Free help writing a SEND letter to your local authority

What can the free SEND assistant help with?

The Local Authority Letters assistant can help parents organise the information they already have and turn it into clearer wording for review.

• Understand SEND and EHCP terminology.
• Organise information about their child’s needs.
• Identify the main issue they want the local authority to respond to.
• Create a clear structure for a letter.
• Turn notes into plain English.
• Suggest questions to ask the local authority.
• Help make a request clearer.
• Help organise dates, evidence and previous communication.
• Prepare a draft for the parent to review.

What can the assistant help me write about?

It can help with common SEND correspondence, as long as you provide the facts and review the draft before using it. It cannot guarantee a response or outcome from a local authority.

• An EHC needs assessment request.
• A request for information from the local authority.
• A request for an update.
• A concern about delayed action.
• A request for support or provision.
• A response to a local authority letter.
• A request for a meeting.
• A question about an EHCP annual review.

What the assistant cannot do

The assistant is a drafting and information tool. It does not replace a qualified professional who has reviewed your child’s full circumstances.

• Act as a solicitor.
• Provide formal legal representation.
• Guarantee that a local authority will agree with you.
• Diagnose a child.
• Replace professional advice.
• Check every fact in your child’s case.
• Send a letter or email without the parent choosing to do so.
• Make decisions for the parent.
• Create evidence that does not exist.
• State that a legal deadline has been met without the parent checking it.

How to use the free SEND support

1. 1Open the Local Authority Letters assistant.
2. 2Explain what has happened in your own words.
3. 3Tell it what you want the local authority to do.
4. 4Add important dates and information.
5. 5Ask it to help structure the letter.
6. 6Read and edit the draft carefully.
7. 7Add or remove anything needed.
8. 8Check the correct local authority contact details.
9. 9Send the letter yourself if you decide it is ready.

Start with the information you already have

You do not need to write everything perfectly before starting. You can begin with the basics and ask the assistant to help organise them.

• What has happened.
• What support their child needs.
• What they have already asked for.
• What response they received.
• What they want to happen next.
• Any important dates.

“I need help structuring a letter to my local authority. My child has these needs, this has happened, I have already asked for this, and I need the local authority to respond about this.”

Avoid sharing unnecessary names, addresses, dates of birth, school names, case numbers or other identifying details. Read the current privacy information before using the assistant.

FAQs