EHC Needs Assessments and Plans

An Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment is a way for the Local Authority to gather information to identify what extra support you might need to help you get the most out of school or college. It can also help to decide whether you might need an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP).

An Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) describes your special educational needs (SEN) and the help you need to be able to do your best in school or college. It is a legal document written by the Local Authority for children and young people with high support needs. This means that it must be followed by the school or college that is named in it and you must receive the support that’s written in it.

Most children or young people with special educational needs will have help given to them without the need for an EHCP. This is called SEN Support. Some children and young people may not make the progress they could, even with this help. If this happens, the Local Authority should carry out an EHC Needs Assessment to decide whether an EHCP might be needed for extra support.

You will need to fill out an EHC Needs Assessment request form. A request can be made by you, your parent or carer, or your school or college. You can submit the request online, or you can send it by post or email to the LA SEND Team.

More information on EHC Needs Assessments and Plans, including how to request one, can be found here.

The Local Authority SEND Team will gather information from you and the people who know you well, including:

• Your parents or carers.
• Your school or college.
• Your social worker (if you have one).
• Your doctor and/ or therapist (if you have one).
• An educational psychologist. This is someone who knows about how to help people learn.
• Anyone else who knows you well that you would like the Local Authority (LA) to talk to.

Each of these people will be asked to give their views on what they feel you might need support with and how the LA can help to make that happen. The LA then gathers all that information and brings it to a panel of professionals, who decide whether they think you need an EHCP.

An EHCP is a legal document. This means that it must be followed by your school or college and you must receive the support that’s written in it.

It describes the things which you’re good at and the things which you find more difficult. It also contains ideas of what could be done to make those things easier, so that everyone knows what they can do to help you to do your best.

Once you have an EHCP, you will likely have it until you turn 25 years old. However it might stop if:

• You go to University.
• You get a job.
• You tell the LA you don’t want it anymore.
• The LA thinks you do not need it anymore.

No. Your EHCP should be looked at and updated at least once a year to reflect how your needs change as you grow up. The support which you might need when you’re 12 is unlikely to be the same as the support you might need when you’re 16.

The process of looking at and updating your EHCP is called an Annual Review.