A new system has been launched by the Council to make it easier for parents and carers in North East Lincolnshire to apply for education support for their children.
The new Parent Portal is an online system through which parents and carers can access case files relating to their children, view their child’s Education, Health and Care Plan, track progress and communicate directly with the Council’s Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) team.
The Council has acknowledged that the new system, which launched last week, has experienced some teething issues, but is confident that they can be overcome by working closely with parents.
Designed to make it easier for parents to monitor the progress of their child’s Plan and to interact with the Council’s team to make sure their child gets the right support, the new Portal is part of a number of changes to the way that EHCPs are managed digitally.
Speaking about the new Portal, Councillor Margaret Cracknell, portfolio holder for children and education at North East Lincolnshire Council, said that the move was designed to make things much simpler for parents.
“Parents don’t want to have to go back and forth with Council officers over email about issues regarding their child’s education – they want a really simple way to interact with the Council to ultimately make sure their child gets the right support.
“This new system, backed-up by a whole host of new processes, is designed to make things much easier and simpler for parents.
“We have had some early feedback from parents who have identified some teething issues, so we’re now looking at what we can do to address them, and how we can continue to support parents and their young people.
“Getting the right support for your child is so important, and we don’t want to be a barrier to that. I’m optimistic that parents will use our new Parent Portal to monitor the progress of EHCP applications, and to communicate with our friendly team about any issues.”
An Education, Health and Care Plan is a legally-binding document for children and young people aged 0 to 25 in England with complex educational needs. The Plan sets out what support a child might need to help them to achieve certain developmental milestones.
In January 2025, more than 630,000 children and young people had an EHCP, with a further 154,000 requests for EHC assessments. 2025 saw a more than 10% increase in the number of young people with EHCPs.
Next steps for parents:
Parents and carers who have a child with an EHCP will receive an email from [email protected]. From there, they will need to fill in their new request and submit.
They will then receive a code which they need to email to [email protected]. This provides the Council with verification which means the account can be activated, and their child’s EHCP can be attached to the record. Emails will be issued to all parents on our system over the next two days.
Should you wish to access the new hub urgently, visit the Council’s SEND Local Offer page (https://sendlocaloffer.nelincs.gov.uk) for more information on the new system, where you can complete a form to register for your account.
All data related to ongoing cases has been transferred to the new system. The previous EHC Hub has now been decommissioned and removed from the Council’s website. Those who have submitted EHCARs since 15th December have done so through the new EHC hub and are already online with active accounts.
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