Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) Explained

An Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) is a legally binding document that describes a child or young person’s Special Educational Needs, the outcomes sought for them, the educational provision required to achieve those outcomes and the health and social care provision needed to support them. It replaced the Statement of Special Educational Needs in September 2014, when the Children and Families Act 2014 came into force. The key change from the old system is that the EHCP covers not just educational needs but the whole picture of a child’s needs, and it extends in principle from birth to age 25.

An EHCP is not appropriate or necessary for every child with SEND. It is intended for children whose needs are sufficiently complex or severe that they cannot be met through the SEN support available within the core resources of a mainstream school or early years setting. Around 330,000 children in England currently have an EHCP – approximately 4% of the school population. The number has been rising year on year, reflecting both genuine increases in need and, arguably, failures of the SEN support system to meet needs adequately at an earlier stage.

Who Can Request an EHC Needs Assessment?

Any of the following can request an EHC needs assessment:

• the child’s parents
• a young person aged 16–25 (who can request for themselves)
• a school or early years setting
• a health or social care professional who suspects a child has SEN
• or an independent school attended by the child. The most common route is a parental request, sometimes following discussion with the child’s school or setting

A request does not guarantee an assessment will be conducted. The local authority must decide within six weeks of the request whether to undertake an EHC needs assessment or not. If it decides not to, it must tell the parents and set out their right of appeal. If it decides to proceed, it must complete the assessment within 20 weeks of the initial request. This 20-week limit is statutory – it is not a target but a legal deadline.

The 20-Week Process

Once an EHC needs assessment is agreed, the local authority gathers evidence from multiple sources: the school or early years setting (including their own assessments and records of SEN support provided so far); health professionals including the child’s GP and any specialists involved in their care; educational psychology; social care (where relevant); and, most importantly, the parents and the child themselves. The Code of Practice gives parents and young people the right to submit their own evidence and to be fully involved in the assessment process.

At the end of the assessment, the local authority decides whether an EHCP is required. If it decides one is required, it must issue a draft plan within 16 weeks of the initial request, giving parents and the young person at least 15 days to comment on it. The final plan must be issued within 20 weeks of the initial request. In practice, local authorities frequently miss this deadline – official data shows that a significant proportion of EHCPs are not issued within the statutory timeframe, and many families experience waits considerably longer than 20 weeks.

The Sections of an EHCP

An EHCP must include certain information, organised into labelled sections from A to K. The most important for parents to understand are:

• Section A: The child’s views, interests and aspirations – their voice in the process
• Section B: The child’s special educational needs – a detailed description of what the needs are
• Section C and D: Health needs and social care needs related to the SEN
• Section E: Outcomes – specific, measurable objectives that the plan is designed to achieve. The quality of Section E is critical: vague or unmeasurable outcomes cannot be reviewed effectively
• Section F: Special educational provision – the specific support that must be provided. This section is legally enforceable: if it says the child will receive a particular number of hours of support, that provision must be delivered
• Section I: The educational setting where the provision will be delivered – and this is where parental preference about setting type is most directly engaged

Parental Preference and Setting Choice

Parents have the right to request a particular school or type of school for their child. The local authority must comply with this request unless: the school is unsuitable for the child’s age, ability, aptitude or SEN; attendance there would be incompatible with the efficient education of other children; or it would be an inefficient use of resources. In practice, disputes about setting choice are one of the most common reasons for appeals to the SEND Tribunal.

Where a parent requests a mainstream placement, the local authority cannot refuse simply because a special school would be cheaper or, arguably, more appropriate. The presumption in the Children and Families Act 2014 is in favour of mainstream education where the parent wishes it and it can be achieved without prejudice to the child’s or other children’s education.

Annual Reviews and Changes to the Plan

Every EHCP must be reviewed formally at least once a year – the Annual Review. The review must consider whether the outcomes are being achieved, whether the provision specified is being delivered, whether the plan needs to be updated and whether the child still needs an EHCP at all. Annual Reviews must involve parents, the young person, the school and relevant professionals. The local authority must decide within 12 weeks of the Annual Review whether to maintain, amend or cease the plan.

Plans can and should be amended more frequently than annually if a child’s circumstances or needs change significantly – for example, following a new diagnosis, a significant deterioration in health or a transition to a new setting. Parents can request an early review at any time. A plan that has not been reviewed for many months and that no longer reflects the child’s current needs is not serving its intended purpose.

Appeals and Mediation

Parents have the right of appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability) against the local authority’s refusal to assess, refusal to issue a plan, the content of the plan (specifically Sections B, F and I) and the local authority’s decision to cease maintaining a plan. Before lodging an appeal, parents must have considered mediation (though they do not have to participate in it). Mediation is free and can resolve disputes more quickly than the tribunal route, though not all disputes are appropriate for mediation.

Parents who are considering an appeal would benefit from contacting their local SENDIASS service for free, independent advice, and from seeking legal advice or representation from a specialist SEND solicitor or barrister if the matter proceeds to tribunal. The IPSEA (Independent Provider of Special Education Advice) and SOS!SEN both offer free legal advice and have published guides to the tribunal process.

For related guidance, see also our articles on children's mental health, the EYFS welfare requirements, choosing an after-school club and social and emotional development.