Education, Health and Care Plan

Information and guidance around the statutory process for Education, Health and Care Plans for children and young people aged 0-25 years.

Who needs a statutory needs assessment and an Education, Health and Care Plan?

Not all children with Special Educational Needs require an EHC Plan. Schools can meet the special educational needs of most children through high quality inclusive teaching and additional SEN support. Sometimes additional support put in place will be formalised in to a non-statutory plan called an Early Help Record and Plan which can be developed in partnership with parents and other agencies from education, health and social care. This can then be monitored, evaluated and reviewed in line with the outcomes set.

The Swindon Good Practice Guide 2014 sets out the graduated approach for meeting the needs of children and young people with SEND.

What is an Education Health and Care Plan?

An EHC Plan is a forward looking aspirational statutory document that captures the long term ambitions of the child or young person (0-25 years) specifies the outcomes as well as the necessary provision to meet their SEND needs. EHC plans should set out how services will be delivered as part of a whole package and explain how best to achieve the outcomes sought across education, health and social care for the child or young person.

A coordinated EHC Assessment brings together professionals from education, health and care to work in partnership with families to listen, understand and plan support to enable their children to achieve the best possible quality of life. One of the aims is to improve information sharing, so that the family does not have to keep repeating their story to different professionals and organisations.

The EHC Plan is reviewed at least annually. In between annual reviews, you may have team around the child/family meetings. This process will all contribute to the EHC Plan and measuring the progress towards the agreed outcomes.

Education Health and Care Plan

How to Request a Statutory Needs Assessment

If you think your child or young person needs a statutory needs assessment and Education, Health and Care Plan you should in the first instance discuss this with your child’s school or early years setting SENCO, or with the College. The majority of applications for statutory assessment the LA receives are coordinated by the childs school or early years setting.

To request a statutory needs assessment for your child or young person you can:

Request a statutory needs assessment in writing directly to the Local Authority
Discuss with your school who can coordinate the application and all the relevant evidence
Discuss with another professional or key worker you work with, they can make a request on your behalf

Schools Request for Statutory Assessment

Early Years Application for High Needs Funding/Statutory Assessment

More Information

More detailed information on the Statutory Needs Assessment, EHC Plan and the on going monitoring of a plan in Swindon.

Applying for an Education, Health and Care Plan

Education, Health and Care Plan Flowchart