Education, health and care plan (EHC)
What is an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC plan)?
An education, health and care plan (EHCP) is a legally binding document that:
- describes all of the special education, health and care needs of the child or young person which relate to their disability
- sets out all of the extra help and support they will need to overcome barriers to learning
- identifies meaningful education and other outcomes they would like to achieve as they prepare for adult life.
Most children and young people with additional needs can be supported without an EHCP. Schools have a duty to put support in place to make sure their pupils with additional needs are learning and developing along with their classmates. This is called SEN Support.
When a child's needs are more complex and can't be met by their nursery, school or college, you can then request an EHC assessment, to see if an Education Health and Care Plan is the next step.
The Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) Good Standards Guidance has been written to support professionals who are involved in writing, amending, auditing or contributing to EHCPs. The document has been created to support Hertfordshire’s improvement journey in enhancing the quality of EHCP’s for children and young people and ensuring that the professionals involved in producing EHCPs can be confident in knowing what good looks like and have a standard of practice to refer to. The document draws upon good quality practice and is intended to offer an overview of the information to be included in an EHCP.
It should be noted that the document is not legal guidance and professionals should therefore take their own advice if there is anything that they are unsure of. The document will be reviewed and updated in-line with any changes to case law.
It is also important to highlight that within Hertfordshire we are on an improvement journey and not all EHCPs will therefore currently reflect what is set out in this guidance. Every child and young person is unique and whilst the document provides basic good practice principles, not all circumstances will be covered in depth and there will be nuances within EHCPs and the information included.
Find out more about EHCPs on the Local Offer:
Hertfordshire.Gov.UK: Education, health and care plans (EHCP)
Families and young people, who are 16+, have the right to apply for an EHC needs assessment independent of school. Schools, colleges and other educational settings can also make a request independent of parent or young person. The Local Authority will require the consent of the parent or young person to seek and share information.
The form to complete to make a request for assessment is available on SIMS or you can download directly from below:
The EHC needs assessment ‘at a glance’ guide provides details about how the assessment works. If it is agreed that an assessment will go ahead, the educational setting will be asked for advice and you will be asked to complete the form below.
If, following the EHC Needs Assessment an EHC Plan is agreed, it will be reviewed every year. It will stay in place until it is no longer required, in circumstances such as a young person moving on to higher education or seeking employment, or having reached their outcomes and the special educational provision is no longer required. The EHC Plan can remain in place until the age of 25 so long as the young person remains in education or training.
There is documentation to use when reviewing the EHC plan. We have provided some guidance on what happens during the annual review of an EHC plan and some tips for schools.
When an EHC needs assessment is agreed, the family will be assigned an EHC Coordinator to guide them through the process.
For most families, working with their EHC Coordinator will be enough but some families may request extra support to ensure that their voice and their wishes are heard.
The SEND information advice support services (SENDIASS) is an impartial information, advice and support service funded by Hertfordshire County Council for parents, carers, young people (0-25) and professionals. They offer a personalised confidential service to help you understand how special educational needs are assessed and managed, so that you can make informed educational choices. The contact telephone number for SEND IASS is 01992 555847 or you can email the service: sendiass@hertfordshire.gov.uk
A personal budget is one of the ways of giving children, young people and their families more choice and control about the way they are being supported. Sometimes the money being spent on services can be freed up and used in different, more creative ways to meet the needs of child or young person.