Education, health and care (EHC) plans

Some children and young people with special educational needs need extra help despite the early intervention support that is put in place for them.

In Camden, we top up our mainstream schools with Level 3 funding and have an Exceptional Needs Grant pathway to ensure Camden resident children can get the support they need, when they need it. Find out more about funding SEND in Camden.

Some children and young people with exceptional levels of special educational needs may need more support than a school or educational setting can give.

In these cases, an EHC needs assessment helps us decide what extra support might be needed.

After the assessment, a small number of children will need an EHC plan to get more support. This is not normally needed if the school or education setting can meet a child's needs by themselves or with support from other organisations. 

Watch a video explaining what an EHC plan is and who it is for from Independent Support and the Department for Education:

About EHC plans

An EHC plan is:

  • a legal document
  • for children and young people aged 0 to 25 years old with exceptional special educational needs

This is a small number of children each year. 

An EHC plan describes a child or young person’s educational, health and social care needs including:

  • their strengths and needs
  • agreed outcomes we aim to achieve
  • what extra help will be given to support them
  • the education, health, and care provision needed to help achieve the outcomes in their plan

Education, health and social care

The EHC plan is a single plan created to help a child or young person achieve certain outcomes. It shows the support a child will need for education in school, as well as from health and care services.

About the education part of the plan

The education part of the plan explains what your child or young person needs to:

  • attend school
  • achieve the best they can in their learning

It also states which school or educational setting your child or young person will go to.

About the health part of the plan

The health part of the plan sets out health services or support needed to participate fully in learning. The health services and support may only be needed while your child or young person is in education. Health provisions may be needed for longer for some children or young people regardless of whether they are in education.

About the social care part element of the plan

The social care element of the plan will set out any services that will be provided. The aim is to support the child and their family to live as ordinary a life as possible.

When is an Education Health Care Plan reviewed

For children under the age of 5 years old, EHC plans are reviewed at least every 6 months and for children and young people older than this, the EHC plan will be reviewed at least every 12 months and this is called an Annual Review.

The Annual Review is more than just a review meeting, it is a process that must be completed on or before the anniversary of when the EHC plan was first issued or the anniversary of the last review. The Annual Review looks at a child or young person’s progress against their outcomes and the EHC plan may be adapted as a child's needs change or if they move schools. A change in the type of provision is usually agreed at an annual review. Parents or carers will be part of that process. Your child will be part of that process, too and their views inform decisions made about the EHC plan.

When is an Education Health and Care Plan ceased

An EHC Plan is ceased when a child or young person meets their outcomes, moves into work, higher education or higher-level apprenticeship or leaves the country. This will be following an Annual Review process.

How are decisions made

In Camden, decisions for EHC needs assessments and decisions on whether to issue an EHC Plan following completion of an assessment are made by the Local Authority SEND Panel. The panel is made up of professionals from the SEND Team, Educational Psychology Team, Health professionals and Social Care.

What support do I receive

During the EHC Needs Assessment, a named Case Officer will support you and your child or young person through the process. They will gather information to support the EHC needs assessment, ensure your views and aspirations are captured, draft an EHC Plan if the Local Authority agrees to issue a plan and keep you updated about the process. Please explore our service standards to know what to expect from our SEND Team.

Contact Details

Special Educational Needs (SEN) Team

Duty Phone Line:020 7974 6500

Email Address: [email protected]

Further Advice and Information

We aim to work closely with parents or carers and together plan the support a child or young person needs. Sometimes families do not agree with the decisions we make. When that happens we do try to do everything we can to resolve the disagreement.

For further details visit If we can't agree.