Educational Psychology (EP) reports used for Education, Health and Care Needs Assessments (EHCNAs) and EHCP reviews

Please provide the following recorded information held by the local authority in relation to Educational Psychology (EP) reports used for Education, Health and Care Needs Assessments (EHCNAs) and EHCP reviews. For clarity, this request relates to Educational Psychology services delivered as part of the local authority, including any internal QA or approval processes.

1. Quality Assurance (QA) documentation

a) Please provide copies of all documents that describe, govern, or reference any QA or approval process applied to EP reports, including but not limited to:

a.1) QA policies or protocols,

a.2) internal guidance or procedure notes,

a.3) QA criteria, checklists, or standards,

a.4) workflow documents or process maps.
2. Authority to require amendments

a) Please provide copies of any documents that describe:

a.1) which roles or job titles have authority to return EP reports for amendment prior to release,

a.2) any delegation of authority between EP staff and non-EP officers in relation to report approval or acceptance.

3. Report formats and templates

a) Please provide copies of:

a.1) any standard report templates used or issued for EP reports,

a.2) any section-level guidance, exemplars, or required headings relating to EP advice for EHC needs assessments or EHCP reviews.

4. Guidance issued to Educational Psychologists

a) Please provide copies of any written guidance, briefing notes, or instructions issued to Educational Psychologists which relate to:

a.1) report wording or structure,

a.2) recommendations or outcomes,

a.3) thresholds,

a.4) alignment with local authority provision, resources, or placement types.

5. Communications and feedback artefacts

a) Please provide copies of any standardised:

a.1) email templates,

a.2) feedback forms,

a.3) pro-formas,

a.4) tracked-change guidance, used when EP reports are returned for clarification, revision, or amendment following QA or review.

 6) If the requested information is held across multiple documents, please provide all relevant documents rather than summaries.

1a-1a.4 – See attached documents

2a.1) All Educational Psychology (EP) advice is subject to quality assurance by the designated EP Team Manager (SEND), with input and oversight from a Senior Educational Psychologist (who is a longstanding member of the LA’s locum EP Team). In the absence of the designated manager, this responsibility is delegated to another Team Manager (SEND). Following approval by the EP Team Manager (SEND), the advice is shared with the allocated SEND Caseworker for a secondary review and sense check.

2a.2) The EP Administration Team, facilitate this process, they DO NOT have any delegation of authority for approval or acceptance of EP Advice

3a.1) – A standardised advice template is utilised to ensure consistency, clarity, and compliance with statutory requirements across all EP advice. The template provides a structured framework for reporting, supporting high-quality, comprehensive, and coherent documentation.

This template is attached to every allocation email issued to the respective EP, ensuring that all professionals are working from the most current and approved version.

This approach promotes uniformity in practice, reduces the risk of omission, and supports the production of advice that meets Local Authority expectations and statutory standards. Please find attached document titled ‘EP Advice Template Final’

3a.2) The EP Advice Template (above) contains relevant section guidance Redacted, exemplars are available to all EPs via their access to the SEND EHCNA Report Writers Internal Page.

4a.1, 4a.2, 4a.3, 4a.4 - See attached documents in the response to Q1

5a.1, 5a.2, 5a.3, 5a.4 – At present, no specific templates are in use. Feedback is provided on an individual basis, reflecting the outcomes of the quality assurance process. Communications are bespoke, typically delivered via email and often followed by a discussion through Microsoft Teams. In the future, templates may be developed collaboratively with our longstanding locum EPs as part of termly meetings, discussions, and updates.

6. All documents have been attached to this response

Should you require the attachments mentioned above please contact customerinformationservice@lincolnshire.gov.uk with the below reference number and these can be provided.