Rochdale Borough Council

​​​​​​An education, health and care (EHC) plan is for children and young people aged up to 25 who need more support than their school or college is normally able to provide. EHC plans have replaced statements of special educational needs (SEN).

An EHC plan will give a description of your child's special education, health and social care needs. It will also detail the support and provision your child should receive to support their needs and help them succeed.

• Watch the video, 'What is an Education, Health and Social Care (EHC) plan?' on YouTube (3mins 17 secs)

Will my child get an EHC plan?

Before your child can get an EHC plan, they need to have been identified as having special educational needs. Your child will already be receiving SEN support from their school.

My child isn't receiving SEN support in school - if your child hasn't been identified as having SEN or isn't being supported in their school, view the process for identifying special educational needs

My child is receiving SEN support in school - if your child has been receiving SEN support in school but aren't making adequate progress, then an EHC plan might help to identify what specialist support they need. Your child will need to have an assessment to determine whether they need an EHC plan or not.

Request an EHC needs assessment

We can assess your child's special educational needs to see if they need an EHC plan. Usually your child's school or college would ask us to do this, however you can also make a request directly to us.

If you're between 16-25 years old, you can request an EHC needs assessment yourself.

To make a request:

1. Complete the EHC needs assessment request form below.
2. Email the form to us at the email address listed on the form.
3. We'll get in touch with you about the next steps within 5 working days.

What will happen during the EHC needs assessment?

Your child's EHC needs assessment may include interviews, observations, tests and a medical. 

After the EHC needs assessment, we'll decide whether your child needs to have an EHC plan. If we decide not to give your child an EHC plan, we'll let you know the reasons why and the support that will be provided.

What will happen if my child is given an EHC plan?

If we decide to give your child an EHC plan:

1. We'll give you a draft EHC plan which outlines your child's needs and details the type of support they need to succeed. 
2. Schools provide SEN provision in different ways. You'll be asked to choose preferences for a school or college you'd like your child to attend based on the support they need. This may be the school or college they currently attend.
3. We'll contact your preferred schools or colleges to see if they can meet your child's needs.
4. If necessary, we'll arrange for your child to attend your preferred school if the school agrees they can provide the support listed on the EHC plan.

Appeal an EHC needs assessment or plan decision

You can appeal if we don't give your child an assessment, we decide not to give your child an EHC plan following the assessment or you're not happy with the content of your child's EHC plan.

If you'd like to appeal:

1. Please contact us in the first instance using the contact details on this page. We can talk through our reasons for the decisions and you can tell us why you think the decision is wrong.
2. If you're still not happy, you can appeal to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal. Appeal against an EHC plan or assessment decision