- Explains your child’s needs – learning, health, and care.
- Sets out the support they must get – extra help, therapies, or equipment Includes goals for progress – what your child should achieve.
- Names the right school/setting – to meet their needs.
- They struggle to keep up at school despite extra help.
- They need one-to-one support or specialist teaching.
- They have ongoing difficulties with communication, learning, or behaviour.
- They have medical or therapy needs that affect their education.
- Their current school struggles to meet their needs, even with support in place.
- Talk to your child’s teacher or SENDCO (Special Educational Needs Coordinator).
- Ask for extra support or talk to the SENDCO about creating a My Support Plan (each setting may have a different name for this but it’s an individual plan to monitor the progress of a child who has additional needs before the need to apply for an EHCP).
- Ask for an assessment – You, your child’s school, or a young person (16+) can request this from the council.
- The council checks if an EHCP is needed by gathering information from health professionals.
- A draft EHCP is written – If agreed, teachers, health professionals, and parents/carers help shape the plan.
- The final EHCP is issued – It’s legally binding, so all support must be provided.
An EHCP makes sure your child gets the right help to learn, grow, and reach their full potential! ??.
We often hear from parent carers that they need help with the EHCP process, but don’t know where to look. A web search brings up thousands of results, so where do you start? Below, we have listed some of the resources we suggest.
Firstly, if you are having problems, consider asking SENDIASS for help – they are a statutory service and offer independent advice. They are NOT part of the local authority. They can intervene on your behalf which is not something that the PFBA have the authority to do. You can find their details here.
The PFBA runs occasional FREE workshops for parents – these are 3-hour sessions, and the group size is small so parents who attend have plenty of time to discuss any issues they are having related to the EHCP process. The best way to stay updated with new dates for these is to join our mailing list by clicking here.
The Local Offer website has a range of one-minute guides which give a good overview of a particular subject. The guide explaining the EHCP assessment process is here. There are other EHCP-related guides which you can read via this link.
- What is an EHCP and who is it for?
- What is an Annual Review of an EHCP?
- The EHCP and the person-centred connection.
- The CDC also has an excellent (if a little long!) document which gives examples of good practice with EHCPs – read it here.
- The Special Needs Jungle website has produced flowcharts to help parents navigate the EHCP process and you can download them from here.
- IPSEA advises families whose children have all types of SEN/disability, including behavioural problems, communication difficulties, learning disabilities and autism. IPSEA often helps families before their child has even been diagnosed. IPSEA’s legally based advice gives parents the confidence to exercise their rights.
