For the first time, councils will now have access to a streamlined, AI-supported pathway that connects EHCP drafting, quality assurance, and needs-based funding decisions – all in one secure platform.

With its recent launch, EHCP Genie joins Funding Genie as part of the SEND Genie Toolkit – the only solution co-designed with councils to improve EHCP quality, reduce delays, and deliver fair, needs-based funding.

Why EHCPs need a new approach

Current EHCP processes are complex, document-heavy and fragmented. Even with skilled practitioners, there is often variability. Plans can include missing needs, vague outcomes, contradictory recommendations, or gaps in the “golden thread”. These issues aren’t simply technical flaws: they directly affect a council’s ability to commission support, defend decisions and ensure children receive the right provision at the right time.

Recent delays to the SEND and AP Improvement Plan mean councils are continuing to operate under existing pressures for longer than expected. At the same time, the shift toward DfE-led budget control is increasing scrutiny around consistency, defensibility and value for money. This makes the quality, clarity and evidence base of each EHCP more important than ever - both for children today and for future readiness when reforms do arrive.

EHCP Genie addresses these challenges by analysing uploaded assessment documents and generating an evidence-linked draft EHCP using your local authority's template. Practitioners remain fully in control, but the heavy manual work of extraction, cross-referencing, and first-draft creation is significantly reduced.

A new level of quality assurance

Perhaps the most transformative feature of EHCP Genie is its built-in quality assurance. Once documents are uploaded, the system analyses needs, provisions and outcomes, checks their alignment, and highlights areas that may undermine clarity or compliance.

It examines the “golden thread” to identify where needs are unsupported, where outcomes lack a matching need, or where provision lacks clarity. It reviews outcomes for SMART principles, flagging vagueness or missing detail. And it highlights inconsistencies or contradictions between professional reports – a common cause of dispute and delay.

These insights are compiled into a downloadable QA report, offering councils a clearer view of plan quality than has previously been available without intensive manual review.

Completing the workflow: From EHCP to funding

When paired with Funding Genie, EHCP Genie completes a long-missing connection between plan quality and funding decisions. Once a draft or reviewed EHCP is produced, the key needs and evidence extracted by EHCP Genie flow directly into Funding Genie’s Needs Profile. This allows practitioners to view the underpinning evidence alongside each question, improving the accuracy, consistency and defensibility of funding decisions.  

For councils already using Funding Genie, this integration offers an immediate benefit: it consolidates two previously separate stages into a coherent pathway, reducing duplication and strengthening the link between evidence and resource allocation.

What councils can expect

Authorities adopting EHCP Genie can expect improvements in both efficiency and quality:  

• Clearer, more consistent EHCPs, strengthened by automated identification of gaps, contradictions and unclear outcomes.
• Faster drafting and reviewing, reducing reliance on manual extraction and freeing practitioners for higher-value work.

These gains support not only statutory delivery but also the relationships between councils, schools and families. Plans that are clearer and more strongly evidence-linked are easier to commission from, easier to review and easier to explain – all of which contribute to reduced dispute and greater confidence in the process.

A collaborative launch

EHCP Genie has been developed through close collaboration with councils across England, shaped around real workflows and challenges. With its recent launch, early adopters receive:

• Priority implementation and support
• Discounted licensing for Year 1
• Earlier ability to deliver the vast majority of EHCPs within the 20-week statutory timeline
• A direct role in shaping final refinements

For authorities seeking to improve plan quality, strengthen defensibility and streamline the pathway from EHCP to funding, EHCP Genie represents a significant step forward – one built not around replacing professional judgement, but enhancing it with the clarity, consistency and evidence that modern SEND delivery demands.