This is a step by step guide to what to expect in each section of an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP)
(Sections C, D G and H will only be completed if Health and Social Care are involved)
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Short history of the child or young person.
Their aspirations including employment, independent living and being part of the community.
How they prefer to communicate with others and make decisions.
Details about:
The rest of the plan should focus on supporting the child or young person to achieve the aspirations in Section A – This is known as the Golden Thread.
All identified special education needs (SEN) must be specified in this Section B.
A SEN is a learning difficulty or disability which requires special educational provision.
Information in this section should come from professional advice from the needs EHC assessment.
For example: Educational Psychologist, Speech and Language or CAMHS report.
Health or social care need that requires provision which educates or trains the child or young person (e.g. speech and language therapy) – must be included in this section.
Each part of the child or young person’s SEN must be included separately as each will need different provision in Section F of the plan.
Needs in this section require health provision not education provision.
This section must specify all the health needs identified through the EHC needs assessment which relate to the child or young person’s SEN.
The Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) may specify other health care needs which are not related to SEN but need management in a special educational setting e.g. incontinence.
Health needs not related to the child’s SEN should also be included in this section unless there is good reason not to include them.
The local authority (LA) must gather information from relevant professionals about care needs and care provision that may be required to meet the needs identified in Section B.
They may also choose to specify other social care need not linked to the SEN or disability.
Whether social care needs relate to the SEN or disability will be decided after the EHC assessment, subject to legal requirements guidance and LA policy.
The LA will use the evidence gathered during assessment to decide whether the child or young person has needs under:
Outcomes will usually set out what needs to be achieved by the end of the next key stage of education. They are not a description of what is being provided.
Outcomes must be SMART:
The plan will also specify how shorter-term targets will be set at school/college level. These should be appended to the EHC plan.
Although outcomes can be shared across education, health, and social care, for young people over 17 education and training outcomes need to be clearly and separately identified.
Outcomes will help the child or young person make progress towards achieving the aspirations in Section A.
When an EHC plan is ceased for a young person over 18, regard must be given to whether the outcomes have been achieved.
Provision throughout each section of the EHC plan must be detailed, specific and quantified and include:
Provision should be made for all needs identified in Section B.
Terms such as:
Provision must be over and above what is provided within Quality First Teaching and SEN Support.
If there is a conflict of advice from different sources, the LA must resolve these and make it clear why they have used one piece of advice instead of another.
Any therapies which educate or train a child or young person should be included in this section and may also be included in Section G. These could include:
Anything recorded in this section is the LA’s responsibility to provide, even if health ceases to provide it.
If a child is Year 9 or above provision specific to Preparation for Adulthood and independent living must be included in this section.
Test of whether a provision is required.
Without a specific provision would the child or young person be able to receive education and/or training on a par with those without SEN. If not then the provision must be made.
The link between outcomes and provisions to support these must be clear in every section of the EHC Plan.
It should be clear how advice and information from assessment has informed the provision.
Types of provision might include:
The Local Authority and Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) should specify other provision required which is not linked to the child/young person’s SEND, but which could be coordinated with services provided in the EHC Plan.
The CCG or NHS England is responsible for arranging all health care provision included in this section.
Provision under CSPDA could include:
If a need, identified during assessment, can be met through these types of services the Local Authority (LA) must decide if it is necessary for them to meet this need. They must take account of family circumstances and the needs of other children in the family. If identified as necessary support must be provided.
This could include provision identified through
This section will only include services which are not included in (CSPDA) – Section H1
For children and young people under 18 it includes:
If social care needs have been identified in Section D but the LA does not consider there is a duty to meet these needs under the CSPDA those needs should be included in this section.
If a young person over 18 has support through an Adult Care and Support Plan, this should be incorporated into this section of the EHC Plan.
Social care provision identified in this section will be anything that is ‘reasonably required’ subject to cost and practicality.
For a child in Year 9 and above any provision required to assist their preparation for adulthood and independent living must be included in this section.
This includes:
All social care provision specified must facilitate ‘best possible’ social care outcomes.
This section must include the name and type of learning setting that the child or young person will access. (This information will not be included in the draft plan).
Once the parent or young person has received the draft plan, they can request a particular learning provider to be named in the EHC Plan.
The LA must name this setting unless they believe that it:
The educational setting will be named in the Final EHC Plan.
This section gives specific detailed information on any Personal Budget required to fund provision in the EHC Plan. It will set out arrangements about any direct payments required by education health and social care regulations.
Where SEN provision funded through direct payment will be delivered within a learning setting, they must agree that this can happen.
The SEN needs and outcomes to be met must be specified and provision must be Detailed – Specific – Quantified so that the funding agreed is adequate to cover costs of provision.
Advice and information gathered during the EHC needs assessment will be set out in this section.
Those who provided advice and information for the assessment will be listed giving details of:
Copies of all advices and information gathered during EHC needs assessment should be attached as appendices to the plan.
The first step is to ask for an EHC assessment from your local SEND Team. This can be done by you, your parent or carer or your school or college.
At Kirklees Independent Advice Service (KIAS) and Calderdale SENDIASS we can give free, legally based, confidential, impartial advice and support including:
We would be happy to hear from you on: