Education, health and care (EHC) assessment and plan

Find out what an education, health and care (EHC) plan is, who can get one and how to get an assessment.

About education, health and care plans

An education, health and care (EHC) plan is a legal document. It explains your child’s special needs, the support they need, and how that support will be provided.

Support from the childcare provider, school or college

Only children and young people under 25 years of age who have complex needs and difficulties can get an EHC plan.

Most children and young people who have special educational needs or disabilities get the support they need from their childcare provider, school or college. Professionals call this SEN support.

Find out about support your child can get from:

What’s in the EHC plan

The plan includes:

  • your and your child’s views
  • your and your child’s and hopes for the future
  • your child’s interests
  • your child’s special educational needs or disabilities
  • where your child will get their education
  • support your child will get to help them learn
  • results your child wants to achieve, called outcomes
  • health and support your child will get
  • how your personal budget, if you have one, will support your child’s outcomes in education, health and social care
  • advice and information from the EHC assessment

Who can get a health, education and care plan

Children and young people can get an education, health and care (EHC) plan only if they are under 25 years of age, have complex needs and difficulties and can’t get the help they need with SEN support.

The 4 areas of complex needs and difficulties are:

  • communicating and interacting, for example speech, language and communication difficulties that make it harder to understand language and communicate well with others
  • cognition and learning, for example learning more slowly than other children of the same age
  • social, emotional and mental health difficulties, for example finding it harder to manage relationships with others
  • sensory and/or physical needs, for example having a visual and/or hearing impairment, or physical needs that means they must have additional ongoing support and equipment

Ask for an education, health and care (EHC) assessment

More information

Read more about EHC assessments and plans on the Amaze website.