EHCP and other SEND support in England

An Education, health and care plan (EHCP) is a way of getting extra support for a child with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND). This page explains what parents and carers need to know and how to request an EHCP for your child.

What is an EHCP?
Who can get an EHCP?
Getting a needs assessment
What happens in a needs assessment?
What should an EHCP include?
Timescales at a glance
Getting help and support
Links, resources and article sources

What is an EHCP?

An EHCP, or EHC plan, is an Education, health and care plan. It is a legal document for children and young people with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) who need more support than a school can generally give.

The local authority (usually your local council) writes the plan after an assessment of your child’s needs. It sets out:

your child’s needs
the support they must get
the outcomes that support should help them achieve.

An EHCP is legally binding. This means the support must be provided. The local authority – not the school – is responsible for making sure this happens.

An EHCP can also name the school or setting your child should go to.

Who can get an EHCP?

Not all children with SEND will get an EHCP. Most children get support without one.

Schools use a graduated approach. This is a cycle where they:

assess your child’s needs
plan support
do (put support in place)
review how well it is working.

They then update the plan and repeat the cycle.

The law says schools and local authorities must support children with SEND. It also says most children’s needs should be met using the support already available in mainstream education, sometimes with input from specialists.

In practice, many parents say this does not always work well. Schools and parents may disagree about what support is needed. We have a page on solving disagreements with your child’s school if this happens.

Support at this stage is usually written in an informal plan. These are reviewed regularly but are not legally binding.

If your child needs more help than this, they may be able to get an EHCP and may get into a special school.

Who is eligible?

An EHCP is for children and young people who:

have high or complex needs that cannot be met by usual school support
are aged 0 to 25, if they are in education or training (but not university).

To get an EHCP, your child must have an EHC needs assessment.

There is no set list of what support schools must provide and what support requires an EHCP. It can vary between schools and local authority areas.

Your rights

Some parents find it hard to get the right support for their child. If this happens, it is important to know your rights.

The SEND system in England is based on the:

The 2014 act and regulations set out what schools and local authorities must do. The SEND Code of Practice explains how the law should work day-to-day.

Even though the law is clear, many families say support is not always provided in the way it should be. Knowing your rights can help you challenge decisions you disagree with and ask for the support your child needs.

You can also look at your local authority’s 'local offer', which explains what support is available in your area.

You can find it by:

searching for: your local authority's name + SEND local offer, or
going to your local authority’s website and searching for: SEND local offer.

Getting a needs assessment

An EHC needs assessment is the first step towards getting an EHCP.

Only the local authority can do the assessment. It decides whether your child needs more support than the school can provide.

This is different from assessments done by the school.

Who can request an assessment?

An EHC assessment can be requested by:

the school (after talking to you about it)
parents or carers
a young person aged 16 or over.

It can help to:

talk to the school first
keep notes about your child’s difficulties and support.

Your notes can help show that current support is not working.

We have created a letter template to request a meeting with the school.

What happens after you ask for a needs assessment?

The local authority must reply and let you know they are considering your request.

They have 6 weeks to decide whether to carry out an assessment.

If they agree:

the assessment process usually takes around 6 weeks
they then decide whether to give your child an EHCP.

If they refuse, you have the right to appeal.

By law, they can refuse if:

your child already has an EHCP
they have done a recent assessment (in the last 6 months)
the evidence shows an assessment is not needed.

An assessment is needed if your child:

has or may have SEN
may require support through an EHCP.

In law, the need for support through an EHCP does not need to be clear or proven before an assessment takes place. The assessment is supposed to find this out.

Can you appeal?

Yes. You can appeal whether you or the school made the request.

You must usually:

try mediation
appeal to the SEND Tribunal if needed.

You must act within:

2 months of the decision letter, or
1 month from your mediation certificate, whichever is later.

What happens in a needs assessment?

The assessment uses interviews and tests to collect information about your child’s needs from:

you and your child
the school
relevant professionals (such as educational psychologists or health professionals.)

You can:

attend meetings
give your own notes or other evidence
suggest people who should be asked for their views (eg professionals or other people supporting your child).

What happens next?

An assessment does not always lead to getting an EHCP.

If the local authority says no to an EHCP:

they must explain why
you can appeal.

If they say yes:

they will send you a draft plan
you can comment and ask for changes.

The full process, from request to final plan, should take no more than 20 weeks.

What should an EHCP include?

An EHCP covers education, health and social care needs. It must include:

your views and your child’s views
your child’s needs (from the information gathered in the needs assessment)
the outcomes you want
the support your child will get
the name of the school or setting your child will go to (in the final plan, not in the draft).

The support listed should clearly match your child’s needs.

You can see examples of needs and matching support on our page What can my autistic child get support with at school?

Reviewing the draft plan

You have 15 days to comment on a draft plan. You can:

ask for changes
ask for a specific school
ask for a personal budget (in some cases).

When checking the plan, ask yourself:

Are all your notes and other reports included? Is anything missing?
Are all your child’s needs included?
Is the support clearly described?
Does it reflect your views and your child’s?

If you agree with the plan, you don’t need to do anything. But if you want to ask for a specific school, you should write back to the local authority to tell them.

If you don’t agree with the final plan, you can appeal.

Asking for a specific school

You can ask for a school to be named in the plan.

If it is:

a mainstream school
a special school
a further education or sixth form college

the local authority must agree, unless:

the school is not suitable
it would affect other children’s education
it would not be a good use of resources.

If they refuse, it is often because of a lack of funding. You have the right to appeal a decision you disagree with.

If you ask for another type of school (such as an independent school), they must consider it but don't have to agree.

Annual review

EHCPs must be reviewed at least once a year.

The review looks at:

your child’s progress
whether support is working
whether changes are needed.

There will be a meeting. You and your child should be involved.

After the review, the local authority may:

keep the plan the same
change it
end it.

You can appeal if you disagree. Information about how to do this is on our page Solving disagreements with your child’s school.

Timescales at a glance

Decision to assess: 6 weeks
Assessment process: 6 weeks
Draft plan issued: within 20 weeks of request
Comment on draft: 15 days
Appeal: 2 months
Review: at least every 12 months.

Getting help and support

You may find it helpful to:

talk to other parents in support groups
contact your local authority’s parent and carer forum
get advice from organisations that offer advocacy or legal help
use our Autism Services Directory to find support groups and services.

Links, resources and article sources

National Autistic Society

Autism Services Directory: for services and support
Branches: offering support, information and social activities for autistic adults, children and their families in their local area
Community: our online community is a place for autistic people and their families to meet like-minded people and share their experiences

Other advice, information and support

SENDIASS – SEND information, advice and support service
SEND support: easy-read guide for parents, Gov.uk
Support for children with SEN, Mencap
IPSEA – Independent provider of special education advice
Contact, a charity for families with disabled children
Council for Disabled Children (CDC)
SOS!SEN, a charity focused on SEND support

Article sources

This page contains examples of support, and information about specialist organisations, that comes from our direct experience of helping autistic people and their families, in addition to information based on a review of the evidence as described on Our advice and guidance content process page.