Parent guide to education health and care plans

Educational Health & Care Plans

Assessment of Children & Young People with Special Educational Needs and Disability

The law regarding assessment and provision for children and young people with SEND changed in September 2014.

The new law means that parents, carers and young people have more opportunities to express their own views and make some choices about what happens.

An EHC Plan replaces a Statement of SEN and Learning Disability Assessments (LDAs) as of September 2014. An EHC plan brings your child’s education, health and social care needs into a single, legal document.

If you have any questions, contact the SEN Team on 0161 342 4433

Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Children and young people with SEN all have learning difficulties or disabilities that make it harder for them to learn than most children and young people of the same age. These children and young people may need extra or different help from that given to others.

If your child’s first language is not English, does that mean they have a learning difficulty? The law says that children and young people do not have learning difficulties just because their first language is not English, although, of course, some of these children and young people may have learning difficulties as well.

Many children and young people will have SEN of some kind at some time during their education. Early year’s providers (for example, nurseries or child minder’s), mainstream schools, colleges and other organisations can help most children and young people succeed with some changes to their practice or additional support. But some children and young people will need extra help for some or all of their time in education and training.

Where to go for help if you think your child has a special educational need or a disability

Children and young people with SEN or disabilities will usually be able to get help from their early education setting, school, or college, sometimes with the help of outside specialists. This is often where SEN are first identified. If they do identify that your child has SEN, your school or other setting must contact you (or, if your son or daughter is over 16, they might contact them directly) and should discuss with you what support to offer your child. The setting must tell you if they are making special educational provision for your child.

If you think your child has SEN, you should talk to your child’s early education setting, school, college or other provider. They will discuss any concerns you have, tell you what they think and explain to you what will happen next.

Alternatively you can contact the Special Education Team and speak to one of the SEN Caseworkers on 0161 342 4433.

The Local Offer

The local offer sets out in one place information about provision in our area for children and young people with SEN and/or disabilities. It provides clear, comprehensive information about provision and how to access it and it also is a mechanism for you to feedback where you think we are missing information.

Every local authority must identify education, health and social care services in their local area provided for children, young people and families who have SEN or disabilities and include them in an information directory called the Local Offer. This will also help local authorities as they can use it to see where the gaps in provision are. The Local Offer includes information about services provided outside your local area that local people are likely to use.

Local services should reflect what local people need. We have asked children, parents and young people what they think the Local Offer should include, and how they think people should be able to access it. We will publish feedback about our Local Offer and say clearly what they will do about the comments they receive.

The local offer also includes contributions from local schools, colleges, health services and other service providers.

SEN support

Any support your child gets from their school or other setting should meet their needs.

If your child has SEN, they will be able to access help – called SEN support – from their early year’s settings, such as nurseries or child minders, schools and further education institutions such as colleges and 16-19 academies.

SEN support replaces school action/school action plus (in schools) and early years action/early years action plus (in early years settings).

Children and young people with more complex needs might instead need an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan. EHC plans replace statements of SEN and Learning Disability Assessments (LDAs).

SEN support is part of what is known as the ‘graduated approach’ and in general should work as follows:

You may be contacted – for example in schools, this will be by your child's teacher or SENCO – if your early years setting, school or college think your child needs SEN support.

You can also approach your child's school or other setting if you think your child might have SEN. You will be involved and your views will be needed throughout the process, and you will be kept up to date with the progress made.

Young people aged 16 to 25 will be fully involved in designing their own SEN support and provision.

The Local Authority’s SEND Children Thrive Matching Provision to Need documents reflect and support local schools with SEND processes and provision; from early identification of need, making adjustments, SEND Support interventions and beyond. The Educational Psychology Service are currently consulting with parents/carers to develop a version that supports their understanding of the expectations of a graduated response to SEND from Tameside schools. Please express an interest and get involved by leaving your contact details through our email address: educationalpsychology@tameside.gov.uk

Documents

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Graduated Approach SchoolAge APRIL 2026

Education, Health and Care needs assessments and plans

Your child's school or other setting will often be able to meet the needs of children through SEN support. But sometimes a child or young person needs a more intensive level of specialist help that cannot be met from the resources available to schools and other settings to provide SEN support. In these circumstances, you or your child’s school or other setting could consider asking your local authority for an Education, Health and Care (EHC) needs assessment for your child. This assessment could lead to your child getting an EHC plan. Some children and young people will have needs that clearly require an EHC needs assessment and plan and once the local authority is aware of them it should start this process without delay.

An EHC plan brings your child’s education, health and social care needs into a single, legal document

Referral information

To inform their decision, Tameside Council will need to take into account a wide range of evidence, and should pay particular attention to:

• Evidence of the child or young person’s academic attainment (or developmental milestones in younger children) and rate of progress
• Information about the nature, extent and context of the child or young person’s SEN
• Evidence of the action already being taken by the early years provider, school or post-16 institution to meet the child or young person's SEN
• Evidence that where progress has been made, it has only been as the result of much additional intervention and support over and above that which is usually provided
• Evidence of the child or young person’s physical, emotional and social development and health needs, drawing on relevant evidence from clinicians and other health professionals and what has been done to meet these by other agencies, and
• Where a young person is aged over 18, the local authority must consider whether the young person requires additional time, in comparison to the majority of others of the same age who do not have special educational needs, to complete their education or training. Remaining in formal education or training should help young people to achieve education and training outcomes, building on what they have learned before and preparing them for adult life.

Once a referral has been received, this information will be collected by your Special Educational Needs Caseworker, from the agencies involved with your child.

Panels and meetings

The Education, Health and Care (EHC) Needs Assessment Process.

We understand that applying for an EHC Needs Assessment can feel overwhelming. The information below explains each step of the process and what you can expect.

Step 1: Initial Contact with the Family

What happens?

Once a request for an EHC Needs Assessment is received, a SEND Case Officer will contact you to:

• Explain the assessment process.
• Answer any questions you may have.
• Understand what outcomes you would like your child to achieve.
• Ensure all relevant information is included in the application submitted through the EHCHub system.

This is an opportunity for you to share what is working well, what challenges your child is experiencing, and what support you feel they need.
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Step 2: Decision to Assess Panel
Within the first 6 weeks

Once all referral information has been received, your child's case will be considered by a Multi-Agency Decision to Assess Panel.

The panel includes professionals from education, health and social care who review all the information provided to decide whether an EHC Needs Assessment is necessary.

After the meeting:

• You and your child's educational setting will be informed of the decision.
• If the panel agrees to proceed, the assessment process will begin.
• If the panel decides not to proceed, a SEND Case Officer will explain the reasons and discuss alternative support that may be available.

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Step 3: Assessment and Information Gathering
Weeks 6 to 12

If an assessment is agreed, advice and information will be requested from professionals who know your child. This may include:

• Educational Psychology
• Health professionals
• Speech and Language Therapy
• Occupational Therapy
• Social Care
• School or college staff
• Parents/carers
• The child or young person

The aim is to build a clear picture of your child's strengths, needs and the support required to help them achieve positive outcomes.
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Step 4: Decision to Issue Panel
By week 12

Once all advice has been received, the information is presented to a Multi-Agency Decision to Issue Panel.

The panel will consider:

• Your child's needs.
• The evidence gathered during the assessment.
• Whether an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) is required.

After the meeting:

• You and your child's educational setting will be informed of the decision.
• If the panel decides to issue an EHCP, a draft plan will be prepared.
• If the panel decides not to issue an EHCP, the reasons for the decision will be explained and next steps discussed.

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Step 5: Draft EHCP
By week 16

If a decision is made to issue an EHCP:

• A Draft Education, Health and Care Plan will be written by the allocated Case Officer.
• The draft plan will be sent to you for review.
• You will have 15 calendar days to:
  • Read the draft plan.
  • Request amendments.
  • Comment on the content.
  • Express a preference for an educational setting

The Local Authority will use the intended final plan to consult with settings – this may include settings other than the parental preference.
The Local Authority will carefully consider your comments before producing the final version of the plan.
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Step 6: Finalising the EHCP
By week 20

The Local Authority will review any feedback received and make any appropriate amendments.
A final EHCP will then be issued, setting out:

• Your child's needs.
• The outcomes they are working towards.
• The support that must be provided.
• The educational setting named in the plan.

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Additional Meetings and Support

You may be offered additional meetings or discussions throughout the process to:

• Clarify information in reports.
• Discuss the draft EHCP.
• Consider any requested changes.
• Discuss a personal budget, if applicable.
• Ensure everyone involved has a shared understanding of your child's needs and support arrangements.

We recognise that parents and carers are experts on their child. Your views, along with your child's views, are an important part of every stage of the assessment process.

Tameside Special Educational Needs Team

Our team are here and happy to help.

The SEN Team can be contacted on 0161 342 4433

E-mail:

• SEND Assessment Team: SENAT@tameside.gov.uk
• Annual Review Team: SENART@tameside.gov.uk