due date without being marked complete are flagged as overdue. Review your overdue actions regularly, an accumulation of overdue LA actions is significant evidence of systemic failure if you later reach a tribunal.
What to do next
- 1
Add the next action in your case
What is the most pressing thing that needs to happen in your child's EHCP case right now? Add it with a due date.
- 2
Read about EHCP case statuses
The final article in this section explains how to track and update the overall status of your EHCP case.
Next in this section
EHCP case statuses explained
What each EHCP case status means in SEN Evidence Vault, how to update your case status, and why tracking status matters.
Related articles
EHCP case tracking
How to create and manage an EHCP case in SEN Evidence Vault, track its status from assessment request to resolution, and record next actions.
Understanding EHCP flags
How SEN Evidence Vault identifies potential issues in your child's EHCP, vague language, missing provisions, and sections that may not meet the legal standard.
The EHCP section editor
How to annotate individual sections of your child's EHCP, attach evidence, record concerns, and track changes between versions.
Open the app
Try this in SENVault
Track your EHCP case from assessment to tribunal and manage flags and notes.
Open SENVault