BREAK IT DOWN
Understanding EHC Plans
An education, health and care (EHC) plan is a legal document that outlines a child or young person's special educational, health, and social care needs.
What is an EHC plan?
A legally binding plan for individuals aged 0-25 with significant special educational needs
Provides extra support beyond what a school or college normally offers
Covers education, health, and social care needs
EHC Needs Assessments
Requesting an assessment
Parents, carers, young people (16+), or schools can request an EHC needs assessment by writing to your Local Authority’s (LA) SEND team. In your request you should include:
Personal details (name, DOB, school)
Diagnosis or suspected conditions
Evidence of struggles at school (reports, letters, assessments)
Details of support already tried
The LA has 6 weeks to process the EHC Needs Assessment request, and it can take up to 16 weeks for the assessment to take place.
The assessment process
If an EHC needs assessment is approved, the LA will then gather and review information from a range of sources in order to assess the young person’s needs. These sources include:
Parents/young person
School/college
Educational psychologist
Health professionals (e.g., paediatricians, therapists)
Social care, if needed
Once the LA has reviewed the information, they will decide whether to issue an EHC Plan.
EHC Plans
Receiving the draft EHC plan
If the LA agrees an EHC plan is needed, they will send a draft plan
You have 15 days to review
You can request a specific school
The final EHC plan must be issued within 20 weeks of request
If the local authority refuses to assess or issue an EHC plan...
Ask for reasons in writing
Consider mediation (a legal requirement before appealing)
Appeal to the SEND Tribunal (this must be done within 2 months of receiving the decision)
Reviewing and updating an EHC plan
EHC plans must be reviewed annually
You can request changes if needs evolve
If support is inadequate, you can ask for a reassessment
Key tips
Work closely with the school’s SENDCo
Gather strong evidence (such as reports and letters from professionals)
Seek support from charities like IPSEA, SENDIASS, or Contact
Reviewing and updating an EHC plan
A needs assessment identifies appropriate solutions to enable disability-related study difficulties to be overcome and makes recommendations for how the funding should be used to implement those solutions.
What is a needs assessment?
A needs assessment identifies appropriate solutions to enable disability-related study difficulties to be overcome and makes recommendations for how the funding should be used to implement those solutions.
How it works
Needs assessments take around 1 - 2 hours to complete
They can be online or in-person, you choose
You can take a friend or family member with you
They are not an assessment of your disability or ability to study
What happens next?
A report recommending your support is sent to Student Finance
Student Finance decide the recommendations the DSA can fund
You get told how to order the equipment, arrange any non-medical help or claim back any costs