Education, Health and Care plan (EHCP) is a legal document that describes a young Person’s special educational needs, the support they need and the outcomes they would like to achieve. The plan if approved must be provided by the Local authority. The young person must meet the criteria of:
- Whether the Young person has or may have Special Educational Needs (SEN).
- Whether they may need special educational provision to be made through an EHC plan.
If the answer is yes to both questions, then the local authority must carry out an EHC needs assessment. Parents can self- request online using the local authority website.
If the learning difficulty or a disability is holding the young person back at school, you can speak to the schools SENCO before applying for an EHCP. The local authority have 6 weeks to respond as to whether they will assess. The local authority must notify the parent or young person of whether they will be issued a plan within a maximum of 16 weeks from the request for assessment. The first stage is Parental views which is typically a phone conversation with the local authority caseworker to go over your young person’s needs and history of SEN, when they reached milestones, any feeding difficulties, how they settled into nursery and school etc.
An EHCP can give parents and young people more choice about which school or other setting the young person can attend. The plan should be written in a way that makes it clear and easy to understand who is required to do what, when it must happen and how often it should be reviewed.
An EHCP is split into four areas of need:
- Communication and Interaction
- Cognition and Learning
- Social, Emotional and mental health
- Sensory and Physical
West Northamptonshire Council EHC Plan
Phone: 01604 368948
Daventry and South Northants Email: EHCDav.ncc@westnorthants.gov.uk
Northampton Email: EHCNorthampton.ncc@westnorthants.gov.uk
Website: Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans, process and assessment | West Northamptonshire Council
North Northamptonshire Council EHC Plan
Website: Guidance on Education, Health and Care (EHC) assessments and plans | North Northamptonshire Council
