Our Journey

From modest beginnings as a company of one with a single customer, we’ve grown into a trusted provider of specialist EHCP writing services and training, supporting over two-thirds of local authorities in England and delivering more than 200,000 EHCPs along the way.

Join us as we look back and celebrate the last 30 years!

1996 - 2009

Laying the groundwork

In 1996, Independent Business Services was established by Penny Dent as an at-home business setup to draft SEN Statements, with just one Local Authority customer initially. In 1998 recruitment started for SEN document writers, providing flexible working opportunities in the local community. This was followed a full-time employee to provide office support, and by 2003, Team Leaders had been introduced to train and manage increasing numbers of writers, one of whom was Corinna Bourke, now Managing Director!

2010 - 2015

Change all around

By 2010, our growing team had produced 40,000 SEN documents for one third of Local Authorities in England. In 2013 the government opened a new proposed SEN Code of Practice for consultation, along with the transition arrangements for the move from SEN Statements to Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs). We started working with Pathfinder authorities on EHCP drafting and were awarded our first contract in 2014 for completing statement-to-plan conversions. Following a change in management in 2015, the business became Enhance EHC Ltd.

2016 - 2020

Growing and evolving

We were honoured in 2016 to be one of the finalists in the North Essex Business Awards, within the ‘Growing Business of the Year’ category. We also launched a new website and invested in our current secure systems. By 2017, we were producing approximately 1,200 SEND documents per month and had supported over half of the Local Authorities in England. We signed up to the Mind Workplace Wellbeing Index and the Time to Change Employer Commitment Pledge in 2017 and 2018 respectively, to ensure Enhance offered a positive working environment for its valued team.

By the beginning of 2019, we had launched our EHCP good practice resources for Local Authorities, schools and other SEND professionals. The same year also saw the launch of our CPD accredited online EHCP training.

With the outbreak of Covid-19 and subsequent national lockdowns, we temporarily transitioned our office-based operations to staff homes to ensure no interruption to our EHCP support services. This meant that we were able to offer even more support to SEND teams, who were dealing with delayed assessment and review processes and various operations and staffing issues.

2021 - Present

Adapting to a changing landscape

After the challenges of the pandemic, it was a delight to celebrate multiple achievements in 2021, including being awarded accreditation from Investors in People and winning Employer of the Year at the Countywide Business Awards!

Over the course of 2022-2024 we continued to develop new online training courses to meet the requirements of different professionals involved in the EHCP assessment and development process. A particular focus area was on developing standardised EHCP training for LA SEND officers, in light of the challenges LAs were facing with high staff turnover rates and a growing expertise gap in the workforce. A Leeds Trinity University research team, having also recognised a lack of recognition of and training for the SEND officer role, invited us to exhibit at the first ever SEND conference dedicated specifically to LA SEND teams in 2024. We returned to their second event in 2025 and have continued to share insights around SEND workforce training.

In recent years, the SEND system has faced new hurdles and come under increasing scrutiny, culminating in the Education Committee inquiry in 2024, the Government reform announcement in 2025 and the Schools White Paper earlier this year. Alongside this turbulation, automation around the EHCP process emerged, sparking mixed reactions. We responded to these multiple shifts by doubling down on the elements of our support that make us who we: providing an expert-led service to time-poor LAs based on quality, adaptability and personalisation. Whilst we’re really proud of our longevity and support capacity (we wrote our 200,000th EHCP in 2025!), it’s never been just about the numbers, but rather providing an efficient, high-quality and consistent service for our LA customers, some of whom have been working with us consistently for 10-20 years.

Now in our 30th year, we remain as committed as ever to helping SEND teams and practitioners to navigate changes on the horizon and continue to support children and young people in their EHCP journeys.

A word from the Managing Director

“I feel privileged to have been part of the business for 20 of the 30 years it has been operating, starting as a plan writer, becoming a director in 2015 and then taking over as Managing Director in 2024. The business has developed so much over the years, but the core of who we are is the team around us – our fantastic office team and our amazing, skilled team of writers. I also want to thank all of our customers along the way who have trusted us with their workloads and allowed us to support the training of many of their own teams.” – Corinna Bourke

Celebrate with us!

30% off all EHCP training courses

Use code 30YEARS at the checkout or on the online order form. Offer ends 15th June and cannot be used in conjunction with any other offers/discounts