What SEMH covers
The SEND Code of Practice 2015 (chapter 6) describes SEMH as one of four broad areas of need. Children may present with:
- Anxiety, panic, low mood or depression-type presentations
- Withdrawal, selective mutism, or social isolation
- Anger, dysregulation, or aggression presenting at school or home
- Attachment-related difficulties
- Trauma responses (including from adverse childhood experiences or care experience)
- Emotionally based school avoidance (EBSA / school refusal)
- Self-harm, eating difficulties, or other mental-health-related presentations
SEMH commonly co-occurs with neurodevelopmental needs (autism, ADHD, PDA) and with sensory or learning needs. The EHCP should describe the whole child across all four areas, even where SEMH is primary.
The legal framework for SEMH EHCPs
Under section 36 of the Children and Families Act 2014, the local authority must conduct an EHC needs assessment where the child may have SEN and may need provision through an EHCP. There is no requirement for a medical or psychiatric diagnosis. The SEND Code of Practice 2015 makes clear that SEMH is a recognised area of need.
If the local authority refuses to assess, refuses to issue, or issues a plan with inadequate provision, parents have appeal rights to the First-tier Tribunal (SEND). See refusal to assess, refusal to issue, and Section F appeals.
How to apply for an EHCP for SEMH needs
- 1
Document the pattern, not just incidents
Keep a structured record of triggers, escalation, recovery, and what helps. Include attendance data, pastoral involvement, and any safeguarding referrals. Patterns over weeks/months are more persuasive than isolated incidents.
- 2
Gather school evidence
Request copies of: SEN support plans, behaviour logs, attendance reports, pastoral notes, any 'My Plan' or 'My Support Plan' documents, and records of strategies tried and outcomes.
- 3
Pull in health evidence
Ask GP and any CAMHS, counselling or therapy services for letters describing presentation, working diagnoses, and impact on learning. NHS waits can be long — record what has been requested and when.
- 4
Request EP involvement
Either via the school's traded EP service or as part of an EHC needs assessment. The EP report should describe SEMH presentation and recommend specific, quantified provision.
- 5
Submit an EHC needs assessment request
Frame the request around SEMH needs and impact on access to learning. Reference the SEND Code of Practice 2015 chapter 6 on the four broad areas of need. Quantify what mainstream has tried and why it is not enough.
- 6
Negotiate Section F carefully
If a draft EHCP is issued with vague Section F ('access to pastoral support as required'), comments should request specificity — frequency, duration, staff training, named approaches, environmental adaptations.
SEMH-aware Section F provision
Section F should be specific and quantified. Common SEMH-aware provision categories include:
Named key adult / trusted adult time
Daily check-in and check-out, plus availability for dysregulation. Specify minutes per day and named role.
Structured emotional regulation programme
Named programme (e.g. Zones of Regulation, ELSA, Drawing and Talking). Specify weekly sessions, duration, and delivering staff training.
Therapeutic input
Where indicated — counselling, play therapy, art therapy, or trauma-informed support. Specify frequency, duration, and qualifications.
Low-arousal environment access
Quiet space, sensory-reduced area, or nurture room available on demand. Specify physical arrangements.
Predictable structure with regulation flexibility
Routine that bends when the child is dysregulated. Protocol for what staff do when escalation is rising.
Whole-staff trauma-informed or attachment-aware training
Where relevant. Specify training programme and refresh frequency.
Graduated reintegration plan (for EBSA)
Where attendance has broken down — specific, paced, anxiety-led plan with named coordinator.
Building your SEMH EHCP case
- School pastoral records and behaviour logs
- Attendance data, particularly any decline pattern
- Records of strategies the school has tried (the 'graduated approach')
- Any SEN support plan / My Support Plan / IEP documents
- GP, CAMHS, counselling or therapy letters where available
- Parent diary of triggers, patterns, what helps and what does not
- EP assessment recommending quantified provision
- Evidence of impact on learning, social functioning, and home life
Common local authority pushbacks on SEMH EHCPs
- "This is behaviour, not SEN" — SEMH is one of the four areas of need in the Code of Practice; behaviour is the presentation, not the diagnosis.
- "No diagnosis" — no medical diagnosis is required; the test is needs and provision.
- "School can support with current resources" — point to evidence of what has been tried under the graduated approach and why it has not been enough.
- "CAMHS will sort it" — CAMHS provides health input, not special educational provision; the two are separate.
- "Attendance is improving" — short-term improvement does not mean underlying needs have changed; document the longer pattern.