What is the SEND Portal?

It is used by Newcastle Council’s SEND Support, Assessment and Review (SAR) team to gather key information around EHC assessments, plans and we will soon be using it for reviews.

It is a secure website where sensitive information can be shared safely and, when fully implemented, will enable parents/carers/young people and professionals from education, health, and social care to:

• securely submit EHC referrals and professional advices.

• check the status and track the progress of an EHC assessment.

• enable the EHC plan to be viewed on-line.

• view copies of annual reviews.

Registration/Log on

Professionals

To register or log on to the SEND Portal, please follow this link:

Professional Portal

Click on the link below for a step-by-step guide on how to register or log on:

Step-by-step guide for Registration

Parents/Carers or Young people

To register or log on to the SEND Portal, please follow this link:

Citizen Portal for Parents/Carers/Young people

Click on the link below for a step-by-step guide on how to register or log on:

Step-by- step Guide for Registration

Please watch our video below for a step-by-step guide for parents/carers about how to sign up and submit a request for EHCP assessment through the SEND Portal:

EHC assessment requests- Professionals

For professionals the application can be completed on the template below:

Newcastle EHC Assessment Request including Health and Social Care Screening questionnaire

And then uploaded to the SEND Portal on the following form:

Supporting documents can also be uploaded alongside this.

EHC assessment requests- Parents/Carers/Self-referral

For parents/carers/self-referral  the application can be completed on the SEND Portal using the below form:

This method allows for full visibility during the EHC assessment process.

Alternatively, the EHC request template below can be used by parents/carers and then uploaded at Step 3:

Parent/carer EHC needs assessment and contribution form

Benefits of the SEND Portal

Parents/carers and young people can:

• Share their views directly via the SEND portal.

• Have full visibility of all the information being provided by schools and professionals during the process.

• Have more control over how and when they submit information in support of their request.

• Receive regular updates to tell them how things are progressing.

SEND caseworkers and business support staff can:

• Manage a more efficient and effective EHCP process. Demonstrate increased visibility and transparency of decision-making. 

• Automatically collate information from various contributors.

• Reduce the amount of scanning and re-typing required, allowing teams to spend more time providing support to children and families.  

• Allow the system to send automatic reminders which will help to speed up the EHC assessment process.

External SEND professionals can:

• Access a more complete picture, giving them a better understanding of the context of the child to provide the most appropriate person-centred advice.

• Receive automatic reminders of statutory timescales.

• Have clear history of all the information they’ve shared with the SEND team in one place.

• Organise their workflow more efficiently so they can work on the most urgent cases first.

Schools can:

• Have a better understanding of the needs of children with SEND in their school, enabling them to support children more effectively as a result. 

• Benefit from the automatic reminders of approaching statutory deadlines.

• Organise their workflows more efficiently to ensure the most urgent cases are focused on first.

SEND Portal Forms

If the EHC Panel agree to an assessment, information and/or advices will be requested from the children/young people, parents/carers and a range of professionals (where applicable). Please see the table below which explains what and how each form can be used and also the template that may be used and then uploaded:

Forms for Parents/Carers and Children/Young people

Form Name

Description

Template

Child or Young Persons Views 

This form would be used to provide the child/young person’s views.

This form has 8 steps and should be completed in collaboration with the child/young person.   Prompt questions on each step can be used to support the discussion.

Each section may include a few words, bullet points, short sentences or pictures/photos.

Alternatively, steps 1-6 can be left blank, and a completed template could be uploaded at Step 7. Extra information and/or evidence can also be uploaded here. Step 8 is a checking step.

Pupil View Guidance Sheet

Pupil View Template – Bubble

Pupil View Template – Plain

Pupil View Template – Symbols

Pupil View Prompts

Parent Carer contribution and request for a statutory Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment

This form can be used to request an EHC assessment for a child/young person or to provide a contribution to an assessment when a referral is completed by a professional.

This form has 4 steps. Steps 1 and 2 have a series of questions in support of an application, with some allowing up to 30,000 characters of information to be written.

Alternatively, a template could be completed and uploaded at Step 3. Extra information and/or evidence can also be uploaded here. Step 4 is a checking step.

Parent/ Carer EHC Needs Assessment Request and Contribution template

Parent, Carer or Young Person form to write or upload further information.

This form gives the parent/ carer/young person the opportunity to add information to an assessment. 

This form has 3 steps. Step 1 allows up to 30,000 characters of further information to be written.

Step 2 allows further information/evidence to be uploaded. 

If a professional has requested an EHC assessment, then the parent/carer contribution template could be uploaded at Step 2. Step 3 is a checking step.

Parent/ Carer EHC Needs Assessment Request and Contribution template

Parent/Carer Views – Question List

This form gives the parent/carer the opportunity to add information to the assessment with a series of 8 questions. 

This form has 2 steps. Each question allows up to 30,000 characters of information to be written.

Pupil Views - Questions

This form gives the child/young person the opportunity to add information to the assessment with a series of 8 questions. 

This form has 2 steps. Each question allows up to 30,000 characters of information to be written.

Parent or Carers reply to Agree or Disagree and suggest changes to Draft EHC Plan

This form is used in response to the draft plan.

This form has 4 steps. Step 1 asks for some personal information to be completed and whether you agree or disagree with the plan. If the answer is ‘No’ then please give reasons in the text box available.

Step 2 asks if the contents of the ‘assessment’ are accepted and questions around placement preference. 

Step 3 asks if any further discussions are needed. Step 4 is a checking step.

Upload or Change an existing Photo of the Child or Young Person we currently hold.

This form allows a photo to be uploaded or changed.

This form has 2 steps. Step 1 allows an image to be uploaded. Step 2 is a checking step.

Forms for Professionals

Form Name

Description

Template

Careers Advice Guidance

This form has 4 steps. Step 2 requires a brief description of what is being uploaded. Step 3 is where documents can be uploaded. Steps 1 & 4 are checking steps.

Own template used.

Early Years SEND Document Sharing Facility

This form has 4 steps. Step 2 requires a brief description of what is being uploaded. Step 3 is where documents can be uploaded. Steps 1 & 4 are checking steps.

Own template used.

Education Advice following Parental Request/ Self-Referral for a Statutory EHC Needs Assessment

This form is completed by school/setting when a parent/carer requests an EHC Assessment.

This form has 5 steps. Step 2 is where the template can be uploaded. Step 3 is where supporting and additional documents/evidence can be uploaded. Step 4 allows extra information to assist the request and assessment to be attached. Steps 1 & 5 are checking steps.

Education Advice for Parent/carer Requests and Self-referral

Educational Information and Document Sharing Facility

We are required legally to send a Notice 2 request (Advice) following the LA decision to assess. As you have possibly already submitted a comprehensive request form, please can you complete the Educational advice form and let us know that you have nothing more to add to your original information in the text box on Step 2 and proceed to the submit form section and submit.

If there have been any changes since the referral (such as a child moving, changing who they live with etc) then please enter those details in the text box at Step 2 and submit the form.

Step 3 allows you to upload extra information to contribute to the process stating the reason why and what it is your uploading then submit. Step 4 is a checking step.

Educational Psychology Document Sharing Facility

This form has 4 steps. Step 2 requires a brief description of what is being uploaded. Step 3 is where documents can be uploaded. Steps 1 & 4 are checking steps.

Own template used.

Form to Upload Completed Request for: EHC Needs Assessment for CYP aged 0-25

This form has 5 steps. Step 2 allows the completed Request for Assessment ot be uploaded. Steps 3 & 4 allow for extra supporting information and evidence to be uploaded. Steps 1 & 5 are checking steps.

Newcastle EHC Assessment Request incl Health and Social Care Screening questionnaire

Medical/Nursing Document Sharing Facility 

This form has 4 steps. Step 2 requires a brief description of what is being uploaded. Step 3 is where documents can be uploaded. Steps 1 & 4 are checking steps.

Medical/Nursing Advice Template

New form from 16/05/2023 Request for: Education Health and Care Needs Assessment for CYP aged 0-25

This form was previously used by professionals to request an assessment and so will still appear on some portal accounts.

This has now been replaced with ‘Form to Upload Completed Request for: EHC Needs Assessment for CYP aged 0-25’. 

SEND Outreach Service Document Sharing Facility

This form has 4 steps. Step 2 requires a brief description of what is being uploaded. Step 3 is where documents can be uploaded. Steps 1 & 4 are checking steps.

Own template used.

Sensory VI and HI Document Sharing Facility

This form has 4 steps. Step 2 requires a brief description of what is being uploaded. Step 3 is where documents can be uploaded. Steps 1 & 4 are checking steps.

Own template used.

Service Involvement Confirmation Form

This form has 3 steps. Step 2 requires an indication of whether the service will be contributing or not, and if so who would the assigned professional be. Steps 1 & 3 are checking steps.

Social Care Document Sharing Facility

This form has 4 steps. Step 2 requires a brief description of what is being uploaded. Step 3 is where documents can be uploaded. Steps 1 & 4 are checking steps.

Social Care Advice Template

Therapy Document Sharing Facility 

This form has 4 steps. Step 2 requires a brief description of what is being uploaded. Step 3 is where documents can be uploaded. Steps 1 & 4 are checking steps.

Therapy Advice Template

The Draft EHC Plan Agree or Disagree Form

This form has 4 steps. Step 2 asks for some personal information to be completed and also whether you agree or disagree with the plan. If the answer is ‘No’ then please give reasons in the text box available. Step 3 allows for further information or evidence to be uploaded. Steps 1 & 4 are checking steps.

Implementation of the SEND Portal

For Professionals, the portal is now open for all EHC needs assessment requests, we no longer accept requests in any other format.

If you are a parents/carer/self-referral we urge you to submit EHC needs assessment requests on the Citizen portal. If you need any help, please contact:

Ann.Banks@Newcastle.Gov.UK