EHCP

An Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) is a legal document in England for children and young people aged 0 to 25 who have special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The plan outlines a person's specific educational, health, and social care needs, and details the extra support they must receive.

An EHCP is for children and young people whose needs cannot be met by the standard SEN support normally available in a mainstream school, individuals who are not making expected progress despite receiving extra help. 

The EHCP Process (This should take approximately 20 weeks)

1. Request for Assessment: This can be completed by parents, the school or a professional.  The school will put details about what the areas of need are and what is already being done to support the child in school.  Parents will be asked to contribute what they feel is working for their child and what the difficulties are.  Based on the evidence submitted, the local authority will decide whether an assessment is needed.

2. Assessment: Professionals will work together to understand your child's needs in detail.  This usually involves a visit from an Educational Psychologist who will meet with your child and then yourself to gain a greater understanding of the support that is needed.

3. Plan created: If agreed, the EHCP is written by the local authority.  It includes your child's needs, outcomes and the specific support that they will receive.  You will be sent a draft of the EHCP which you can approve or suggest changes to.  Once you have agreed the draft, a final version will be created.

4. Annual Review: The EHCP is reviewed every child to make sure it still meets your child's needs.

What will this look like in school?

• Your child will continue to have a provision map, however the targets will be influenced by the EHCP recommendations.
• Support might include external professionals such as a play therapist, speech support or physio.
• The SENDCo will coordinate everything.  Alongside the class teacher, they will keep you informed of the support that your child is receiving.
• In some cases we are no longer able to provide the support required in the EHCP.  When this happens, discussions will take place between school and parents to agree the best path forward.  This may involve looking for a more specialist setting who are more able to meet your child's needs.