Five common challenges that arise from traditional approaches to quality assuring EHCPs and why it's time to modernise in 2026

SEND teams across England are facing an increasing number of EHCPs alongside daily pressure to maintain thorough quality assurance processes—all while managing limited resources, time, budgets, and unclear frameworks. Below, we explore five common challenges we’ve seen when we first talk to our local authority partners and how our digital quality assurance solutions addresses each one.

1. Scalability

Many local authorities rely on checklists or Excel spreadsheets for quality assurance note-taking and monthly audits of EHCP samples. These spreadsheets are labour-intensive to maintain, requiring manual data extraction and review. As EHCP numbers grow, interpreting the rationale behind judgements becomes increasingly complicated, and the time required makes the process unsustainable. What worked for peer-to-peer reflective practice with small caseloads quickly breaks down under increasing demand, preventing consistent and systematic application of QA processes.

Switching to a digital quality assurance tool eliminates the need for manual report creation. All the information you need is readily available in real-time. The platform scales effortlessly with your caseload, ensuring that quality assurance remains consistent and systematic regardless of volume. By automating data collection and reporting, your team can focus on meaningful improvements rather than administrative data collection.

2. Inconsistent approach to what 'Good' looks like

One of the biggest obstacles facing SEND teams is the subjective nature of quality assurance. Without a clear framework, different professionals interpret "good" differently, leading to inconsistent standards across plans. Staff members may tick boxes without truly understanding what constitutes quality, making it difficult to identify specific areas for improvement and provide targeted support to plan writers and contributors.

Invision360’s EHCP QA module removes subjectivity by establishing clear, consistent criteria that define what 'good' looks like for all contributors. The module provides:

• National recognised standards to audit against drawn down from CDC and IPSEEA checklists and the SEND Code of Practice

• Clear success criteria with concrete examples during training sessions

• Section-by-section grading that pinpoints exactly which areas need improvement

• Legal expectation alignment ensuring compliance while encouraging collaborative peer auditing

3. Lack of multi-agency approach

EHCPs require input from education, health, and social care professionals, yet quality assurance processes often lack sufficient involvement from all areas. Different teams may interpret quality standards differently, creating inconsistencies and gaps in multi-agency collaboration. Without a shared framework, bringing diverse professionals together for cohesive quality assurance becomes nearly impossible.

A digital tool can provide a single shared framework that brings education, health, and social care together under consistent expectations. Local authorities can:

• Assign audits to managers and leads across different teams each month

• Host multi-agency audit conferences bringing health, social care, SEND professionals, educational psychologists, and schools together using the platform on-screen in conference rooms or virtually, ensuring all stakeholders work from the same standards

This shared approach is crucial for improving reporting processes not just internally, but for everyone involved in creating high-quality EHCPs.

4. Time-intensive reporting

Compiling evidence for performance meetings or Ofsted inspections consumes days of staff time while still leaving gaps in the audit trail. Sporadic, often quarterly reporting means services become exposed when EHCP quality is flagged as a systemic weakness. When reporting mechanisms are time-consuming and don't capture full context, simple requests for status updates from senior leadership become stressful and overwhelming. Excel-based systems can't provide immediate answers when Directors or Ofsted ask about current EHCP progress.

Using a digital quality assurance tool, you can see live, real-time tracking that allows users to see exact progress at any moment. No more waiting until quarter-end to answer leadership questions. The platform automatically compiles comprehensive evidence trails, dramatically reducing the time spent preparing for inspections while eliminating gaps in documentation. Your team can respond confidently to requests for updates with accurate, current data at their fingertips.

5. Reactive rather than proactive quality assurance

Traditional quality assurance approaches are slow to identify quality issues. Without real-time insights, teams struggle to address quality concerns early, leading to repeated mistakes and missed opportunities for continuous improvement. This reactive stance puts children and young people at a disadvantage while increasing workload pressures on already-stretched teams.

Continuous monitoring and feedback capabilities in a digital approach allow teams to identify and address issues and trends immediately, preventing problems from becoming embedded or stretching throughout the year. This shift from reactive to proactive quality management results in better learning and development plans across the service – pint pointing exactly where quality gaps lay, and addressing this in a timly approach.

2026: The year of we modernise EHCP quality assurance

The sooner you move away from informal, judgement-based quality assurance processes, the quicker you can make tangible improvements that positively impact children and young people. Invision360's digital quality assurance solution transforms how SEND teams work making processes scalable, consistent, collaborative, efficient, and proactive.

Ready to modernise your EHCP quality assurance? Discover how Invision360 can support your SEND team in 2026 by booking a call today.

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