What is an EHCP?

EHCP stands for Education Health Care Plan. It is sometimes called an EHC plan. It is a legal document for children/young people up to 25 years old with SEN and disabilities who need more support from their nursery/school/college than is available through SEN support.

EHCPs are only available in England. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have different processes and plans to support SEN children in school.

An EHCP is provided by the child’s local authority and outlines their education, health and care needs and what must be delivered to meet these needs in their education setting. You do not need a medical diagnosis to apply for an EHCP.

EHCPs focus on what is important to the individual and what outcomes they want to achieve. The document must be reviewed at least once a year by law to ensure it is working for the child or young person.

Does my child need an EHCP?

Not every child/young person with SEN needs an EHCP. Most children get the support they need through the SEN provisions already available at their school or college. However, some children do need more support. These could be children with higher support needs or lifelong disabilities, or those who are not progressing at school despite the support available.

If you believe that the support your child/young person needs at school/college can only be met through an Education Health Care Plan, you can apply for one from the child’s local authority.

Applying for an EHCP: An Education Health Care Assessment

The first stage in the process is to request that the local authority carry out a needs assessment (also called an Education Health Care Assessment or EHC assessment) of your child’s education, health and care needs.

The application can be made by a parent/carer or the school/nursery, or the young person themselves if they are over 16. If you have the support of the school, this may be the best route because they can provide additional information to support the application.

Application forms can be found on your local authority website. This will be for your child’s registered home address, not the school’s.

You can also write a letter to the local authority instead of applying online. We advise this as it gives you more opportunities to talk about the specific needs of your child in detail and is less complicated to complete.

You should hear back with a decision on whether the local authority will assess within 6 weeks.

Our top tips for applying for an EHC needs assessment

The local authority will only agree to carry out a needs assessment if they agree that the child or young person has, or may have, special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and that they can only get the support they need through an EHCP.

When applying, it is important to clearly communicate the needs of your child and the impact that those needs are having on their ability to cope at school and access learning.

We advise talking about these four areas in detail:

• Cognition and learning
• Communication and language
• Social, emotional and mental health
• Physical and sensory needs

Be sure to provide lots of examples and talk about day-to-day life at home as well. The more information, the better. The local authority will need a full picture of their needs, not just how they present at school.

You should also include information about any provisions already in place at school and how they are working, plus any additional provisions you provide outside of school and evidence from any professionals working with the child/young person.

You can also write a letter to the local authority instead of applying online. This can give you more opportunities to talk about the specific needs of your child in detail and is less complicated to complete.

What happens during an EHC needs assessment?

The local authority must seek information and advice about the child/young person’s needs, the provisions required to meet those needs, and the outcomes expected.

This advice must come from different sources. These must include the child/young person, their parents/carers, their nursery/school/college, healthcare professionals, educational psychologists, social care professionals and other relevant sources relating to their education, health and care needs, such as an occupational therapist, speech and language therapist or someone from Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).

You can ask the local authority to seek advice from a relevant person too and submit your own reports and medical evidence, including private reports, which they legally must consider.

What happens after an EHC needs assessment?

If the local authority decides that the support the child/young person needs can only be met through an Education Health Care Plan, they must issue one.

It is a legal requirement for them to deliver a completed EHC plan within 20 weeks from the initial request for an assessment. Sadly, evidence shows that local authorities often take a lot longer than this.

If the local authority decides not to issue an EHCP, it must tell you within 16 weeks of the request for an assessment and explain their reasoning.

Appealing a decision not to issue an EHCP

You have two months from the date of the decision to make an appeal to the SEND Tribunal.

The local authority must advise you of the free mediation services available which may help you understand the decision further or to reach an agreement with the local authority without going to tribunal. This does not affect your right to appeal.

If mediation does not work, or you do not want to try it, you can apply for a mediation certificate, which is needed to appeal to the SEND Tribunal where the legal process will begin. You have one month from the mediation certificate issue to make your appeal. Your deadline to appeal therefore is: 2 months from the date of the final letter or 1 month from the date of the mediation certificate, whichever is the latter.

Our top tips for appealing an EHCP refusal

Gather as much evidence as possible, including.

• Independent reports from professionals such as education psychologists, speech therapists or occupational therapists,
• Evidence from teachers or others who know your child well,
• School reports,
• Home diaries.,

Our experienced SEN team can provide further advice and support with the process and evidence needed.

Appealing the contents of an EHCP

If the local authority does issue an EHCP, ensure you are happy with the contents of it before agreeing to it. It’s important to understand that EHCPs should be detailed, specific and quantified and not vague in any way in order to be enforceable and ensure your child is receiving the support that they reasonably require.

It is vital that every section of the EHCP is correct and accurately reflects your child’s needs. Some of the most common issues that give rise to appeals are:

• Not including all of the child’s special educational needs and disabilities as identified in the assessment (section B).
• Not specifying the exact provisions required to meet each and every need (section F)
• Using vague or non-quantifiable wording like “regular support” or “access to,” “opportunities” (section F). The provision required should be described in detail and quantified in terms of hours, duration and frequency so there is no room for interpretation, which may limit provision.
• Not naming a school, or naming a school that you think is not suitable (section I).
• Not specifying all of the child’s health needs, whether they are related to their special educational needs or not (section C).
• Not outlining all of the child’s social care needs, whether they are linked to their special educational needs or disabilities or not (section D).
• Not outlining all of the health and social care provisions that are required by the child. It should set out exactly what is going to happen, who is going to do it, what skills, qualifications or training they need, how often it will be made available and when it will be reviewed (sections G and H).

If you are not happy with the contents, you can approach your local authority and seek mediation to try and reach an agreement. If that is not successful, you can make an appeal to the SEND Tribunal within the deadlines specified above.

Get the right team by your side

The truth is that getting an EHCP and the right support in place for a child or young person in England can be challenging. Some families spend months and even years fighting to get their child’s needs met and this can be stressful and frustrating.

Going to the SEND Tribunal to appeal a local authority’s decision is a legal process and it can feel overwhelming to many families.

Our SEN team specialises in supporting young people and their families throughout the EHCP process. We work closely with them to advise and conduct appeals to the SEND Tribunal on their behalf, ensuring their needs are heard and understood, and that they get the vital support they need to thrive in education.

Not only do we understand the legal process, but we also understand our families and the struggles they face, which is why you’ll always be treated with compassion and empathy by our SEN team, many of whom have personal experience with SEN too.

Contact us today to see how we can help.