Contents of an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP)
The SEND Code of Practice sets out the following key requirements and principles about Education Health and Care Plans (EHCPs):
- decisions about the content should be made openly and collaboratively with parents, children and young people
- EHCPs must specify the outcomes sought for a child or young person
EHCPs should:
- positively describe achievements
- be clear, concise, understandable and accessible
- show how education, health and care provision should be coordinated to best achieve agreed outcomes
- consider how best to achieve outcomes. Account must be taken of any innovative or alternative ways to receive support sought by the young person or parent
- describe how family and community support can help in achieving agreed outcomes
- be forward looking and anticipate and plan for important transition points in a child or young person's life, including transition into adult life
- have a review date
The EHCP is a legal document. It must include the following sections as a minimum and be labelled using the following letters (although they do not need to be in the same order):
- section A - the views, interests and aspirations of the child and their parents or the young person
- section B - the child / young person's special educational needs (SEN)
- section C - the child / young person's health needs which are related to their SEN
- section D - the child / young person's social care needs which are related to their SEN or to a disability
- section E - the outcomes sought for the child or young person (and should include outcomes for adult life)
- section F - the special educational provision required by the child or young person
- section G - any health provision reasonably required by the learning difficulties or disabilities which result in the child or young person having SEN.
- section H1 - the social care provision that must be provided as a result of section 2 of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970 (CSDPA)
- section H2 - any other social care provision reasonably required by the learning difficulties or disabilities which result in the child or young person having SEN
- section I - the name and type of educational setting that the child/young person should attend
- section J - how a personal budget (if any) will be used
- section K - supplementary information gathered during the needs assessment