Advice on Completing the Family Conversation

The Family Conversation is a parent, family or carer’s opportunity to contribute to an Education, Health and Care plan (EHCP) needs assessment request.

Advice on Completing the Family Conversation

The Family Conversation is a parent, family or carer’s opportunity to contribute to an Education, Health and Care plan (EHCP) needs assessment request. The term ‘Family Conversation’ is used for both the document (also called the Family Conversation Record) and the meeting itself.

The Family Conversation is sometimes completed in a meeting with the school and other professionals as part of gathering evidence to submit the EHC needs assessment request. Often, parents are provided with the form and asked by the school to complete it and return to the school.  If you need support to complete the form, you can request a meeting with the school.

This advice can be used before your Family Conversation meeting, so that you are prepared, or to help you to complete the form yourself. If you have not been provided with the Family Conversation document, you can find it on the Warwickshire Local Authority website here EHC needs assessment documents and templates – Warwickshire County Council

Before you start

• Young People over 16 can complete this form themselves, or their parents/carers/family can complete it for them. Throughout the form, we will refer to ‘child, but this will include young people aged 16-25
• The first part of the form is factual. Complete this to the best of your understanding, but don’t worry about being wrong. The second part is your opinion, which can’t be wrong!
• Be as honest as you can about what is working well and what you feel could improve for your child.
• Don’t worry about using professional terms or language.
• Do not worry about which section you should write something in; it is more important to get the information somewhere on the form.
• If completing the form digitally, the form should expand to allow you to write as much as you want. If completing a paper form, feel free to continue on a separate sheet, mark that you have done so and number the additional sheets so information is not lost.
• Try to be to the point and factual. It may help to write in bullet points.
• If you are submitting the family conversation yourself, remember to include any reports you have referenced in section 5, ‘Key professionals and agencies involved’
• This form will be read by the panel who have never met your child; therefore, when answering the question, think of your child on their worst day.

DOWNLOAD to see an example with prompts to support you in completing the form