Education · England
Getting and checking an EHC plan
Your browser or device provides the reading voice.
An EHC plan describes extra support for learning.
It can include health and care support too.
Ask for an assessment
You or your parent can ask the council for an assessment.
Explain what help you need and why.
An assessment helps decide whether you need a legal plan.
The council must use the legal rules.
Your views matter.
Ask for help to explain what you want.
Keep records and check dates
Keep your request and important reports.
Record the date the council receives your request.
There are deadlines for the council’s decisions.
Ask when each decision is due.
Ask for advice if it is late.
Check your draft plan
Read the draft plan carefully.
Ask someone to help if you want.
Check that the plan describes the support you need.
It should say how much support and how often.
You can ask for a school or college you prefer.
The council must follow legal rules when deciding.
Reviews and missing support
Your plan must be reviewed at least every year.
Talk about what is working and what needs changing.
Plan ahead for moving school, college or adult life.
An EHC plan does not automatically last until 25.
Tell the council if support in your plan is missing.
Ask what it will do to put this right.
You can challenge some decisions.
There are deadlines.
Ask SENDIASS or IPSEA for advice quickly.
What you can do next
Ask about the assessment or plan you need.
Keep copies of decisions and check deadlines.
Read about EHC assessments Web pageThis link opens another website.
It may use harder words.
More useful links
- Official EHC assessment guide Web page
Requests, draft plans and main timescales.
- IPSEA: clear and specific plans Web page
Why provision needs clear and usually quantified wording.
- Local SEND advice Web page
Find an impartial local information, advice and support service.
- Official EHC appeals guide Web page
Appealable decisions and how to challenge them.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
EHC plans: assessments, clear provision, reviews and your rights
A practical guide to requesting an EHC needs assessment, checking an EHC plan and getting its support delivered.
Children and young people up to 25 where eligible · England
What an EHC plan is
An education, health and care plan is a legal document for a child or young person whose special educational provision needs to be arranged through a plan. It records needs, outcomes and provision across education, health and care. Not everyone with SEND needs one. An assessment and the decision to issue a plan are separate stages with different legal tests; a diagnosis alone neither guarantees nor rules out a plan.
Requesting an assessment
A parent, young person or someone acting for a school or post-16 setting can request an EHC needs assessment from the council. Explain needs, difficulties, existing support and why a plan may be needed. The section 36 test asks whether the person has or may have SEN and whether provision through an EHC plan may be necessary. It does not require certainty that a plan will be issued.
Evidence and participation
Include the learner’s views, examples from everyday education, relevant reports and what support has or has not achieved. Ask professionals to describe needs and recommended provision clearly. A council should consider individual evidence rather than use rigid local thresholds as a substitute for the statutory test. Ask for communication support and accessible meetings. Keep the request and confirmation of when the council received it.
The main assessment timescales
Normally the council must notify its assessment decision within six weeks. If it assesses, the usual deadline for deciding whether to issue a plan is 16 weeks from the original request. If a plan is required, the usual overall deadline for the final plan is 20 weeks. Specific legal exceptions can apply. A general shortage of staff is not itself a blanket exemption; ask for the legal basis of any claimed exception.
Checking the draft
You normally have at least 15 days to comment on the draft and request a particular school or institution. Section B describes special educational needs; Section F describes special educational provision; Section I names the setting or type. Check that every identified educational need has corresponding support. Provision must be specific and should normally be quantified: what, how much, how often, by whom and with what expertise. Vague access-to-support wording can be difficult to enforce.
Education, health and care provision
The council must secure the special educational provision specified in Section F, subject to the statutory exception for suitable alternative arrangements. The responsible health commissioning body must arrange the specified health provision. Care responsibilities have their own legal basis. A therapy that educates or trains is treated as special educational provision, so its function matters more than the professional’s job title. Seek advice if useful therapy has been placed in the wrong section.
Choosing a setting
Parents and young people can request particular categories of school or college. The council must apply the legal rules, including suitability and specified exceptions concerning other learners or efficient use of resources. Preference is important but does not guarantee every placement. Visit where possible and compare the support actually available. Ask separately about travel arrangements and conditions; an EHC plan does not settle every transport entitlement.
Annual reviews and changes
An EHC plan must be reviewed at least every 12 months. Use the review to consider progress, changed needs, provision and aspirations. For a review involving a school or other institution, the council must notify its decision to maintain, amend or cease the plan within four weeks of the meeting. A meeting alone is not the entire legal review process. Request an earlier review or reassessment when circumstances justify it.
Moving between education stages
Plan school or college transitions early. Statutory transfer deadlines include 15 February for many school-phase transfers and 31 March for secondary-school-to-post-16 transfers. Other transfers have different rules. Ask which deadline applies and what must be finalised before it. From Year 9 onwards, reviews must include preparing for adulthood and independent living, including meaningful participation, relationships, health and employment where appropriate.
After age 19
A plan can continue where it remains necessary for education or training. It cannot be ended simply because someone is 19, but there is no automatic right to a plan until 25. Decisions are individual and should consider educational or training outcomes. Health or care needs alone do not justify maintaining an EHC plan; those services must be planned through their own routes when education ends.
When provision is missing
Tell the council exactly which specified support is not being delivered, since when and with what effect. Ask for immediate arrangements and a written response. Complain using the appropriate council or health route; urgent legal advice may be needed rather than waiting through a lengthy complaint. A dispute about what the plan should say is different from failure to deliver what it already requires.
Appeals and independent help
Certain refusals, educational content and decisions to cease a plan can be appealed to the SEND Tribunal. The usual deadline is two months from the decision letter or one month from the mediation certificate, whichever is later. Mediation advice is normally required, with a Section I-only exception. Complaints do not replace an appeal. Ask SENDIASS, IPSEA or a legal adviser about the correct route and deadline.
Words you could use
“Please assess the legal test, explain the decision and identify the support required for every educational need.”
More useful links
- Official EHC assessment guide Web page
Requests, draft plans and main timescales.
- IPSEA: clear and specific plans Web page
Why provision needs clear and usually quantified wording.
- Local SEND advice Web page
Find an impartial local information, advice and support service.
- Official EHC appeals guide Web page
Appealable decisions and how to challenge them.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
Where the information comes from
Links checked 1 November 2026.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
- Children and Families Act 2014, section 36 Web page
Assessment requests and the may-have/may-be-necessary legal test.
- Children and Families Act 2014, section 37 Web page
Separate legal test for issuing a plan.
- SEND Regulations 2014 Web page
Assessment deadlines, draft representations, reviews and phase transfers.
- GOV.UK: EHC assessments Web page
Six-week decision, 16-week plan decision and 20-week final-plan process.
- IPSEA: specific provision Web page
Specificity and quantification in Section F.
- Children and Families Act 2014, section 42 Web page
Duties to secure educational and health provision and the alternative-arrangements exception.
- IPSEA: health and care needs in EHC plans Web page
Therapy that educates or trains and the different legal responsibilities.
- Children and Families Act 2014, section 39 Web page
Requests for settings and the statutory exceptions.
- Children and Families Act 2014, section 44 Web page
Reviews and reassessments.
- DfE: plans for 19- to 25-year-olds Web page
Individual education and training decisions beyond 19.
- IPSEA: enforcing a plan Web page
Different routes when specified provision is missing.
- GOV.UK: appeal deadlines Web page
Two months from the letter or one month from the mediation certificate, whichever is later.
- GOV.UK: before an appeal Web page
Mediation advice and the Section I-only exception.
A page for you to fill in
You can type your answers and download a copy.
You can also print a page to write or draw on.
Someone you trust can help you.