Education, health and care (EHC) needs assessments and plans

Find out about EHC needs assessments

• See our Parents and carers section for information about EHC needs assessments

• Our guide to understanding the EHC needs assessment process (PowerPoint 484 kb)

• A step-by-step guide to EHC plans (external link)

• A course to help you understand Holistic Outcomes in Education, Health and Care Plans (external link)

• Guidance to support Local Authorities in making decisions about when they should maintain an EHC plan beyond the age of 19 or issue an EHC plan to a young person aged 19 or over (external link)

Specificity

When writing EHC plans, a local authority must by law ‘specify’ the help children and young people must receive. This means describing it in enough detail so that parents and young people, among others, can clearly tell what must be delivered, how often, how long for and who by.

Find out about more about specificity in EHC plans (PDF 194kb).

Social care

The Council for Disabled Children offers e-learning (external link) aimed at practitioners in the Social Care and SEND sector such as:

• Early Help practitioners;

• Social workers (in all teams);

• Team managers

• Anyone involved in providing social care advice and information for EHC needs assessments

The course has two modules covering:

1. The role of social care within the SEND system

2. Developing good quality social care advice & information

Resources

Useful information on content for sections H1 and H2 of a EHC plan.

• Sections H1 and H2

• CSDPA/S17

Health

The Council for Disabled Children offers e-learning (external link) for adults with a role to play in the Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) system, in particular to giving health advice. The course will help you understand the role of good advice in the plan.

There are three options and each one is for different audiences. Find the option that fits your role best.

Support for local authorities, Integrated Care Systems and NHS trusts to set up processes that facilitate the provision of good health advice (PDF 1mb).

The Council for Disabled Children offers e-learning (external link) aimed at CAMHS professionals who contribute advice towards Education, Health and Care Plans.

The course intends to increase understanding of:

• The SEND system and legislative context

• The importance of children and young people’s voice in their plan, including those who are non verbal

• The purpose of advice in the plan and what good CAMHS advice looks like

• How different roles and responsibilities in the process fit together

• Wider SEND processes and how these fit with the EHCP process

Guidance for health professionals on the support system for children and young people with SEND (external link).