A Guide for Parents
For many parents, the Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) process begins not with a form, but with a growing feeling that something is not quite right. Your child may be struggling to cope in ways that cannot be explained by “developmental variation” alone. Perhaps school reports focus on emotional regulation, behaviour, or slow progress. Perhaps your child is bright but exhausted, withdrawn, distressed, or overwhelmed. What often looks like a small concern at first becomes a pattern over time, and eventually a realisation forms: your child needs support that goes beyond what school can reasonably provide without additional structure, funding, or specialist input.
An EHCP exists for children and young people whose special educational needs are significant, long-term, and require coordinated provision across education, health, and care. It is a legal document, but it is also a story - the story of your child’s needs, strengths, and the help they require in order to access education safely and successfully.
What Is an EHCP?
An Education, Health and Care Plan is a statutory document created by the local authority for children aged 0–25 who have significant special educational needs and/or disabilities. It replaces older systems such as Statements of SEN and is intended to provide a joined-up approach across services.
The EHCP describes:
- Your child’s needs
- How those needs affect daily functioning and learning
- What support must be provided
- How progress will be reviewed
- Who is responsible for delivering the support
Crucially, once issued, the provision written into an EHCP becomes a legal entitlement. It is no longer optional or dependent on school resources. The local authority has a duty to ensure that the provision is delivered.
The Four Areas of Need
All EHCPs are structured around four broad areas of special educational need. These are not diagnostic categories; rather, they are ways of organising how a child’s difficulties affect their learning and development.
Communication and Interaction
This includes speech, language, and interaction differences. Some children struggle to understand language; others speak fluently but misunderstand social nuance. A child may appear capable on the surface yet struggle to follow group instructions, infer meaning, or decode social cues.
- Children within this area may:
- Interpret language literally
- Struggle with turn-taking in conversation
- Miss non-verbal communication cues
- Become overwhelmed when language is fast, abstract, or unpredictable
- These differences are often subtle and can be mistaken for behaviour, immaturity, or attitude.
Cognition and Learning
This area describes how a child thinks, learns, and processes information. It includes children with learning difficulties as well as those with uneven cognitive profiles.
Some children learn slowly and steadily. Others learn in spikes and plateaus. Some have outstanding memory in one area and serious difficulty in another. It is not unusual for children to perform far above age-expected levels in one subject and well below in another.
- Difficulties may include:
- Poor working memory
- Slow processing speed
- Difficulty generalising learning
- Problems with inference and abstract reasoning
- High attainment masking significant output difficulties
These profiles often lead to confusion when a child is described as “able but underachieving”.
Social, Emotional and Mental Health
Many children with additional needs experience significant emotional distress as a result of their difficulties. Anxiety, rigidity, emotional overwhelm, and intolerance of uncertainty are common.
This area includes children who:
- Shutdown under pressure
- Have frequent emotional outbursts
- Struggle with anxiety
- Withdraw socially
- Show signs of emotional exhaustion
Difficulties in this area are rarely “just behaviour”. They are typically a sign that your child is struggling to cope with the demands of their environment.
Sensory and Physical Needs
Some children experience the world as physically overwhelming. Noise, light, touch, movement, and smell may all be far more intense than for others. For some children, sensory differences affect balance, fine motor skills, coordination, and stamina.
Children in this area may:
- Avoid crowded or noisy environments
- Become distressed by certain textures
- Tire quickly
- Experience physical discomfort in standard classroom settings
- Appear clumsy or awkward
These difficulties can have a profound impact on concentration, behaviour, and emotional regulation.
The EHCP Process: Step by Step
Stage 1: Requesting an EHCP Assessment
- An EHC Needs Assessment can be requested by:
- A parent or carer
- A school or nursery
- A health professional
- A social worker
- A young person aged 16–25
The request is submitted to the local authority, usually with supporting evidence. This may include school reports, medical letters, or professional assessments. You do not need a diagnosis to apply.
The local authority then decides whether to assess within six weeks.
Stage 2: The Assessment Period
If the local authority agrees to assess, they will gather information from professionals who know your child. This may include:
- Educational Psychology
- Speech and Language Therapy
- Occupational Therapy
- Paediatrics or CAMHS
- School staff
You, as a parent, should also submit a written contribution. This is your opportunity to describe daily life honestly and in detail.
Parents are often surprised by how much evidence is required. The system is not designed to scan for hidden difficulty; it relies on documentation to make need visible. This is why independent reports are often so important. They provide depth, clarity, and clinical interpretation that school paperwork alone may not.
Stage 3: Decision and Draft Plan
After the assessment, the local authority decides whether to issue an EHCP. If they refuse, you have the right to appeal. If they agree, a draft plan is created.
- You have 15 days to review this document. This is not a formality. Parents should read it carefully, checking:
- Whether needs are described fully
- Whether provision is specific and quantified
- Whether outcomes are realistic and meaningful
Vague wording such as “access to” or “opportunities for” is not enforceable. Provision should be clear, measurable, and detailed.
Stage 4: Final Plan and Placement
The final EHCP is issued. You may name a preferred school or specialist provision. The local authority must consult with the school and justify any refusal.
Once the plan is finalised, it is reviewed annually.
When Things Do Not Go Smoothly
Not all applications succeed at the first attempt. Refusals, delays, and poorly written plans are common. This does not mean your child does not qualify. It often means the evidence has not been strong enough.
Parents have the right to:
- Mediation
- Tribunal appeal
- Submit new evidence
- Challenge the wording of the plan
Many families find that involving independent professionals transforms the outcome. A detailed assessment that clearly links need to provision can be pivotal.
A Child Behind the Paperwork
It is easy for the EHCP process to feel clinical and bureaucratic. But behind the forms and reports sits a child who is working harder than most simply to get through the day.
The purpose of an EHCP is not to label. It is to protect. It gives legal weight to your child’s needs and ensures that support does not rely on goodwill alone.
Above all, it gives your child the right to an education that does not harm them.
