What is an EHCP?

EHCP stands for Education and Health Care Plan. It’s sometimes referred to as an EHC Plan. It’s designed for children and young people under 25 who need special educational needs support.

The EHCP lists clearly the child or young person’s needs, what support they require, and the outcomes they would like to achieve. 

In Wales, it’s called an Individual Development plan (IDP). In Scotland it’s a Coordinated Support Plan (CSP), and in Northern Ireland the equivalent plan is a Statement of Special Educational Needs. 

Why do I need an EHCP?

An EHCP is a legally binding document. If your child has needs that cannot be met through special education needs (SEN), an EHCP ensures they’ll get personalised support and funding for specialised provision. It will also help you secure a suitable educational placement for them. 

Unlike school-based SEN support, an EHCP means your local authority has a legal duty to provide the specific educational, health and social care support your child needs. 

How can I get an EHCP?

To get an EHCP you’ll need an assessment provided by your local authority. This is usually requested by parents, but young people aged 16 to 25 can request an assessment themselves. 

A request can also be made by anyone else who works with the child. This includes doctors, health visitors, teachers and family friends.

During the assessment, you’ll be asked for:

• Reports from your child’s school, nursery or childminder
• Doctors’ assessments of your child
• A letter from you about your child’s needs

Your local authority should tell you within 16 weeks whether an EHCP will be made for your child. 

The process can be daunting and seem long-winded at times, especially since many local authorities are struggling with backlogs of EHCP requests and overstretched SEND provision, but if your child needs additional support then the sooner you can put your request in, the better. 

What’s included in an EHCP?

An EHCP goes into quite a lot of detail about your child and their needs and aspirations. Sections include: 

• The views, interests and aspirations of the child or young person
• The child's or young person's Special Educational Needs
• Any health needs relating to their SEND
• Any social care needs relating to their SEND
• The intended outcomes for the child or young person, which should be joined across education, health and social care where appropriate
• What special educational provision is needed for the child or young person's SEND
• What provision is needed from health or social care services
• Name and type of education placement
• Details of any agreed personal budgets
• Advice and information gathered through the EHC needs assessment

The SEND Code of Practice (from page 164) lays out what’s asked in each section in more detail. 

How the process works

• Your local authority will make a draft EHCP and send you a copy
• You’ll then have at least 15 days to comment – including if you want to ask for your child to go to a specialist needs school or college
• Your local authority then has 20 weeks from when they receive the request for the assessment to give you the final EHCP document

Personal budgets

If your child gets an EHCP they may be eligible for a personal budget. This means you get a say in how to spend the money on support for your child. There are three ways you can use this budget. You can have:

1. Direct payments to your account enabling you to buy and manage services yourself
2. A ‘notional arrangement’, which means the local authority or school will look after the money, but you still decide how to spend it
3. A ‘third part arrangement’ where you choose someone else to manage the money for you

You can also have a combination of all three options.

Will we need help navigating the EHCP assessment process?

Some families can find the process overwhelming. You may not know how best to navigate the system. 

If you need someone to help you and your child through the assessment process, you can ask for an independent supporter. 

They can help with things like: 

• Replacing a statement of special educational needs with a new EHCP
• Moving a child from learning difficulty assessment (LDA) to an EHCP

Find support in your area via: 

• Council for Disabled Children
• Information, Advice and Support Service Network
• Your local authority website and search for ‘Local Offer’

What if I can’t get an EHCP? 

You have a right to challenge your local authority if:

• They decide not to carry out an assessment
• They decide not to provide an EHCP 
• You disagree with the special educational support laid out in the EHCP
• You disagree with the school named in the EHCP

The first thing to do is ask for a written response from your local authority to explain why they’ve made this decision. 

If you can’t resolve the issue directly with your local authority, you can appeal to the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Tribunal.