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Your views are part of the evidence the council must take into account, and they shape Section A of your child's EHC plan. Here is what the law says, what to include, and an illustrative example written in plain English.
This guide explains the legal framework and what you need to know. When you are ready to write the actual letter, .
When you ask for an EHC needs assessment, or when your child's EHC plan is being written or reviewed, the local authority will ask for your views. Some councils send a form with headings, some call it "parental advice" or a "parent and carer contribution", and some simply ask you to write something. Whatever it is called, this is your chance to describe your child as only you can: who they are at home, what they love, what is hard for them, and what you hope for their future.
Many parents find this the hardest part of the paperwork to start. It feels personal, there is no right length, and it is tempting either to write a single line or to pour out years of worry. This guide explains what the law says about your views, what to include and how to write them clearly, with an illustrative example further down.
Your views turn up in two places. During an EHC needs assessment, the local authority must seek advice and information from you as the child's parent, and must take into account your views, wishes and feelings (SEND Code of Practice 2015, paragraph 9.49). Then, when the plan is written, the first section of every EHC plan, Section A, records the views, interests and aspirations of the child and their parents (paragraph 9.62).
The same piece of writing often does both jobs. The advice and information gathered during the assessment must be attached to the plan in Section K (paragraph 9.62), and what you write shapes what the council puts in Section A.
Your views are not a courtesy. Section 19 of the Children and Families Act 2014 says that when a local authority in England carries out its SEND functions, it must have regard to the views, wishes and feelings of the child and their parent, to the importance of you both taking part as fully as possible in decisions, and to the information and support you need to do that.
The SEND Code of Practice builds on this. Paragraph 9.21 says local authorities must consult the child and the parent throughout the assessment and the writing of the plan, and that planning should start with the individual. Paragraph 9.22 says the process should enable you and your child to express your views, wishes and feelings, should use clear ordinary language rather than professional jargon, and should highlight your child's strengths and capabilities. Paragraph 9.24 says councils should give families time to prepare for discussions and meetings.
When the plan is written, paragraph 9.61 says it should be clear how your child has contributed to the plan and how their views are reflected in it, and that the plan should describe positively what your child can do and has achieved.
The Code sets out what Section A should contain in the table that follows paragraph 9.69. Using those headings, plus one practical addition of your own, is a good way to make sure nothing important is missed:
1. Who your child is. Their personality, what they enjoy and what they are good at. The Code asks plans to describe positively what a child can do, so start with strengths.
2. Play, health, schooling, independence and friendships. The Code names each of these. A few honest sentences on each gives a rounded picture.
3. Their history. Key events, diagnoses, changes of school, and the support that has and has not helped so far.
4. How to communicate with them. The Code asks for a summary of how to communicate with your child and involve them in decisions. You are the expert here: how they show they are upset, what helps them understand, and what makes things worse.
5. Hopes for the future. Paragraph 9.65 says long-term aspirations belong in Section A, and the Code asks for thought to be given to aspirations for paid employment, independent living and community participation.
6. What a typical day is really like. This one is not on the Code's list, but for the assessment, specific examples of what happens at home before and after school help professionals understand needs that school may not see.
It helps to keep aspirations and outcomes separate in your mind. Aspirations are the big hopes, such as having close friends or working with animals one day. Outcomes are the specific, measurable steps the plan aims for, and they go in Section E (paragraphs 9.64 to 9.66). You do not need to write outcomes yourself, but your aspirations help the professionals set sensible ones.
Section A is for your child's views as well as yours, and the Code expects them to be heard in a way that suits them. Paragraph 9.45 says the local authority should seek views from the child using appropriate methods, which might include observation for a very young child or other ways of communicating. Some children are happy to write or draw something, some prefer to answer a few simple questions with you, and some communicate best through what they choose to do.
If you include your child's own words, keep them separate from yours and say they are a direct quote. The Code says that where Section A is written in the first person, the plan should make clear whether the child is being quoted directly or whether the views of parents or professionals are being represented.
1. Write as you speak. The Code asks for clear ordinary language, so there is no need for formal or technical wording.
2. Be specific. "He finds change hard" says far less than "If the plan for the day changes without warning, he can take an hour to calm down, and some days he cannot go back into class".
3. Start with strengths, then be honest about the hard parts. Both matter, and a plan that only lists difficulties misses who your child is.
4. Use headings. Short sections are easier for busy professionals to read and easier for you to check against the draft plan later.
5. Keep it to a length you can manage. There is no set length. A page or two that is clear and specific is usually more useful than many pages of background.
6. Date it and keep a copy. You will want to compare it with the draft plan, and you may want to update it for the annual review.
The example below is made up. Maya is not a real child, and the details are only there to show the kind of plain, specific writing that helps. Your own views should describe your own child, in your own words.
Illustrative example only. Maya is a made-up child, not a real family.
About Maya. Maya is eight and lives with us and her younger brother. She is funny, gentle with animals and has a brilliant memory for facts about the natural world. She can name almost every bird in our garden and loves building dens.
School. Maya wants to learn but finds the classroom overwhelming. Noise and busy corridors make it hard for her to concentrate, and by lunchtime she is often exhausted. She reads well but finds writing slow and tiring, and she avoids tasks she thinks she will get wrong.
Friendships and play. Maya would love to have a close friend. She tends to play alongside other children rather than with them, and she gets upset when the rules of a game change without warning.
Health and independence. Maya sleeps badly on school nights. She can dress herself but needs a picture checklist to get ready in the morning.
How to talk with Maya. Give her one instruction at a time and a moment to think. Warn her before something changes. When she is upset she goes quiet and hides her face, and she needs a calm space rather than questions.
In Maya's own words. When we asked what would help at school, Maya said: "A quiet place to go and someone who explains things again."
Our hopes for Maya. We hope Maya will be happy at school, have friends she trusts, and one day work with animals, which she talks about all the time.
Notice what the example does. It opens with strengths, gives concrete examples rather than labels, keeps Maya's own words separate and marked as a quote, and ends with hopes for her future rather than a list of services.
When the local authority sends you the draft EHC plan, it must give you at least 15 days to give your views and make representations on its content, and it must make its officers available to meet you if you ask (paragraph 9.77). Read Section A carefully against what you wrote. Check that it sounds like your child, that your hopes for them are there, and that it is clear which words are your child's and which are yours.
It is worth getting Section A right at this stage. Appeals to the SEND Tribunal about the content of a plan cover Sections B, F and I (the needs, the special educational provision and the school named), as GOV.UK and appeal form SEND35 both set out, so Section A is best corrected through your response to the draft or at the annual review.
The same 15 days is also your chance to check that every need in Section B has provision in Section F to meet it. Paragraph 9.68 of the Code says the plan must specify the special educational provision required to meet each of your child's needs.
You do not have to do this alone. Local authorities must provide parents with impartial information, advice and support so they can take part effectively in the assessment and planning process (paragraph 9.29 of the Code), and your local SENDIASS is where to find it. IPSEA, a national charity, also gives free and independent advice about SEND. This guide is information, not legal advice.
What are parent views in an EHCP?
They are your written account of your child: who they are, what they enjoy, what they find hard, how best to communicate with them and what you hope for their future. The local authority must take your views into account during an EHC needs assessment, and they inform Section A of the plan.
What goes in Section A of an EHC plan?
The views, interests and aspirations of the child and their parents, or of the young person. The SEND Code of Practice lists aspirations for the future, play, health, schooling, independence and friendships, the child's history, and how to communicate with them.
How long should parent views be?
There is no set length. A page or two that is clear, specific and organised under headings is usually more useful than a very long document.
Can I include my child's own views?
Yes, and you should where you can. Keep their words separate from yours and make clear when you are quoting them directly, as the Code expects.
Can I appeal Section A of an EHC plan?
Appeals to the SEND Tribunal about the content of a plan cover Sections B, F and I. If Section A does not reflect your views, raise it in your response to the draft plan, which you have at least 15 days to send, or at the annual review.
Is there a template for parent views?
Your local authority may have its own form. If not, the headings in the Code's description of Section A make a sensible structure, and the example above shows the kind of plain, specific writing that helps.
If you have not yet asked for an assessment, SEN Letters UK can generate the letter that requests an EHC needs assessment from your local authority, worded professionally and referencing the law it rests on. When the draft plan arrives, EHCP Draft Review checks every need in Section B against the provision in Section F, flags vague wording, and drafts the amendments for you to send back within your 15 days. And if a letter from the council leaves you unsure what it means, Explain a Letter gives you a plain-English explanation of it and a drafted reply.
SEN Letters UK writes the letter for you, professionally worded, legally informed, tailored to your child's situation.
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