Why the EHC Hub was introduced and benefits
Southend-on-Sea City Council introduced the EHC Hub in September 2020 to:
- deliver its statutory duties to children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in a timely, transparent and person centred way
- ensure that information gathered through Eucation Health and Care (EHC) assessments and annual reviews is shared consistently and transparently with children and young people with SEND and their families
- allow children, young, people and their families to share their views and aspirations, across services within the area, so that they have to tell their story once
- ensure that person centred outcomes are identified by key professionals working with the child or young person, across the area
Children, young people and their families are at the heart of the EHC process and using the EHC Hub to conduct assessments and reviews supports this.
We hope that the experience of children and young people with SEND and their families improves as a result of professionals' ability to access detailed and accurate information about their needs and to co-produce good quality Education Health and Care Plans (EHCP's).
Benefits of the EHC Hub
- allows parent carers to track their child or young person's assessment and see who has been asked to provide advice
- parent carers can upload their own comments and views including photographs and video's as part of the EHC needs assessment or annual review process
- the child or young person is also able to contribute in this way. (The system can attach multiple videos but they should be no longer than 3 minutes in length each)
- the child or young person's educational setting, and any professional working with them will also register and contribute their views within the EHC Hub. They can upload reports so that relevant and up to date information is shared with you, the SEN Team and the other professionals involved
- parent carers and anyone working with the child or young person has access to the same information, at the same time, reducing the need for information to be repeated
- provides transparency about decisions with information that is clear and accessible to all those involved in the assessment or review process with those involved having access to decisions as soon as they are made