This guide breaks everything down simply and clearly, so that you can advocate confidently for your child and their needs.
An Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) gives your child a legally protected package of support that’s tailored to their needs.
We know that getting an ECHP – or making sure the plan is strong enough – can sometimes feel like a full-time job. Understanding the process, and what is expected of you, can make it a little easier.
This guide breaks everything down simply and clearly, so that you can advocate confidently for your child and their needs.
An EHCP is a legal document that sets out your child’s additional needs, and the support the local authority must provide.
An EHCP provides more comprehensive support than Special Educational Needs (SEN Support) you can access at schools. It’s especially important for children with mobility or health needs.
If your child uses a wheelchair, an EHCP is essential in ensuring that their physical access, safety, therapy, and daily support needs are covered.
Each young person is different, with their own requirements and challenges. An EHCP provides clarity about what those needs are and what support is required for every young wheelchair user to achieve their potential.
It starts by understanding your child’s needs. When it comes to creating an EHCP, you will need to think strategically.
You can break needs into categories, including:
Your EHCP needs to be as clear, accurate and as comprehensive as possible. Our advice is that all needs must be captured and included in the EHCP to give you the best chance of getting the support you need.
Any parent can request an EHCP needs assessment. It’s better to work with your child’s school through the EHCP process.
To kickstart the process, you can email or speak to the SEN lead at your child’s school. In the letter you can include:
In most cases, the school should help you with the EHCP. However, this may be a surprise, but you don’t need the school’s permission. If you prefer to go it alone, you can write a short letter or email to your local authority asking for an assessment.
Once you’ve applied, the whole process should take about 20 weeks to complete, but it can take longer, depending on your local authority.
We’re now going to get into some specifics about completing the form. (We’re only going to focus on the areas you need to go into detail, not basic information which you can fill out yourself.)
This section is where you’ll need to include the child’s specific needs. Using the categories defined above, you can start to think about their experiences of education – and what support they might need.
It’s important to involve the child in this as much as you can (and they want).
Some of the things to consider include:
This list is just to give you an idea of what to include. You can add whatever you want to it.
This is the legally enforceable part of the EHCP. If it’s included in the EHCP, it’s going to be delivered for your child. You’ll want to include:
If it’s not written down clearly and specifically then the support isn’t going to be guaranteed. This is where we find many parents run into problems because they either fail to define what support is needed, or forget to add essential details.
The EHCP process is a long and involved one. During the process, several professionals will be asked to assess your child.
It’s likely that your child will be seen by:
Sometimes, it can feel like the process takes over – but remember, you’re a part of it. Legally, your contribution must be included and you will be listened to. It’s worth keeping a record of all interactions you have and keep all correspondence (letters, emails and notes of phone calls) as this can help you in the future if you do need to make an appeal.
As part of the EHCP process, you’ll be asked to write a personal statement. You know your child better than anyone, so be as clear and honest as possible. You can take notes to ensure you include everything and shape your statement.
The parental contribution is your opportunity to explain the reality of your child’s everyday life, in your own words.
Some of the things you might want to include in the statement are:
You need to support each statement with an example. We recommend being honest and specific, describing the situation with as much accuracy and clarity as possible. Of course, you’ll want to avoid overstating or exaggerating things.
An EHCP is about ensuring your child has all the support in place to thrive. The support you request must be specific, clear and measurable.
A strong EHCP for a wheelchair user will include practical, everyday support including things like:
These needs will be specific to your child and may change. Include everything you think your child needs, and consider how their needs might change in the future, particularly as they start to become more independent.
During the EHCP assessment process, you’ll be asked to speak on behalf of your child. This can be nerve wracking.
You don’t have to go into meetings alone. You can bring another parent, a friend, or someone who can take notes. Having some emotional support on hand can help you.
Here are a few helpful tips from the experts:
An EHCP can feel a bit like a negotiation (or a compromise). Sometimes you’ll hear things like “We don’t have the budget” or “We don’t usually offer that.”
EHCP provision is based on need, not cost. If your child needs it, you should request it.
During the EHCP process, you can challenge:
Your local Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information Advice and Support Service (SENDIASS) can help. You can find details on your local council’s website.
If needed, you can appeal to the SEND Tribunal. Parents win around 95% of cases, because they’re usually right.
In some cases, you won’t get an ECHP or you may find that it doesn’t contain everything that you believe your child needs.
As a parent, you have the right to an appeal. You can appeal:
If you believe your EHCP process hasn’t been fair, followed properly, or fails to include everything it should, then you have the right to appeal.
Many appeals don’t ever reach the hearing stage because the local authority settles or comes to an agreement.
Parents tell us that this process can be time consuming and frustrating, but it is worth persevering to get the best outcome for your child.
Here are trusted places for advice:
A little research, planning and preparation can ensure your shopping experiences are fun and successful, not frustrating failures.
Here’s a reminder of what we’ve covered:
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