Education officials have "missed" their milestone target to increase the number of Education Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) completed within statutory timeframes.

Officials had hoped that by April this year (2025), at least 60% of EHCPs would be completed within 20 weeks.

But the latest data – published by Hertfordshire County Council – shows that in the 12 months ending in April, the authority had not met the milestone.

Throughout 2024 (Jan to Dec), council officials say 56.3% of EHCPs were issued within 20 weeks – just 3.7% shy of the 60% milestone.

And that annual figure, they say, is 16% higher than the 40.2% rate recorded in Hertfordshire in 2023.

Achieved whilst increasing the overall number of completed EHCPs by 27%, they say it's almost 24% higher than the 32.6% completed on time in the county in 2022. It is also higher than the national average of 46.4%.

Despite failing to hit the milestone 60%, they say Hertfordshire now ranks as "one of the better performing areas in the country for Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) completion".

"We did aim to hit 60% by the end of 2024 and, despite the significant improvement in our performance since the Ofsted Local Area inspection in 2023, we have missed that milestone by a few per cent," said a spokesperson for the county council.

"This is mainly due to a 27% rise in the number of requests for assessments last year compared to 2023, which is a larger increase than we had expected.

"As of this month (July 2025), over 14,400 children and young people in Hertfordshire are supported with an EHCP, up 10% from this time last year and a 223% increase between 2015 and 2025.

"We know that we've been challenged to keep up with that increase, and that's why SEND improvement is a key priority for both the county council and local NHS."

Data on EHCP completion rates has been published by the county council, as part of performance data presented to the council's cabinet.

It also shows that in the first three months of this year – between January and March – the rate of EHCPs completed within statutory timeframes dropped to 31%.

That is 7% lower than the 38% recorded in November 2023, when an inspection report by OFSTED and the CQC had highlighted the "significant delays" in the process.

Accounting for the fall in the rate of EHCPs completed within the statutory timescale, officials say that in this three-month period there had been a focus on reducing the number of overdue assessments.

And although 650 EHCPs were completed – more than in any other three-month period of 2024/25 – the knock-on effect meant a greater proportion were not within the timescale.

Indeed, the data suggests that in that three-month period, officers completed 201 EHCPs within the 20-week timeframe, which was actually more in number than the 188 in the previous three-month period (Oct-Dec 2024).

A spokesperson for the county council said: "We still have a backlog of outstanding EHCPs that we are working hard to clear, and due to the way the quarterly statistics are calculated, our success is this area has led to a drop in recorded performance, even though we issued more EHCPs on time than in the previous quarter."

According to the report presented to the cabinet, as completion of assessments returns to "more typical timescales", the proportion issued within statutory timeframes is "expected to improve".

"The additional investment proposed in the 2025/26 will support the continued work to improve timeliness further to meet both the milestone of 60 per cent identified in the Priority Action Plan and beyond," says the report.

"This is absolutely not a 'ceiling': it represents an improvement milestone as set out in the Priority Action Plan agreed in January 2024 and based on the service's starting baseline.

"Our ambition is to support all children in a timely way and to be among the best performers in the country, and we are committed to achieving this, in the context of a national challenge for SEND."

EHCPs are legal documents that outline the additional support a child or young person needs to meet their special educational, health and care needs.

Delays in the EHCP process were among the issues highlighted in an inspection report – published in November 2023 – that found systemic failings in the provision of SEND services in the county.

The report also highlighted issues that included a shortage of specialist school places, delays in ASD and ADHD diagnoses and long wait times to access speech and language services.

Dame Christine Lenehan was drafted in to be an independent chair of a multi-agency improvement board.

In the wake of the inspection, the county council set a milestone target to complete 60% of EHCPs within 20 weeks by April 2025