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EHC plans

Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) Explained

The majority of children with special educational needs and disabilities will have their needs met within School settings. Needs can be met through School based interventions or with additional advice from external agencies. It’s anticpated that most young people will make expected progress. A small number of children and young people may not make expected academic progress despite the “Plan, Do, Review” cycle. In this event Schools or parents may consider requesting a statutory assessment. This education, health and care needs based assessment will help determine whether an EHCP is required. The EHCP is a legal document that enables provision to be made by Schools. This provision is in addition to and different from what is ordinarily available in a mainstream setting and more than the ‘reasonable adjustments’ required by every School for disabled children under the equalities act. The EHCP replaces the previous legal document which was known as a statement of special educational needs and the learning difficulties assessment (LDA). The EHCP is for children and young people aged 0-25 years with the most complex needs.

The education, health and care needs assessment will explore whether identified needs are greater than a School can provide from usual resources and reasonable adjustments.  Therefore an Education, Health and Care needs assessment will not always lead to an EHCP. However if a plan is not issued the parent and the School will receive a letter detailing the support required. If an EHCP is issued the plan will include the following:

  • the views, interests and aspirations of the children and young people and their parent/carer
  • an outline of the child or young person’s special educational need
  • an outline of the child or young person’s health or social care needs
  • outcomes covering education, health and social care
  • the special educational provision to the support identified need
  • the health and social care provision to support identified need
  • the name and type of current education setting
  • resource attached to the plan
  • personal budget information if applicable

There is a statutory requirement for an EHCP to be completed within 20 weeks.

If you would like more information about this process please contact the StART (SEN Statutory Assessment and Review Team) on 0121 704 6690.

The Threshold Levels for EHC Assessment

The Process for Assessment

Requests that come from schools must have all the information necessary for us to make a decision about whether it is appropriate to carry out an assessment or not.

The information we need to make that decision is:

If a request comes without the school information then a decision to assess cannot be made.

Parents, Carers or Young people themselves may also request an EHCP assessment by contacting the SEN Assessment Team (StART). Their email address is sen@solihull.gov.uk, telephone 0121 704 6690. A request form is available and should be returned to StART at Elmwood Place, 37 Burtons Way, Smiths Wood, Solihull B36 0UG. It is recommended that before making such an application for an EHCP assessment, the issues should be discussed with the special needs co-ordinator (SENCO) at the setting the pupil attends. Remember we cannot make a decision without clear evidence of needs.

If we decide not to assess then we will explain why we have made that decision and tell you about other available support.

If we do decide to assess, the Guide to the EHC Assessment Process will show you what will happen.

Advice, Information and Support for parents/carers and young people

Solihull SENDIASS (Special Educational Needs and Disability Information Advice and Support) are here to support children and young people with SEND and their parents/carers.

Our aim is to enable children and young people and their parents/carers to make informed decisions about their child’s education. Information, advice and support for children and young people with SEND and their parents/carers will be impartial.  The service is free to access, confidential and provides accurate, comprehensive, understandable information.

Personal Budgets

For Information about Personal Budgets for children and young people with special education needs and /or disabilities please view the Solihull Council Personal Budgets Factsheet

For more information on the single route of redress please click here.

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