About EHCPs

Education, health and care plans (EHCPs) can help some children and young people.

The EHCP covers children from birth up to the age of 25.

Most children and young people will have their needs met without one, and will be able to access lots of support without an EHCP.

What an EHCP is for

The purpose of an education, health and care (EHC) plan is to:

make special educational provision to meet the special educational needs of the child or young person
secure the best possible outcomes for them across education, health and social care
prepare them for adulthood as they get older.

To achieve this, we use information from an EHC assessment to:

find out and record the views, interests and aspirations of the parents and child or young person
provide a full description of the child or young person’s special educational needs and any health and social care needs
agree outcomes across education, health and social care based on the child or young person’s needs, hopes and aspirations
specify what provision is needed and how education, health and care services will work together to meet the child or young person’s needs and help them reach the agreed outcomes.

Families with an EHCP will be able to request a personal budget to buy services they need.

An EHCP must have an Annual Review to make sure that a child's or younger person's needs are being met.

Parents, children and young people must be involved in the assessment and planning stages, as well as the Annual Review.