Education, health and care (EHC) plans
1. Overview
An education, health and care (EHC) plan is a plan for children and young people aged up to 25 who need more support than is available through special educational needs (SEN) support.
It is a legal document that describes their special educational, health and social care needs.
It explains the extra support that will be provided to help meet those needs and how this will help them to make progress and achieve their goals.
The first step is to ask Lancashire County Council, as the local authority, for an EHC needs assessment.
After a request is made, there are three things that may take place:
- A decision to go ahead with an assessment or not
- A decision to issue an EHC Plan or not
- Work to develop and agree the plan.
The information in this guide is for parents, carers and young people, if you are a professional, please refer to the information for professionals.
The following short film from Independent Support, with support from the Department for Education, explains what an education, health and care plan is and who can have one.