Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans

Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans are for children and young people with special educational needs and/ or disabilities (SEND), who need more support than mainstream early years settings, schools and colleges can normally provide.

An EHC plan is a legal document that describes the child or young person's special educational, health and social care needs, and describes what support they will be given to meet those needs.

Where children and young people are able to express their views, interests and aspirations, the EHC plan should be created with these in mind. EHC plans for children and young people with profound disability, including non-verbal individuals, should take into account their likes, dislikes and personality.

'What is an EHC plan?' video from the Council for Disabled Children

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Before an Education Health and Care (EHC) plan is issued, the local authority (Surrey County Council) will carry out an EHC needs assessment. This is to find out what support a child or young person needs, and whether they require an EHC plan to get the right level of support.

Most children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities do not need an EHC plan. Their needs can be met by support in mainstream early years settings, schools and colleges.

Where parents have concerns about their child or young person's progress, it's really important to have a conversation with the school, college, nursery or early years setting and to share these concerns. They may be able to offer additional support or may begin the EHC needs assessment process.

Who can ask for an EHC needs assessment?

• The parent of a child who is under-16.
• A young person aged 16 to 25 and/or their parent/carer.
• An early years setting, school, college or training provider.

How do I ask for an EHC needs assessment?

Parents and carers who are considering making a request for an EHC needs assessment should contact the Learners' Single Point of Access (L-SPA) on 0300 200 1015. The L-SPA can give you more information about the assessment process and the recommended next steps.

You can request an assessment by completing the following form:

• Request for Education, Health and Care Plan Assessment young person, parent or carer form (DOC)

Once completed, please email the request form to:

• learnerssupport.triage@surreycc.gov.uk

We will let you know in writing within six weeks from the date of your request if we decide to do an EHC needs assessment.

If you have any questions or issues accessing the form, please contact the L-SPA on 0300 200 1015.

You also have the right to request an EHC needs assessment by writing to the Local Authority (Surrey County Council). For more information, you can contact SEND Advice Surrey. The national Independent Provider of Special Education Advice (IPSEA) website has resources that may help, including template letters.

Further advice and support

For further advice and support during the EHC needs assessment process, visit:

• What is an Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment?
• Help for families and young people during the EHC plan process

or contact SEND Advice Surrey.

What happens if we decide to assess?

We will let you know in writing within six weeks from the date of your request, if we are doing an EHC needs assessment.

During that time, we'll ask you as parents/ carers ask for information about your child. Where appropriate, we will also ask professionals from education, health and social care for information. For example, your child's teacher, speech and language therapist or educational psychologist.

We will make sure you are made aware of any assessments of your child taking place during the school day. We will then consider all the information gathered from the assessment to decide whether your child needs an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan.

This timeline of the EHC assessment process lets you know what to expect during each stage.

What happens if we decide not to issue an EHC plan

If we decide not to issue a plan, we will arrange a 'Way Forward' meeting to agree what support will be necessary for your child, without the need for an EHC plan. This is an opportunity for you to offer further evidence and information.

If we decide that we will not issue an EHC plan, we will suggest a variety of different routes you and the school could pursue. If you do not agree with our decision, you can consider Appeals and Mediation.

What is an annual review?

We will review your child's EHC plan every year and, working together with you, we will ask you and your child what you think about the progress that has been made and what you want to happen. The review will involve a meeting and will also check whether the plan needs to be updated, whether it will be maintained and what plans there are for the next stage of your child's education.

For a child under five, the EHC plan should be reviewed at least every three to six months to ensure that the provision continues to be appropriate.

Further details can be found on the About the Annual Review of the Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan web page.

Before the review meeting

The school will collect up-to-date information from all the professionals involved with your child. They will also help you and your child to put forward your views. This information will be sent to you and the professionals involved, at least two weeks before the meeting.

At the review meeting

You and your child will be invited to give your views and offer any further information. The professionals involved will also talk about the work they are doing with your child and the progress being made. Together, you will collectively agree whether changes are needed to support your child and discuss future outcomes.

After the review meeting

We will check the recommendations following the review, and we will decide whether to update the plan, keep it as it is, or stop the plan, within 4 weeks of the review meeting, and we will notify you in writing of our decision. You can also request a change of placement at this stage.

If we are updating the plan, we will send you a Proposed Amended EHC plan for your comments. You will then have 15 days to send us your comments. You can also ask for an education personal budget.

We will consider your comments carefully and will send you an Amended Final EHC plan. We will do this within eight weeks of sending the proposed plan.

If you don't agree with us, you can consider Appeals and Mediation.