What is an EHC plan?
An EHC plan is a legal document that sets out:
- a child or young person's special educational, health and social needs
- how those needs should be met
- the outcomes that the child or young person will work towards achieving in life.
The SEND service reviews the EHC plan at least annually to make sure the support the child or young person receives is working.
Who an EHC plan can help
For most children, all schools or educational settings have resources that can support them. The setting can use a special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) support plan to help make a long-term plan of action for the child. For more information see SEND support in schools, colleges and nurseries.
However, some children and young people (aged up to 25) need more help than is available through (SEND) support.
If this is the case, you may want to consider requesting an EHC needs assessment if your child or you as a young person:
- has/have high support needs
- is/are receiving support from a wide range of services
- is/are not making progress even though the support is increasing in type and amount.
The EHC needs assessment is how the EHC casework team works together with a panel of practitioners from across education, health and care to decide whether a child needs an EHC plan and, if so, what support is in the plan. This is a legal process that may result in the child or young person receiving an EHC plan.