What Is An EHCP?
Lots of people talk about EHCP's, and whether or not your child should have one, but not a lot is often explained about what they are, who needs them, what they are for, and how to apply for one. As a parent of a child with special needs this can be quite daunting, as you want to be doing everything that you possibly can to give your child the opportunity to live their best life. So, when you hear other parents talking about EHCP's and needing one, it's easy to panic and think, "my child needs one of those too".  I am often asked for advice about EHCP's, so on this page, my aim is to share what I have found out along the way as I have sought a plan for my own child. My first piece of advice is, dont panic! I did and, surprise surprise, it didn't help; it only made me more stressed than I already was!

An EHCP is an abbreviation for an Educational, Health Care Plan. This is a legal document, put together by a team of health and education professionals for a child with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) where their school is unable to meet their specific needs within their current SEN budget. The EHC plan identifies the named young person's specific needs, and the support required to meet those needs and the identified outcomes. An EHCP can only be issued after a full EHC needs assessment has been carried out.

What Does SEN mean?
Section 20, of The Children and Families Act 2014, defines a child as having Special Educational Needs (SEN) if he or she "has a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special education provision to be made for him or her". There is an SEN register, which children can be placed on by their school, if the school deems them to have special, or additional, educational needs. This is typically based on how the child presents in the classroom/school setting, in addition to any evidence submitted by parents or other heathcare professionals. Schools are provided with a notional SEN budget each year by the Department for Education. This budget is expected to be spent, by the school, to help meet the additional learning needs of the children in that school who have SEN. 

Many parents are under the impression that as this money is paid to the school to meet the needs of the individual children with SEN, that the full amount per-head given, should be available to spend on their child. However, this is not exactly how it works. The total SEN budget is what the school uses to fund their total SEN provision for the school. This will include paying the salaries of X amount of teaching assistants, or SEN specialists. Some might be spent on additional resources or equipment to support various SEN needs within the school; not all of which will be relevant to every child. 

Your child's school has a duty to the Local Authority to provide education to each child in their school, and to make reasonable adjustments and additional provision where necessary. The key word here is reasonable. If the cost of meeting a particular  child's specific needs are too great to be met within the provided SEN budget or resources, this is where the need for an EHCP comes in. A local authority will decline a request for an EHC needs assessment if they believe that the child's needs should be able to be met by the school within its allocated SEN budget. If you believe that this is not the case, you will need to show why. (In my own personal opinion, if you already have evidence that the school cannot provide for the specific individual needs of your child, I would suggest sending all the evidence that you can, the first time you apply for the asessment, to try and avoid the time and energy wasted in getting turned down, and then having to appeal the decision). 

So How Do I Know If My Child Needs One?
The first thing to do, is to speak to your child's school about any needs that you feel that your child has that are not currently being met. Tip: Ahead of this meeting, compile a list of all the things you can think of that your child has struggled to cope with, and why - give examples where possible. Also, note down anything that you think might help your child to do better in these situations. This may include things that you have tried at home that have worked.
At this initial stage, the school should work with you directly to arrange any necessary adjustments to support your child in the school setting. This should be reviewed with you on a regular basis. The school should also take into account, any diagnoses or medical reports that have been completed outside of school. These will also form part of the 'evidence' of need. This process should include your child's teacher and a staff member from the SEN department. Discussions may also include House/College leaders, heads of year, and any other staff that work closely with the child. If, after a reasonable period of time (usually for at least 6 months), the adjustments that the school are making, are just not enough to meet the needs of your child, this is when you, or school, may put together a request for an EHCP needs assessment. This is the first stage.

 

How Do We Get One?
The first stage in applying for an assessment, is to gather as much evidence as you, and the school, possibly can, to support your application.

You should include: (NB, some of the things listed will not be applicable to everyone)​

• Diagnosis reports (eg. dyslexia, Autism, ADHD, etc...
• Evidence of your child's academic attainment/developmental milestones and their rate of progress if below average
• Any school reports that highlight your child's additional needs
• Any evidence from the school, such as e-mails or letters, about your child getting into trouble as a result of their SEN (eg. ADHD / Autism)
• Any evidence of exclusions or moving schools based on your childs SEN
• Evidence of anything the school has tried already that has not worked - including IEP's (individual educational plan)
• A written report from the SEN lead at the school
• Any reports or medical letters that show evidence of the child's needs (including doctors, physiotherapists etc)
• Reports from CAMHS or mental health services who have had contact with your child
• Reports from any other support services that have been working with your child
• Any written evidence from parents, friends, family or other adults that spend a lot of time with your child, that can evidence the need for additional support provision

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You should not include:​

• Generic information printed from the internet about your child's condition

• Routine letters asking your child to attend appointments and consultations - only the RESULTS of such appointments

• Any communication between home and school, or reports from school, that are not related to your child's SEN. 

• Any documents that do not help to show why your child needs additional support.

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What Happens Next?

The Local Authority Education Department will review the application for an EHC needs assessment and let you know the outcome. As long as there is sufficient evidence that the needs of the young person cannot be met by the current school SEN budget, they should approve an assessment. It is worth noting, that if there is evidence that "the child or young person has, or may have, special educational needs and it may be necessary for special educational provision to be made for the child or young person in accordance with an EHC plan, the local authority must secure an EHC needs assessment for the child or young person".   (The Children & Families Act 2014, section 36, subsection 8)​

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If you have any problems or questions about applying for an EHCP assessment, please contact your child's school in the first  instance. If they are unable to provide the answers or support that you need, please contact your local SENDIASS (info below).