Education, Health and Care Plans

Education, Health and Care Plans (sometimes called an EHC Plan or EHCP) are for children and young people up to the age of 25 who require special educational provision to meet their special educational needs.

EHC Plans should seek to secure the best possible outcomes for children and young people across education, health and social care and, as they get older, prepare them for adulthood.

EHC plans are based on a co-ordinated assessment and planning process undertaken by the Local Authority (LA) SEND Team. This process is called the EHC needs assessment and it is a statutory process.

The LA will prepare an EHCP when the outcome of an EHC needs assessment identifies that special educational provision is required to meet the child or young person’s needs and this cannot reasonably be provided from within the resources normally available to mainstream early years providers, schools and post 16 institutions.

The SEN Team manages all aspects of the statutory processes related to Education, Health and Care Plans. You can find out more about the team and its duties here.

This video can help to explain more about EHC Plans:

A quick guide for parents and carers to the Education Health Care Plan (EHCP) process - YouTube