Education, Health and Care (EHC) needs assessment and EHC plans
Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plans replaced Statements of Special Educational Needs and Learning Difficulty Assessments (LDAs) in September 2014.
All pupils in Southend have now had their Statement or LDA (post-16s) converted to an Education Health and Care (EHC) Plan.
In order for an EHC Plan to be issued a child or young person must have a special educational need; they may also have a health or (social) care need.
However an EHC Plan would not be issued if they have a health or care needs and do not have special educational needs.
Do all pupils with SEN need an Education Health and Care Plan?
Not all pupils with SEN will need the support of an EHC Plan.
Schools receive delegated funding to support pupils with SEN and should be supporting pupils at SEN Support through a cycle of:
- assessment
- planning
- intervention / support
- review
The majority of pupils will have their special educational needs (SEN) met through SEN support using funding already available in the school, ‘reasonable adjustments’ and advice from outside professionals such as:
- a speech and language therapist
- educational psychologist
If it becomes clear while following this cycle that a pupil needs more support than can be met from the delegated budget then an EHC Needs Assessment application can be made.
This is usually made by school but may be made by a parent or the pupil in the case of a young person over the age of 16.
The EHC Hub is a digital platform for families, professionals and education settings to engage, contribute and collaborate on EHC assessments, Education Health and Care Plans and EHCP Annual Reviews. The EHC Hub can be accessed at EHC Hub.
