EHCP Process — what teams need to know

An Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) is a legal document issued by the Local Authority for a child or young person (0–25) whose needs cannot be met through the setting's ordinary SEND support.

An EHCP:

• Is a legal document — the setting, and later school, must deliver against it.
• Names the child's specific needs in four categories: communication & interaction · cognition & learning · social, emotional & mental health · sensory & physical.
• Sets outcomes the child should be working towards over the next 12 months.
• Details the provision the LA will fund to meet those outcomes — often including additional staff hours, specialist equipment, or therapy input.
• Is reviewed annually (Annual Review) with parents, the setting, and any professionals involved.

An EHCP is NOT:

• A diagnosis. A child can have an EHCP without a formal diagnosis, and can have a diagnosis without an EHCP.
• A guarantee of a certain outcome or school place.
• Something JLK can apply for on our own — the family requests it (or the LA initiates in rare cases).
• The same as our internal JLK Individual Support Plan (ISP), which we write for any child on targeted SEND support without a statutory plan.

• I know an EHCP is a legal document, not a diagnosis
• I know the difference between a JLK ISP and a statutory EHCP
• I know an EHCP names outcomes, provision and needs across 4 categories

Most children at JLK on SEND support will never need an EHCP. The graduated approach (Assess · Plan · Do · Review) at Tier 2 is enough. An EHCP request usually comes when:

• Tier 2 support has been in place for 2+ cycles of APDR without sufficient progress against outcomes.
• The child's needs are complex (multiple categories) or long-term.
• The provision required exceeds what a mainstream setting can reasonably deliver from its own budget.
• The family is planning school transition and wants a plan in place before Reception.

Who can request an EHC assessment?

• The family (parent/carer) — most common route.
• The setting (with parental consent).
• The child themselves (from age 16 — not relevant at JLK).
• Anyone else concerned about the child — but only with family knowledge.

JLK's role in the assessment:

1. The SENCo leads. Any communication with the LA goes via the SENCo, not the key person.
2. Written contribution. The SENCo (with the key person) writes a factual account of the child's needs, current provision, and progress. Uses JLK observations (JLK Stories, ISP review notes, incident logs).
3. Attend the assessment meeting if the LA holds one. Usually the SENCo attends, sometimes with the key person.
4. Support the family. The process is bureaucratic and emotionally heavy. Warm, factual, calm updates. Don't add to their stress.
5. Share with consent only. Written parent consent before any info goes to the LA, health, or another setting.

💡 JLK rule: we don't over-promise (“this will definitely help”) and we don't under-promise (“plans never come through”). We stay factual and warm.

• I know the 20-week statutory timeline for an EHC assessment
• I know EHCP communication with the LA goes via the SENCo
• I know written parent consent is needed before sharing information externally

Getting the plan is only the start. Delivery is where JLK proves itself as a setting.

What changes in the room when an EHCP arrives:

1. Read the plan in full. The SENCo shares the plan with the key person and the team, redacting only what the family has asked to keep private. Everyone who works with the child knows what's in it.
2. Map provision to routines. If the plan says “15 minutes daily 1:1 Attention Autism”, when does that happen? Who leads? Who covers ratios? The SENCo builds the schedule with the room leader.
3. Individual ISP updated. The internal ISP is rewritten to align with the EHCP outcomes.
4. Monitor and record. Every provision listed on the plan needs evidence it's being delivered. Simple session logs (date, minutes, adult, brief outcome).
5. Annual Review. 10–12 months in, the SENCo pulls together evidence for the LA-hosted Annual Review meeting. Family, setting, and any professionals attend.

Transition to school: the EHCP goes with the child to Reception. JLK contributes a transition report and, where possible, joins one transition meeting with the receiving school. The child's Reception teacher inherits both the plan and JLK's practice notes on what works.

What we do NOT do:

• Refuse a child a place because they have an EHCP. This is unlawful under the Equality Act.
• Change what's in the plan unilaterally. Any amendment goes through the Annual Review.
• Share plan contents with other parents or peers.

• I know every adult working with the child should have read the plan (with any family-private sections redacted)
• I know top-up hours are additional staffing, not a swap of the key person
• I know the internal ISP is aligned to EHCP outcomes once a plan is issued

Ayesha's mum asks you in the corridor at pickup: “Do you think we should apply for an EHCP for Ayesha? Everyone keeps mentioning it.”

Ayesha (3y 4m) has been on Tier 2 SEND support with an ISP for 8 months for communication delay and sensory needs.

What should you say?

Reveal JLK-approved response

What NOT to say:

• ❌ “Definitely, go for it.” (You can't promise the outcome.)
• ❌ “Oh, they never approve them, don't bother.” (Not true and disempowering.)
• ❌ “I don't know, ask Kim.” (Sends the family away with no warmth or information.)

What TO say:

“That's a really important question. Let's book a proper sit-down — I'll ask [SENCo name] to be there too. We can look at Ayesha's ISP together, and Kim will explain what an EHCP would and wouldn't change. There's no pressure to decide today, and we're on your side either way.”

Then: tell the SENCo the same day. Log it in the safeguarding/SEND concerns book. Book the meeting within a week.

• I know how to hold a warm, factual conversation without over- or under-promising
• I know to loop in the SENCo the same day when a family raises an EHCP question