Evidence categories explained

Every evidence item in your Vault is assigned to one of ten categories. Categorisation is not just organisational, it determines which filters apply when you build a bundle, and it helps SENVault understand the context of a document.

The ten categories

EHCP

Documents that relate directly to the Education, Health and Care Plan process:

• Draft EHCPs at any stage
• Final EHCPs (all versions, keep every one)
• Annual review paperwork and reports
• Refusal letters (refusal to assess, refusal to issue)
• Section amendments you have requested
• Correspondence with the local authority about the EHCP

DLA

Documents that support a Disability Living Allowance claim:

• DLA decision letters
• DLA renewal forms
• Mandatory reconsideration requests and responses
• Supporting letters written specifically for a DLA application
• Award notices

For evidence that supports a DLA claim but was not written for that purpose (e.g. an OT report that describes care needs), use the category that matches the document's origin (Therapy, Medical, etc.), SENVault will still extract DLA-relevant sentences from it.

Diagnosis

Documents related to formal assessment and diagnosis:

• Diagnostic assessment reports (ADOS-2, WISC, etc.)
• Referral letters to assessment services
• Waiting list confirmation letters
• Diagnostic outcome letters
• Pre-assessment questionnaires returned by professionals

Education

Documents produced by or about the child's school or education setting:

• School progress reports and annual reviews
• SEN Support plans and Individual Education Plans (IEPs)
• Teacher observations and learning profiles
• School SENCo correspondence
• Exclusion records
• Attendance records
• Transition plans

Medical

Documents from medical professionals:

• GP letters and referral letters
• Paediatrician reports and clinic letters
• Neurology, psychiatry, or hospital specialist reports
• Prescription records (if relevant to SEND needs)
• Hospital discharge summaries

Therapy

Documents from allied health professionals:

• Occupational therapy (OT) assessments and reports
• Speech and Language Therapy (SALT) assessments and reports
• Physiotherapy notes
• Sensory profiles
• Portage or early years intervention reports
• CAMHS reports (where the professional is a therapist rather than a psychiatrist)

Social Care

Documents from social care or relating to Section D and H of the EHCP:

• Social care assessments
• Care plans and support plans
• Section 17 assessments (child in need)
• Early Help plans
• EHCP Sections D, H1, H2 (if separated from the full EHCP)

Safeguarding

Any document relating to safeguarding concerns:

• Child Protection plans
• Section 47 enquiry correspondence
• LADO referrals
• Safeguarding incident records

Appointments

Summaries of appointments not captured through the Appointments tracker:

• Brief notes from a meeting or call
• Professional appointment summaries you have written yourself
• Letters confirming upcoming appointments

Note: if you are using the Appointments feature in the app to log appointments, you do not need to also upload them here, they are already in your timeline.

General

Anything that does not fit elsewhere:

• Correspondence that spans multiple categories
• Freedom of Information responses
• Subject Access Request responses (use Disclosures if tracking SAR status separately)
• Media or news articles (rarely relevant, but occasionally useful)

Recategorising existing items

If you realise you have put something in the wrong category, open the evidence item and select Edit. You can change the category without affecting the file or any document analysis already run on it.