What Should Be Included in an EHCP? A Guide for Parents and Carers

About this guide

This guide is for parents and carers who have received a draft or final EHCP, or who are about to, and want to understand what should be in it. It explains the sections of an EHCP in plain English and shows you how to read a plan critically rather than simply accepting it.

The law and guidance described here apply to England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have different systems, so guidance written for England does not transfer across.

If you are earlier in the process, our other guides cover the stages before this one: What is an EHCP?, how to request an EHC needs assessment and what happens during an EHC needs assessment.

What is an EHCP?

An Education, Health and Care plan (EHCP) is a legal document maintained by a local authority for a child or young person whose special educational needs cannot reasonably be met from the resources normally available to mainstream settings. It is prepared after an EHC needs assessment, where the authority concludes that it is necessary for special educational provision to be made in accordance with a plan.

Section 37(2) of the Children and Families Act 2014 sets out what an EHC plan specifies: the child or young person's special educational needs, the outcomes sought for them, the special educational provision required, any health care provision reasonably required by the learning difficulties or disabilities that give rise to their SEN, and the relevant social care provision. A plan may also specify other health and social care provision reasonably required.

The plan matters because duties attach to it. Under section 42, the local authority must secure the special educational provision specified in the plan, and where health care provision is specified, the responsible commissioning body must arrange it. Those duties bite on what the plan actually says — which is why the content of each section is so important.

Why does the content of an EHCP matter?

A plan is not a summary of reports or a description of a child. It is the document that determines what must be provided, by whom, and against which the authority can be held to account.

• It defines the duty. The local authority's duty under section 42 is to secure the provision specified in the plan — not the provision described in an appended report.
• Where information sits changes what happens. The same piece of support has different legal consequences depending on whether it is written into Section F, Section G or Section H.
• It sets the reference point for reviews. Annual reviews must focus on progress towards the outcomes specified in the plan, so unclear outcomes make it difficult to judge whether anything is working.
• It shapes any appeal. Appeal rights to the First-tier Tribunal (SEND) relate to specific parts of a plan, including the description of special educational needs, the special educational provision, and the school or type of school named.

The SEND Code of Practice states that plans should be clear, concise, understandable and accessible to parents, children, young people, providers and practitioners, and written so they can be understood by professionals in any local authority. A plan that only makes sense to the people who wrote it is not doing its job.

The different sections of an EHCP

Regulation 12 of the SEND Regulations 2014 sets out what a local authority must include when preparing an EHC plan, and requires each section to be separately identified. The Code of Practice describes these as the statutory minimum sections, which must be separately labelled using the letters A to K.

• Section A — the views, interests and aspirations of the child and their parents, or of the young person.
• Section B — the child or young person's special educational needs.
• Section C — health care needs which relate to their SEN.
• Section D — social care needs which relate to their SEN or to a disability.
• Section E — the outcomes sought.
• Section F — the special educational provision required.
• Section G — any health care provision reasonably required by the learning difficulties or disabilities which result in the child or young person having SEN.
• Section H1 — social care provision which must be made under section 2 of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970 for a child or young person under 18.
• Section H2 — any other social care provision reasonably required by the learning difficulties or disabilities which result in the child or young person having SEN.
• Section I — the name and type of the school or other institution to be attended, or the type where no name is specified.
• Section J — where any special educational provision is to be secured by a direct payment, the special educational needs and outcomes to be met by it; more broadly, the details of any personal budget.
• Section K — the advice and information gathered during the EHC needs assessment, set out in appendices.

There is one further requirement worth knowing: where a child or young person is in or beyond Year 9, the plan must include, within the education, health and care provision specified, provision to assist them in preparing for adulthood and independent living.

Section A — views, interests and aspirations

Section A records the views, interests and aspirations of the child and their parents, or of the young person. It is the part of the plan that should make the child recognisable as a person rather than a list of difficulties.

The Code of Practice suggests this section can include the child or young person's aspirations and goals for the future, details about play, health, schooling, independence, friendships, further education and future plans including employment where practical, a summary of how to communicate with them and involve them in decisions, and their history. Where the plan is written in the first person, it should be clear whether the child or young person is being quoted directly or whether parents or professionals are representing their views.

Section B — special educational needs

Section B describes the child or young person's special educational needs. The Code of Practice states that all of the child or young person's identified special educational needs must be specified.

This section carries more weight than parents often realise, because Section F provision has to relate back to it. If a need is described in an appended report but never appears in Section B, it becomes much harder to argue that provision for it belongs in Section F.

Needs may span several areas — for example communication and interaction, cognition and learning, social, emotional and mental health, and sensory or physical needs. The Code also notes that SEN may include needs for health or social care provision that are treated as special educational provision because they educate or train the child or young person.

What to look for in Section B

• Every need identified in the assessment evidence appears here, not only the ones the setting finds easiest to support.
• Needs are described in terms of how they affect learning and access to education, not only as diagnoses or test scores.
• The description is specific enough that a professional who has never met your child would understand what they find difficult and why.

Section C — health needs related to SEN

Section C sets out the child or young person's health care needs which relate to their special educational needs. The Code of Practice states that the plan must specify any health needs identified through the EHC needs assessment which relate to the child or young person's SEN, and gives the example that some health needs — such as routine dental health needs — are unlikely to be related.

The health commissioner may also choose to specify other health care needs that are not related to the child's SEN, for example a long-term condition that may need managing in an educational setting. That is a choice rather than a duty.

Where health needs affect attendance, stamina or access to the school day, our page on health needs and education explains how those issues are usually addressed alongside a plan.

Section D — social care needs related to SEN

Section D sets out social care needs which relate to the child or young person's SEN or to a disability. The Code states that the plan must specify any social care needs identified through the assessment which relate to their SEN, or which require provision for a child or young person under 18 under section 2 of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970.

A local authority may also choose to specify other social care needs that are not linked to SEN or disability — for example by referring to a child in need or child protection plan — but the Code says this must only be done with the consent of the child and their parents.

As with Section C, this section describes needs. The corresponding support appears in Sections H1 and H2.

Section E — outcomes sought

Section E specifies the outcomes sought for the child or young person. The Code of Practice defines an outcome as the benefit or difference made to an individual as a result of an intervention. It should be personal rather than expressed from a service perspective, and should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound (SMART).

Crucially, the Code states that provision is not an outcome: three hours of speech and language therapy is a description of a service, not an outcome. The outcome is what the therapy is intended to help the child do that they cannot do now, and by when.

• Outcomes should cover education and training, health and care as appropriate, over varying timescales.
• For young people aged over 17, the plan should identify clearly which outcomes are education and training outcomes, because it is those outcomes that help determine when a plan is ceased for young people over 18.
• The plan should identify the arrangements for setting shorter-term targets by the early years provider, school, college or other provider, and the arrangements for monitoring progress.
• For those preparing for adulthood, outcomes should be clearly linked to the aspirations recorded in Section A.

Section F — special educational provision

Section F sets out the special educational provision required by the child or young person. It is the section that carries the local authority's duty under section 42 of the Children and Families Act 2014 to secure the provision specified.

The Code of Practice is unusually direct about this section. It states that provision must be detailed and specific and should normally be quantified — for example in terms of the type, hours and frequency of support and level of expertise. It also states that provision must be specified for each and every need specified in Section B, and that it should be clear how the provision will support achievement of the outcomes.

What else Section F should cover

• Any appropriate facilities and equipment, staffing arrangements and curriculum.
• Any appropriate modifications to the application of the National Curriculum, where relevant.
• Any appropriate exclusions from the National Curriculum or a post-16 course, in detail, together with what is proposed instead so that the curriculum remains balanced and broadly based.
• Where residential accommodation is appropriate, that fact.
• Where there is a personal budget, the outcomes to which it is intended to contribute.
• Clarity as to how the advice and information gathered has informed the provision — and where the authority has departed from that advice, the Code says it should say so and give reasons.

Provision that educates or trains belongs here

Where health care or social care provision educates or trains a child or young person, the Code says it must appear in Section F. Decisions about this must be made on an individual basis. The Code notes that speech and language therapy and other therapies can be regarded as education or health provision, or both — but that because communication is so fundamental in education, addressing speech and language impairment should normally be recorded as special educational provision unless there are exceptional reasons not to.

This matters because the enforcement route differs. Where health or social care provision is treated as special educational provision, the Code confirms that ultimate responsibility for securing it rests with the local authority, and that parents and young people have the right to appeal to the First-tier Tribunal about the provision specified.

Section G — health provision

Section G sets out any health care provision reasonably required by the learning difficulties or disabilities which result in the child or young person having SEN. Section C describes the health needs; Section G describes what will be done about them.

The Code says this provision should be detailed and specific and should normally be quantified — for example in terms of the type of support and who will provide it — and that it should be clear how the provision will support achievement of the outcomes. It may include specialist support and therapies such as medical treatments and delivery of medications, occupational therapy and physiotherapy, nursing support, specialist equipment, wheelchairs and continence supplies. Where an individual health care plan is made, the Code says it should be included.

Health care provision specified in the plan must be agreed by the responsible commissioning body, and the Code says any health care provision should be agreed in time to be included in the draft plan. Under section 42, where health care provision is specified, the responsible commissioning body must arrange it. The Code refers throughout to clinical commissioning groups; those functions are now carried out by integrated care boards, but the duties in the Act and Regulations continue to apply to the responsible commissioning body.

Sections H1 and H2 — social care provision

Social care provision is split across two sections, and the split is a legal one rather than an administrative one.

• Section H1 must specify all services assessed as being needed for a disabled child or young person under 18 under section 2 of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970. The Code lists examples including practical assistance in the home, help in obtaining recreational and educational facilities, assistance with travel, adaptations to the home, facilitating holidays, meals, telephone and special equipment, and non-residential short breaks.
• Section H2 covers any other social care provision reasonably required by the learning difficulties or disabilities which result in the child or young person having SEN. The Code is clear that Section H2 must only include services that are not provided under section 2 of the 1970 Act — for those under 18 this includes residential short breaks. It also includes adult social care provision meeting eligible needs under the Care Act 2014 for young people over 18.

As with health, the Code says social care provision should be detailed and specific and should normally be quantified, for example in terms of the type of support and who will provide it, including where it is to be secured through a social care direct payment. Again, Sections H1 and H2 describe provision; the underlying needs belong in Section D.

Section I — placement

Section I records the name and type of the school, maintained nursery school, post-16 institution or other institution to be attended — or, where no name is specified, the type of school or other institution to be attended.

Parents and young people have a right under section 38 of the Children and Families Act 2014 to make representations on a draft plan, and at least 15 days must be allowed for this. Section 33 and section 39 give a right to request that a particular school or institution of a specified type be named. The Code explains that the local authority must comply with that preference unless the setting would be unsuitable for the age, ability, aptitude or SEN of the child or young person, or attendance there would be incompatible with the efficient education of others or the efficient use of resources.

There are also situations where only a type of setting is named rather than a specific one — for example, the Code explains that where a parent or young person has made suitable alternative arrangements that the authority is satisfied with, the authority may specify only the type of provision.

Section J — personal budget

A personal budget is an amount of money identified by the local authority to deliver parts of the provision set out in an EHC plan, where the parent or young person is involved in securing that provision. Section J is where the details are recorded.

Regulation 12 requires that, where any special educational provision is to be secured by a direct payment, the special educational needs and outcomes to be met by that direct payment are set out in Section J. The Code adds that this section should provide detailed information on any personal budget that will be used to secure provision in the plan, including the arrangements for direct payments across education, health and social care.

Section K — advice and information

Section K is where the advice and information gathered during the EHC needs assessment is recorded. Regulation 12 requires that the advice and information obtained under regulation 6(1) is set out in appendices to the plan, and the Code adds that there should be a list of this advice and information.

This is the paperwork behind the plan: the advice sought from you, from the setting, from health, from an educational psychologist, from social care and from anyone else asked to contribute. Our guide on what happens during an EHC needs assessment explains where each piece of advice comes from.

How needs, outcomes and provision should connect

The single most useful way to read an EHCP is to trace a line through it. A need described in Section B should point to an outcome in Section E, which should point to provision in Section F that is capable of achieving it. The same logic applies to health (Sections C and G) and social care (Sections D and H).

1. Need — what the child finds difficult, and how that affects their education (Sections B, C and D).
2. Outcome — the difference the support is intended to make, and by when (Section E).
3. Provision — what will actually be delivered, by whom, how often, and with what expertise (Sections F, G, H1 and H2).
4. Placement — where that provision will be delivered (Section I).

The Code of Practice reflects this. It says plans should show how education, health and care provision will be co-ordinated wherever possible to support the child or young person to achieve their outcomes, and that the plan should show how the different types of provision contribute to specific outcomes. It also asks for a clear distinction between outcomes and provision: provision should help achieve an outcome, it is not an outcome in itself.

This is why a plan should not read as a collection of reports. Reports describe a child at a moment in time. A plan has to translate that description into needs, outcomes and enforceable provision that hang together.

What makes provision clear and specific?

Clear provision answers a small number of practical questions. If a member of staff arriving at the setting in September could read Section F and know exactly what to deliver, the section is doing its job.

• What is being provided — the type of support, intervention, equipment or approach.
• How much — hours, frequency and duration, which the Code says provision should normally be quantified in terms of.
• By whom — the level of expertise required, for example a qualified specialist teacher or therapist rather than simply "staff".
• How — individually, in a small group, in class, or through a programme delivered by others under specialist direction.
• Why — which need in Section B it addresses, and which outcome in Section E it works towards.

Why vague wording can cause difficulties

Loose wording is not always a sign of bad faith. Sometimes it reflects genuine uncertainty, or an attempt to build in flexibility. But it has consequences, because the duty to secure provision attaches to what the plan says.

• Wording such as "access to", "opportunities for", "as required" or "where appropriate" can leave it unclear whether anything specific has to happen at all.
• Provision without a level of expertise attached can be delivered by whoever is available, which may not be what the assessment evidence supported.
• Provision without a frequency can shrink quietly over time without anyone breaching the plan.
• Where provision cannot be pinned down, it becomes very hard to say at an annual review whether it has been delivered.

It is fair to acknowledge the other side: the Code recognises that in some cases flexibility will be required to meet the changing needs of a child or young person. The question is whether flexibility has been built in deliberately and explained, or whether the provision has simply been left undefined.

How parents can review an EHCP

Reading an EHCP for the first time is daunting, particularly alongside a bundle of appendices. A structured approach helps more than reading it front to back.

1. Read Section B first and list every need it records.
2. Read the appendices in Section K and list every need the evidence identifies. Compare the two lists.
3. Read Section E and check that each significant need has an outcome attached.
4. Read Section F and check that each need in Section B has provision attached, and that you can tell what, how much, by whom and how often.
5. Check Sections C and G together, and Sections D, H1 and H2 together, applying the same needs-then-provision logic.
6. Check whether anything recommended in the appendices as necessary for education has been left out of Section F, or placed in Section G or H instead.
7. Check Section A reads like your child, and check Section I once you reach the final plan.

Remember that a draft plan is a genuine opportunity to influence the content. The local authority must send you the draft, including the appendices, and give you at least 15 days to give your views and make representations. During that period it must make its officers available to meet you on request if you wish to discuss the content.

What should parents do if important information is missing?

1. Be specific about what is missing and where. Identify the section, the need or recommendation concerned, and the evidence in the appendices that supports it. General dissatisfaction is much harder to act on than a precise list.
2. Respond within the representations period. Put your comments in writing during the period allowed for representations on a draft plan, and ask for a meeting with the local authority if that would help.
3. Propose wording. It is usually more effective to suggest how a need or piece of provision should be worded than to ask for it to be "made more specific".
4. Ask for reasons where advice has been departed from. The Code says the authority should say so and give reasons where it has departed from the advice gathered.
5. Know that appeal rights exist. When a final plan is issued, the authority must tell you about your right to appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (SEND), the time limit, the requirement to consider mediation before appealing in most cases, and the availability of information, advice and support and disagreement resolution services. Appeals can concern the description of special educational needs, the special educational provision, and the school or type of school named.

If you would value help reading a plan and working out what to ask for, our EHCP support for families page explains how we work, and you can get in touch to discuss your situation.

What happens when an EHCP needs to change?

A plan is a living document. The local authority must review it as a minimum every 12 months, and reviews must focus on progress towards the outcomes specified in the plan and consider whether those outcomes and supporting targets remain appropriate.

• The parent or young person, a representative of the setting, a local authority SEN officer, a health service representative and a local authority social care representative must be invited to the review meeting, with at least two weeks' notice.
• Advice and information must be sought from those invited before the meeting and circulated at least two weeks beforehand.
• Within four weeks of the review meeting, the local authority must decide whether it proposes to keep the plan as it is, amend it, or cease to maintain it, and notify the parent or young person.
• Where the authority proposes to amend the plan, it must send the existing plan with a notice setting out the proposed amendments and any supporting evidence, and allow at least 15 calendar days for comments and representations — including a request for a particular school to be named.
• If it decides to go ahead, it must issue the amended plan as quickly as possible and within eight weeks of the original amendment notice. If it decides not to amend, it must notify the parent or young person with reasons within the same period.
• When a final amended plan is issued, the authority must again notify the parent or young person of the right to appeal, the time limit, the requirement to consider mediation, and the availability of information, advice and support and disagreement resolution services.

The Code adds two practical points. An amended plan should state that it is an amended version, give the date it was amended and the date of the original plan, and make clear which parts have changed. And where a plan is amended, the following review must be held within 12 months of the original plan or previous review — not 12 months from the date the amended plan is issued.

Our page for families whose child already has an EHCP covers making a plan work day to day and preparing for annual reviews, and school support covers what should be happening in the setting alongside the plan.

Practical EHCP review checklist

Use this alongside the plan and its appendices. It is a prompt for your own reading, not a legal test.

• Are all eleven sections present and separately labelled (A to K, including H1 and H2)?
• Does Section A sound like my child, and is it clear whose views are being expressed?
• Does Section B include every special educational need identified in the assessment evidence?
• Are health needs in Section C and social care needs in Section D, rather than mixed in with provision?
• Does each significant need have an outcome in Section E, and could I tell whether that outcome had been achieved?
• Does Section F specify provision for each and every need in Section B?
• For each item of provision, can I say what, how much, by whom, how often and to what standard?
• Has anything that educates or trains my child been placed in Section G or H when it should be in Section F?
• Is Section G agreed by the responsible commissioning body, and does it say who will deliver each item?
• Are Sections H1 and H2 used correctly, with section 2 CSDPA services in H1?
• For Year 9 and beyond, is there provision to support preparation for adulthood and independent living?
• Is Section I completed in the final plan, and did I have the chance to express a preference first?
• Does Section J accurately reflect any personal budget, or correctly show that there is not one?
• Are all the pieces of advice listed and attached at Section K?
• Where the authority has departed from the advice, has it said so and given reasons?
• Does the plan hang together — can I trace a line from need, to outcome, to provision, to placement?

Free SEND Starter Pack

If you are working through a plan and want a clear grounding in how the system fits together, our Free SEND Starter Pack sets out the key stages, the language used and the questions worth asking. It is written for parents and carers in England and costs nothing.

You can also browse our resources page and our wider support for parents and carers.

Further official information

• GOV.UK — Children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), the plain-English overview of the system in England.
• SEND Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years. Chapter 9 covers the content of EHC plans, reviews and amendments.
• Children and Families Act 2014, section 37 (what an EHC plan specifies) and section 42 (the duty to secure provision).
• SEND Regulations 2014, regulation 12, which sets out the form of an EHC plan and sections A to K.
• GOV.UK — Appeal a decision about your child's SEND support, including mediation and time limits.

Your local authority's Local Offer and your local SEND Information, Advice and Support Service (SENDIASS) can explain how these arrangements work in your area.