What Is An EHCP?

EHCP stands for Education, Health and Care Plan. It provides and overview of a young person’s special educational needs, and the provision local authorities must put in place to support them.

An Educational Health and Care Plan (EHCP) is a legal document, that informs the educational establishment and local authority that extra help will be provided to meet the needs of that young person and how this will support them in their educational needs.

An EHCP can be requested for a young person, aged up to 25 years old, who needs support that is beyond that available through the usual special education needs (SEN) support.

The EHCP puts young people at the centre of discussions about the support offered, with schools being required to consult with children and their families when making decisions about the support offered and be prepared to offer support in new ways.

Q: Is it the same as a ‘statement’ Of SEN (Special Educational Needs) or a learning difficulty assessment?

A: ‘Statements’ of SEN and learning difficulty assessments were replaced by the EHCP (and EHCNA) in 2014.

Why Get An EHCP?

The simple answer is, if a young person, or their family feels that additional support is needed so that they can make progress at the same rate as those of their age group, then the EHCP is a key part of achieving this.

The support provided can range from: enrolment in special schools, 1:1 assistance in the classroom, 1:1 assistance during breaks / lunchtime; to prioritising admission into a preferred mainstream school over other applicants. An EHCP can be in place for a young person up to the age of 25, so can ensure support or a specialist placement at further education colleges after school (but it does not cover universities).

An EHCP can provide additional funding from the local authority in providing support for a young person’s needs, beyond that which an educational organisation must supply from its own budget. It is vital to have an EHCP to gain entry to a special school, with most special schools asking applicants to request and complete the EHCP process prior to enrolment.

It is important to remember this is a legally binding document which protects the support a young person needs. If it states that a young person needs a particular type of support, that must legally be provided.

Q: I want to be able to choose which school in our area my child goes to, can I do this?

A: With an EHCP, if it can be shown that the school of choice is more suitable to the young person, you can be given priority admission. An EHCP can allow a child to be considered for schools where you are out of catchment or even in another borough.

Who Can Apply for an EHCP?

Young people with SEN are entitled to extra support with learning at nursery, school or college. If a young person has (or is believed to have) a learning difficulty or a disability which is believed to stop them from making progress at the same rate as their peers at school or college, a request should be made to the Local Authority (“LA”) for an EHC needs assessment. This request can be made at any time.

In order to ask for an EHC needs assessment, it must be believed that the young person has (or may have) SEN. Importantly it does not apply when there are only health or social care needs. Under the law, a child has SEN if they have a learning difficulty or a disability which requires special educational provision.

Young people under 16, will have requests which are made by the parent (including children between the ages of age 0 to 5 years, where a request is made if they believe that the child will need extra help at nursery or when they start school). When the Young person is over 16 (up to 25), they may make the request themselves. If however, they are not able to understand, remember or communicate decisions about the educational support they need, parent or carers can still make the request.

Many LA’s will expect Educational organisations to make the requests, providing documentation for them to use, but it is important to remember, legally the parents of a young person has the right to request an EHCP. However, it can be beneficial for the family of a young person to make the request as they will often have a better understanding of the background and individual needs of the young person. If you make the request yourself you can also be sure it has been submitted and be the first point of contact as the process continues.

How Can the Plumanicca Team Help?

At Plumanicca we have worked alongside a number of different local authorities across the country in carrying out EHC needs assessments. This experience of carrying out EHC needs assessments means we are best placed to understand what is required to make a compelling EHCP application.

Because we have experience at reviewing EHC applications we know the pitfalls as well as what makes them successful and can provide help and assistance to young people and their families in ensuring they receive the support they need and deserve.

Through our range of tiered support packages, we can go from helping to write your EHC application, all the way through to compiling documentation, providing additional assessment reports to support your request (from our qualified and chartered Educational Psychology Team), guiding you through ever step of the process.

No one can guarantee you an EHCP, but we can make sure it’s difficult to refuse.

Further Information:

https://www.gov.uk/children-with-special-educational-needs/extra-SEN-help