Education Health Care Plans

An EHC plan is the document which replaces Statements of SEN and Learning Difficulties Assessments for children and young people with special educational needs.

An EHC plan can only be issued after a child or young person has gone through the process of EHC needs assessment. At the end of that process, the local authority has to make a decision, either to issue an EHC Plan or not.

If the LA refuses to issue an EHC plan, the parent/young person must be informed of the reasons and that they have the right to appeal to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal.

If the decision is to issue an EHC plan, the LA must first issue a draft EHC plan for the parents or young person to consider. Only at this stage will parents/young person be asked to name the type of school/college they want e.g. mainstream or special school and the individual school/college they want to have named in the EHC plan.

The LA will then consult with that school/college about being named in the EHC plan.

As well as the special educational needs and special educational provision of the child/young person, the draft EHC plan should also detail:

  • Health care provision that has been assessed as reasonably required;
  • Social care provision which is being made for the child/young person under the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970 and any other social care provision that has been assessed as reasonably required.

The LA will then finalise the EHC plan.

The LA will then have the legal duty to “secure” the educational provision specified in the EHC plan, that is, to ensure that the provision is delivered.

The local health care provider will have the legal duty to “arrange” the health care provision specified in the EHC plan, that is, to ensure that the provision is delivered.

If the EHC plan specifies social care provision provided under the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970, the LA will have a legal duty to make that social care provision under that Act (but not any other social care provision in the EHC Plan not resulting from that legislation).