EHC Plans & SEN Support (England).

EHCPs can continue until a young person reaches the age of 25, provided they remain in education or training and the EHCP is still necessary. From age 16, young people can exercise their own rights in the EHCP process — making requests, participating in reviews, and appealing to the SEND Tribunal — though parents often continue to be involved. Post-16 placements can include sixth forms, further education colleges, specialist colleges, and apprenticeships. The local authority must review the EHCP at each transition point — from school to post-16 provision, and from post-16 to post-19 where applicable. Planning for post-16 transition should begin well before the young person reaches that age — ideally in Year 9 at the latest.

The EHCP process has statutory timescales that local authorities are required to meet. From the date of a request for an EHC needs assessment, the local authority has six weeks to decide whether to assess. If it agrees to assess, the entire process — from request to final EHCP — must be completed within 20 weeks. Within that 20 weeks, the local authority has specific internal deadlines: six weeks to decide whether to assess; a further six weeks to complete the assessment and draft the EHCP; and a further two weeks for the parent or young person to comment on the draft. Local authorities routinely miss these deadlines — if they do, you can complain to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, and in serious cases seek a mandatory order through judicial review. Delays do not invalidate the process but should be challenged formally.

A personal budget is an amount of money identified by the local authority to fund provision in an EHCP, which the young person or family can choose to manage directly — called a direct payment — or ask the local authority to manage on their behalf. Personal budgets give families more flexibility and control over how provision is delivered — for example, choosing a particular therapist or support worker rather than accepting whoever the local authority commissions. In England, young people and families have the right to request a personal budget as part of the EHCP process. In Wales, equivalent provisions exist under the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 for the social care elements of an IDP. Not all provision can be delivered through a personal budget, and local authorities sometimes resist requests — but the right to request is statutory.

An EHCP must be reviewed at least annually to check whether it remains appropriate and whether the child's needs and provision should be updated. The annual review involves a meeting with the school, the child or young person, parents, and relevant professionals. After the review, the local authority must decide within four weeks whether to maintain the EHCP unchanged, amend it, or cease it. If the local authority proposes changes you disagree with, or refuses to make changes you have requested, you can appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (SEND). If the annual review is not carried out properly — for example, if it is rushed, key professionals are excluded, or the child's views are not properly sought — raising a formal complaint and requesting a proper review is the first step.

SEN support is the help provided to a child within a school's own resources and budget — it does not require a formal plan or local authority involvement. It follows a graduated approach: assess, plan, do, review. An EHCP is a statutory document required when a child's needs cannot be met through SEN support alone and the local authority must secure additional provision. The key differences are: SEN support is the school's responsibility and is funded from its own budget; an EHCP involves the local authority and specifies provision that the authority is legally required to secure, which may include funding for specialist provision beyond the school's resources. Many children are stuck at SEN support when their needs are complex enough to require an EHCP — if SEN support has been tried consistently without success, an EHC needs assessment request is the appropriate next step.

England operates a Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) system governed by the Children and Families Act 2014 and the SEND Code of Practice. It covers children and young people from birth to age 25 who have a learning difficulty or disability that calls for special educational provision. The system has two tiers: SEN support, provided within a school's own resources, and Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) for those with more complex needs requiring provision beyond what a school can ordinarily provide. The SEND system in England is entirely separate from the ALN system in Wales — if your child is educated in England, the English system applies regardless of where you live. The First-tier Tribunal (SEND) hears appeals about EHC decisions in England.

An EHCP can specify a wide range of special educational provision including specialist teaching, speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, assistive technology, specialist transport, and one-to-one support. Once provision is specified in Section F of the EHCP, the local authority has a legal duty to secure it — it is not discretionary. If the local authority fails to deliver the provision in the EHCP, it is in breach of a statutory duty and can be challenged through judicial review or a complaint to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. If the local authority refuses to include provision you believe is necessary, that decision can be appealed to the SEND Tribunal. Independent expert evidence is crucial in establishing what provision is required.