Education, Health & Care Plans

Click here to see a letter from Edward Timpson Minister of State for Children and Families to all Directors of Children’s Services and Lead Members for Children’s Services.  

SEN support in schools

Requesting an EHCP needs assessment

Conducting an EHCP needs assessment

What you can do if you disagree

CDC Educational Health and Care Plans examples of good practice

This resource has been produced to help write good quality EHC plans that meet both the letter and the spirit of the Children and Families Act 2014.

The first part of this document includes excerpts from real EHC plans that were collected through the local Independent Support network. In the second part there are two EHC plans which draw on real examples but the plans themselves relate to fictional children.

We expect these examples to be useful to those contributing to EHC needs assessments and to those writing plans as well as to parents, children and young people and those supporting them. We intend this document to provoke a debate about the key features of high quality EHC plans. We invite other organisations to identify good EHC plans that exemplify the best for children with a range of different needs and for whom a wide range of outcomes are sought. In turn, we hope that this will build a body of evidence about what works.

This document provides examples for discussion and is not advocating any particular approach to meeting needs. We were not party to the information and advice provided in support of the plans and are therefore making no judgement as to whether the particular provision is or is not appropriate for any particular child or young person.

To view the guide click here

CDC Education, Health and Care Plans: examples of good practice from year 9 and beyond

The previous resource  contains a wide range of tips and examples that are relevant across the age range for children and young people with EHC plans.

In response to feedback from the sector, we have developed this guide which seeks to build on the first resource with a particular focus on how plans should evolve for young people from year 9 reviews onwards, as their journey into adulthood builds momentum. We would recommend that you use this resource to complement the first guide.

The purpose of this document is to support the development of skills in writing good quality EHC plans that meet both the letter and the spirit of the Children and Families Act 2014.

To view the guide click here

How do I know if I have a good good Education, Health and Care Plan?

Written by parents for parents giving tips to knowing what a good plan should look like.

Section A – All about me:
Should tell anyone who doesn’t know your child exactly how to look after them and what they need to keep them happy and avoid any upset. Any strategies used as parents should be included eg putting left arm into and out of clothes first to avoid injuring them, making sure they have their favourite pen in their bag, sitting them away from the window as they don’t like bright sunlight. This section should also include what they would like to do in the future where possible. Ideally Person Centred planning questions would be used and the child should be given the opportunity to give their views on all or some of the questions using whatever method of communication they use. Questions should include:

What is important to them                                                                    What is important for them (to keep them healthy and safe)
What are their likes and dislikes?                                                        What makes them happy or sad?
How do they communicate with others?                                              How do others communicate with them?
Do they have any significant routines or rituals?                                 What places do they like to go to?
Who are the important people in their life?                                          What are their gifts, qualities and skills?

Section B- Special Educational Needs

Needs are the ‘barriers’ that stop a child from learning the same as any other child – examples of this could be trouble concentrating for any length of time, they have poor memory or are unable to understand instructions. . Ideally each need should be listed separately so they can be easily followed through in sections E & F.

A diagnosis is not a need

Section C – Health needs which relate to their SEN

Listed here should be health ‘barriers’ – what health needs does your child have that another child of the same age doesn’t.

A diagnosis is not a need.

Any health needs affecting their education should be listed under Section B eg profound hearing loss, the wearing of hearing aids.

Section D –  Social Care needs which relate to their SEN

The ‘barriers’ that stop your child being able to go out and socialise like any other child the same age either in a club or out in town,  eg why couldn’t your 15 year old be dropped into Romford at 7pm at night like any other child? Needs could include lack of awareness around stranger danger, road safety, sense of direction, social skills.

Saying that a child receives x amount of direct payments is not a need.

Section E – Outcomes

Think about what you would like your child to have achieved by the time they get to a certain age or stage in school. The outcomes should be for at least 1 year into the future.

Section F- SEN provision

This section should look at each outcome and states what steps will be taken to achieve them, by whom and for how long for. Words must be specific nut vague such as class staff, regularly, periodically, routinely it should be clear who is responsible for a task and how long and often the task will last, a good example would be that the class TA will work with the child learning phonics for 15 minutes 3 times per week.

Section G – Health Provision

This should include any regular monitoring of health conditions, by who and how often.

Section H1 – Social Care provision for a child or young person under 18

Detailed here should be any short break services that your child attends or the amount of short breaks allocated via direct payments.

Section H2 – Any other Social Care provision

Relates to those over 18

Section I – Placement

No information should be included here until the plan is finalised.

Section J – Personal Budget
Section K – Advice and information