Education Health and Care plans (EHCP)

If we decide that an EHC plan is needed, the next step is to write it. A SEND officer will work with you / you and your child to draft the plan. This will be based on all the information collected at the assessment stage.

Learn what the final plan must contain and any decisions you must make.

What an EHC plan should include

The plan should set out a child's:

• views and hopes from parent/carer and child/young person (Section A of the EHC plan)
• special educational needs and/or disability, outcomes, and the special support to meet those needs (Section B, E, F of the EHC plan)
• health needs and health support to meet those needs, outcomes, and provisions (Section C, E, G of the EHC plan)
• care needs and the care support to meet those needs, outcomes, and provisions (Section D, E, H of the EHC plan)

It should also include:

• the type of early education 'setting' (that is nursery or pre-school), school or college (Section I of the EHC plan)
• all information collected during the assessment (Section K of the EHC plan)
• information on types of payment, if you asked for a personal budget (Section J of the EHC plan)

Council for Disabled Children has examples of good practice in EHC plans

Your EHC plan

A SEND officer will contact you or you and your child to write the plan.

They’ll ask you:

• to choose the nursery or school you wish your child to go to
• if you’re a young person over 16, the college you want to go to
• whether you want a personal budget for any of the services listed in the plan.
  See step 5: my budget for more details – hyperlink

Next, the officer will write the plan and send it to everyone involved so they can check it and add comments.  We’ll also send a copy to your chosen school or college to get their views on the plan. They’ll have up to 15 calendar days to respond to the consultation. Once they agree to take you / your child, we’ll send the final plan, naming the school or college in Section 1.

Please contact your SEND Case officer if you have any questions about your child’s plan.