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EHC plans

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This advice applies in England only. Read information for families in Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales.

Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans are for children and young people who need more help than the SEN support that schools, early years and further education settings provide.

In this article

What is an EHC plan?

An Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan is a legal document. It describes a child or young person’s special educational (SEN), health and social care needs. It sets out the extra help that will meet those needs. And it explains how that will support the child or young person to achieve what they want in their life.

Who needs an EHC plan?

Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans are for children and young people who need more help than the SEN support that schools, early years and further education settings provide.

Children with an EHC plan may go to a mainstream school or a special school, depending on their needs. In a special school, there are only pupils with special educational needs. They will usually have needs that are more complex. The school may have specially-trained teachers, therapists or special equipment to support them.

EHC plans can include health or social care needs. But your child will not get a plan if they only have health or social care needs that do not affect their education.

Any child or young person between the ages of 0 and 25 years is eligible for an EHC plan.

How do I get an EHC plan?

Ask your local authority to carry out an EHC needs assessment if you think your child needs an EHC plan. Your child’s education setting or your child, if over 16, can also ask the local authority to assess.

If the local authority agrees to, the EHC needs assessment will determine whether your child needs an EHC plan. If so, the assessment will also determine the support contained within the plan.

What does an EHC plan look like?

There is no national standard format for the EHC plan. However it must have certain, clearly-labelled sections:

The sections are:

A: The views, interests and aspirations of you and your child.
B: Special educational needs (SEN).
C: Health needs related to SEN.
D: Social care needs related to SEN.
E: Outcomes – how the extra help will benefit your child
F: Special educational provision (support).
G: Health provision.
H: Social care provision.
I: Placement – type and name of school or other institution. (This is blank in the draft plan.)
J: Personal budget arrangements.
K: Advice and information – a list of the information gathered during the EHC needs assessment.

The different sections may at first seem like a confusing alphabet soup. It can help to understand that there are three sections on needs (i.e. your child’s difficulties). These correspond to three sections on provision (the help your child will get) to meet those needs:

  • “Section B: Special educational needs” corresponds to “Section F: special educational provision”.
  • “Section C: Health care needs” corresponds to”Section G: health care provision”.
  • “Section D: Social care needs” corresponds to”Section H: social care provision”.

See our page on getting an EHC draft plan for a more detailed look at each section.

Annual review of the plan

The plan must be reviewed at least once a year. At the end of the review, the local authority may make changes to the plan, end it, or leave it unchanged.

Read more about annual reviews.

How long does the plan last?

The plan will remain in place until your child leaves education or the local authority decides that your child no longer needs the plan to help them in their education.

If you move to another local authority, the plan will move across too. See more about a change in circumstances.

SEND Code of Practice

See the SEND Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years in England. [PDF].


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