Education, health and care (EHC) plans

Last reviewed on 31 January 2022
School types: All · School phases: All
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Be clear on what EHC plans are, what they contain and how pupils with special educational needs (SEN) receive one. Download our flowchart to help you digest this information.

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Contents

  1. What’s an EHC plan?
  2. Governors' role
  3. What does an EHC plan cover?
  4. How do pupils get an EHC plan and how is it reviewed?
  5. Before the EHC plan: special educational provision in school
  6. Requesting an EHC needs assessment
  7. The local authority (LA) decides whether to carry out an assessment, and if so, whether a plan is needed
  8. Creating an EHC plan
  9. The LA will review the EHC plan annually to make sure it's still relevant
  10. The LA must conduct a re-assessment if requested

What’s an EHC plan?

It’s a plan for children and young people up to the age of 25 who need more support than they can get through the special educational needs (SEN) support at your school.

EHC plans identify educational, health and social needs and set out the additional support required to meet those needs. Get up to speed with all these terms with our SEND glossary.

Governors' role

Although the SEND Code of Practice says governors should have access to EHC plans, in reality it's unlikely you'll need to see one in detail. EHC plans are comprehensive and personal documents, and you're only likely to look at one if there's a particularly relevant issue.

For a more general overview of the governing board’s responsibilities

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