Spelt Out
For parents, carers and the professionals who support them
Your child's support, spelt out.
We are building Spelt Out to check an Education, Health and Care Plan against the SEND Code of Practice. Software, including AI, will find support that is vague, missing or in the wrong place. A qualified person will check every report before you see it. You will get a clear report and a letter ready to send to your local authority.
We are not open yet. We aim to open a small pilot in early 2027. Joining is free and takes a minute.
Watch the two-minute film of our prototypeThe law says support must be detailed, specific and normally quantified
Plans that say "access to", "as required" or "regular" are hard to enforce. Families often sense a plan is weak but cannot say what is wrong, and have as little as 15 days to respond to a draft.
How it will work
- Upload the plan A PDF or Word file and four quick questions. No account.
- Checked twice Software, including AI, will check the needs, outcomes and provision against the SEND Code of Practice. Then a qualified person will check the report against the plan and approve it.
- Report and letter A clear report of what to fix, and a letter ready to send to your local authority.
See our prototype in two minutes
The film has no sound. It shows our prototype working on a made-up plan. The AI step is simulated: the real AI is not connected yet. Everything the film says is written out below.
Read what the film shows
- An EHCP is a legal promise of support. It only works if it is written clearly.
- 718,838 children and young people in England have an EHCP, up 12.5% in a year (Department for Education, January 2026).
- The law says provision must be detailed, specific and normally quantified. But plans are often full of words like "access to", "as required", "as appropriate", "may be offered", "regular" and "small group". Vague wording is hard to enforce (SEND Code of Practice 2015, paragraph 9.69).
- When families challenge a plan: about 25,000 appeals reached the SEND Tribunal in a year, up 18%. 61% were about what the plan says, and 99% of appeals decided went at least partly the family's way (Ministry of Justice, 2024/25 academic year).
- Who has the problem: parents and carers. They can tell a plan is weak, but not what is wrong or what to ask for, and they have as little as 15 days to respond to a draft plan (SEND Regulations 2014, regulation 13).
- Who has the problem: advocates, solicitors and charities. They check families' plans line by line, by hand, face rising demand as tribunal appeals rose 18% in a year, and can only help as many families as their hours allow.
- Spelt Out, in development: software and AI do the legwork, and a qualified person will make the call.
- What you are about to see: our prototype working on a made-up plan. The AI step is simulated: the real AI is not connected yet.
- Step 1, upload the plan: PDF or Word, four quick questions, no account.
- Step 2, checked against the SEND Code of Practice: needs, outcomes and provision. Vague or missing detail is flagged and explained, quoting the plan word for word.
- Step 3, a qualified person checks it: they check the report against the plan, edit the wording and approve it. Nothing is released before that.
- Step 4, a clear report: a grade, each need traced to its support, and what to ask for.
- Step 5, a letter ready to send: asking the local authority for specific changes, in plain English.
- What you will get: a qualified person will check every report; findings quote the plan word for word; the AI never writes legal references, which come from a fixed list; a grade, needs traced to support, suggested wording, questions, key dates and a letter; the plan deleted when the report is released; and a free wording check before anyone pays.
- How to get involved. Parents and carers: free to join the waiting list and use our guide; we will confirm the price of a checked report before we open. Advocates, solicitors and charities: founding partners get their first 10 plans free when we open, then £25 a plan, plus VAT if applicable. Each plan will arrive pre-checked in your review console, you review, edit and sign off, and your clients get the full report and letter. Founding partner places are limited, and prices may change before we open.
- Your child's support, spelt out. We aim to open a small pilot in early 2027: speltout.co.uk. Parents: join the waiting list. Professionals: become a pilot partner. An information tool, not legal advice. The plan is made up and the AI step is simulated.
What you will get
- A qualified person will check every report before you see it.
- Findings will quote your plan word for word.
- The AI never writes legal references. They come from a fixed list, which a SEND law professional will check before we open.
- The full pack: a grade, each need traced to its support, suggested wording, questions to ask, key dates and a letter.
- Your plan will be deleted when your report is released to you.
Before we open, we will
- Name our reviewers and publish the minimum qualification every reviewer must hold, including the reviewers at partner organisations.
- Have a SEND law professional check every legal reference and letter template.
- Test the checks on real plans shared with consent, and publish the results.
- Have a solicitor write or check our terms and privacy notice.
- Complete a data protection impact assessment and register with the Information Commissioner's Office.
- Get written confirmation from our AI provider that plans are not kept or used to train its models.
- Have an independent security tester test the system.
- Take out professional indemnity insurance.
How to get involved
to join the waiting list and use our guide
- Free guide: Words to watch in an EHCP
- Waiting-list members hear first when we open
- We will confirm the price of a checked report and letter before we open
for your first 10 plans as a founding partner, then £25 a plan, plus VAT if applicable
- Each plan will arrive pre-checked in your review console
- You review, edit and sign off
- Your clients get the full report and letter
Founding partner places are for the first three to five organisations, and the free plans are available once we open. Prices may change before we open. We are not taking payments or plans yet.
Questions
Is this legal advice?
No. Spelt Out will be an information tool, not a legal advice service. It will help you see what to ask your local authority for. For complex cases, or if you are thinking about an appeal, get independent advice, for example from IPSEA, SOS!SEN or a specialist SEND solicitor.
Who will check the reports?
A qualified reviewer will check and approve every report before you see it. Before we open, we will name our reviewers and publish the minimum qualification each must hold. When a professional uses Spelt Out for their own clients, their qualified staff will check the report.
Does it use AI?
Yes. AI will help read the plan and label what it says. Our software then applies fixed checks based on the SEND Code of Practice, and a qualified person reviews every report. The AI never writes the legal references. We plan to use Claude, made by Anthropic, through Amazon Web Services, and will not open without written confirmation that plans are not kept or used to train it.
What will happen to my child's plan?
When we open, it will be stored encrypted in the UK and deleted when your report is released to you. The AI step will run in the UK or the European Union. Your report and letter will stay available for a short time so you can download them (we plan 7 days), then be deleted, and you will be able to delete them yourself at any time. Deleted information can remain in encrypted backups for up to 7 days.
When can I use it?
We aim to open a small pilot in early 2027, once the checks listed above are done. Join the waiting list and we will email you when we open. If you have a draft plan now, do not wait for us: your local SEND Information, Advice and Support Service (SENDIASS) or IPSEA can give free, independent advice.
Please do not send us your child's plan or any details about your child.
How will you use my details?
Only to tell you when we open and, if you agree, to invite you to a short conversation. Our privacy notice explains everything we collect and your rights.