SEND Team: Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment

A small number of children and young people will require significant levels of additional to and different from provision and resources to meet their needs. These learners will have needs identified at a Specialist Level using the Needs Descriptors. An Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) is a legal document which describes a person's needs. It sets out the education, health and care services needed to meet those needs and the type of educational setting which would best suit them.

On this page, you can find:

About

What is an Education, Health and Care Plan?

An EHC plan is a legally binding document outlining a child or young person's special educational, health, and social care needs. The document has to list all of the child or young person's special educational needs and provision to meet each of the needs. The provision has to be specific, detailed, and quantified. The plan names the school/setting which is to provide the provision and the plan is legally enforceable. 

Who may need a Education, Health and Care Plan?

EHC plans are for those children (0-16) or young people (16-19) or adults (19-25) with special educational needs who require support beyond that which an educational setting can provide. A child who has educational needs may also have additional health and social care needs and those can be included in the plan so long as they relate to education. You cannot have a freestanding EHCP for health or social care reasons alone.

Things to consider before submitting an Education Health and Care Needs Assessment

-What is the motivation for this application? Is it the young persons long term needs and outcomes NOT funding, secondary place, special school place,  lack of multi-agency working, lack of parental confidence in support provided

-Has Ordinarily Available provision been used effectively including reasonable adjustments and HQT?

-Has the Graduated Approach Graduated Approach - City of Doncaster Council been used effectively? How many cycles? When were they added to the SEND register (is more time needed)?

-Does this CYP have an effective SEND Support Plan?

-Does this CYP have needs across multiple broad areas of need?

-Have the needs been accurately identified? Identifying Need - City of Doncaster Council

-Have The Needs Descriptors been used effectively?

-Are these needs identified at Specialist Level using The Needs Descriptors?

-Are success criteria and outcomes linked to identified needs and aspirations?

-What professionals are involved? What impact has this had?

-Is it clear that this child’s needs are long term?

-Has High Needs funding been used to support this child? How much? What impact has it had? What additional support does this child need?

-Does this CYP have an appropriate and clearly costed provision map? Is this an effective and efficient use of resources?

Doncaster Education, Health and Care Hub (EHC)

The EHC Hub is an innovative digital platform supporting engagement, contributions, and collaboration on Education Health and Care assessments, plans and reviews.

More information on Doncaster EHC Hub

For any queries or requests about the Doncaster EHC Hub, including new accounts please contact:  Doncaster.EHCHub@doncaster.gov.uk

How to refer for an Education Health and Care Needs Assessment

How to refer for an EHCNA
Download (629KB - PDF)

New Requests on the EHC hub

When completing a new request this cannot be shared with a member of staff. However once submitted to the LA, the profile will be officially created and allocated back to you, other members of staff can be allocated to add additional information prior to it going to EHC Panel for a decision.

If the LA has decided not to proceed with a statutory assessment, please search by name and on filters tick include closed cases to see the letter.

Key Messages

  • A request needs to clearly show young person and family voice alongside identifying needs and outcomes linked to these. Golden Thread
  • Ensure all boxes are fully completed and with the specific detail about the young person’s needs
  • Please limit the amount of attachments to the request however please include The Needs Descriptors, SEND Support Plan Templates - City of Doncaster Council and Provision Map.
  • Ensure all professionals involved are included on the request (health, social care any support services) this enables us to request advice from the appropriate professionals directly
  • Panel may turn down requests for assessment where the evidence is not provided of following Doncaster’s Graduated Approach to make the provision for the young person.
  • If a request for assessment is turned down at the 6 week stage then school and parent will be notified through the hub.

Step 1

Go to the EHC Hub website.

If you are an educational professional, log into the EHC Hub with your dedicated password and username.

There is dual authentication (a text message) and a code. If you are a parent or external professional, click ‘Request a needs assessment’ on the right.  

Step 2

Read through the guidance on what an EHCP is for and then select request if you wish to continue. Please be sure that you wish to refer as when you submit the request this will begin the 20-week process.

Step 3

Use the drop-down arrows on the right to expand the boxes. Please complete these in as much detail as possible and complete every box that is relevant. There will be the option to upload documents, for schools and settings, this should be used for the provision map, professionals' records and diagnoses only. Where possible based on age and ability, please include the learner/child in this process.

Doncaster Education, Health and Care Hub Guidance Documents

Guidance for schools and settings - requests and advice
Download (490KB - PDF)
Guidance for Educational Psychology Service EHC Hub Advice Givers PDF
Download (659KB - PDF)
Guidance for Health Professionals Working Document EHC Hub version PDF
Download (191KB - PDF)
Guidance for Social Care Professionals Working Document EHC Hub version v2 21.03.24
Download (312KB - PDF)

Guidance for Visual Impairment Service

VI EHCNA advice
Download (345KB - PDF)
VI Annual Review Advice
Download (329KB - PDF)

Contents of an Education, Health and Care Plan

Section A: The views, interests and aspirations of the child and their parents, or the young person

Details about the child or young person’s aspirations and goals for the future. When agreeing the aspirations, consideration should be given to the child or young person’s aspirations for paid employment, independent living and community participation. Details about play, health, schooling, independence, friendships, further education and future plans including employment (where practical). A summary of how to communicate with the child or young person and engage them in decision-making. The child or young person’s history. If written in the first person, the plan should make clear whether the child or young person is being quoted directly, or if the views of parents or professionals are being represented.

Section B: The child or young person’s special educational needs (SEN) 

All of the child or young person’s identified special educational needs must be specified. SEN may include needs for health and social care provision that are treated as special educational provision because they educate or train the child or young person

Section C: The Child or young person's health needs

Needs in this section require health provision not education provision. This section must specify all the health needs identified through the EHC needs assessment which relate to the child or young person’s SEN. The Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) may specify other health care needs which are not related to SEN but need management in a special educational setting e.g. incontinence. Health needs not related to the child’s SEN should also be included in this section unless there is good reason not to include them.

Section D: The child or young person’s social care needs which relate to their SEN

The EHC plan must specify any social care needs identified through the EHC needs assessment which relate to the child or young person’s SEN or which require provision for a child or young person under 18, under section 2 of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970. The local authority may also choose to specify other social care needs which are not linked to the child or young person’s SEN or to a disability. This could include reference to any child in need or child protection plan which a child may have relating to other family issues such as neglect. Such an approach could help the child and their parents manage the different plans and bring greater co-ordination of services. Inclusion must only be with the consent of the child and their parents.

Section E: The outcomes sought for the child or the young person 

A range of outcomes over varying timescales, covering education, health and care as appropriate but recognising that it is the education and training outcomes only that will help determine when a plan is ceased for young people aged over 18. Therefore, for young people aged over 17, the EHC plan should identify clearly which outcomes are education and training outcomes. A clear distinction between outcomes and provision. The provision should help the child or young person achieve an outcome; it is not an outcome in itself. Steps towards meeting the outcomes. The arrangements for monitoring progress, including review and transition review arrangements and the arrangements for setting and monitoring shorter term. 

Section F: The special educational provision required by the child or the young person

Provision must be detailed and specific and should normally be quantified, for example, in terms of the type, hours and frequency of support and level of expertise, including where this support is secured through a Personal Budget. Provision must be specified for each and every need specified in section B. It should be clear how the provision will support achievement of the outcomes. Where health or social care provision educates or trains a child or young person, it must appear in this section. There should be clarity as to how advice and information gathered has informed the provision specified. Where the local authority has departed from that advice, they should say so and give reasons for it. In some cases, flexibility will be required to meet the changing needs of the child or young person including flexibility in the use of a Personal Budget. The plan should specify:
• any appropriate facilities and equipment, staffing arrangements and curriculum
• any appropriate modifications to the application of the National Curriculum, where relevant
• any appropriate exclusions from the application of the National Curriculum or the course being studied in a post-16 setting, in detail, and the provision which it is proposed to substitute for any such exclusions in order to maintain a balanced and broadly based curriculum
• where residential accommodation is appropriate, that fact
• where there is a Personal Budget, the outcomes to which it is intended to contribute (detail of the arrangements for a Personal Budget, including any direct payment, must be included in the plan and these should be set out in section J)

Section G: Any health provision reasonably required by the learning difficulties or disabilities which result in the child or young person having SEN

Healthcare provision reasonably required may include specialist support and therapies, such as medical treatments and delivery of medications, occupational therapy and physiotherapy, a range of nursing support, specialist equipment, wheelchairs and continence supplies. It could include highly specialist services needed by only a small number of children which are commissioned centrally.

Section H: social care provisions required by social services under the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970, and/or reasonably required by the learning difficulties or disabilities which result in the child or young person having SEN

Will define the social care provision for the individual, such as pre-arranged short breaks, extra-curricular or out of school activities, as well as home support for the family.

Section I: the name of the school or institution to be attended by the child or young person, and the type of institution

The educational setting will be named in the Final EHCP Plan.

Consultations

When responding to a consultation you need to think about whether you can make the provision that is outlined within the young person’s EHCP within your setting – you need to consider what would be needed to make the provision outlined in the plan. Responses should align to the guidance in the Code of Practice paragraphs 9.78-9.90

Examples of inappropriate responses:

  • The School is over numbers - This is unlikely to hold up in tribunal if the decision is appealed.
  • Cannot meet the needs as the child requires specialist provision - This is not for school to determine
  • A parent has not been consulted regarding school places, and also the concerns raised about the plan not being yet finalised and that she wants a school closer to home, in support of parental preference, we will not be offering a place. – This is not a response in line with legislation
  • Child is not able to use spoken language to express herself – make reasonable adjustments – what provision would support this young person?
  • Child- is not toilet trained and do not have the facilities for changing – What would it take to get this? Requires reasonable adjustments
  • Has violent outbursts so could put other children at risk – So what could be the possible triggers and how could these be removed.
  • Child requires a lot of support more support than a mainstream school can offer. – Why can’t a mainstream school offer? Should ensure curriculum and support arrangements are appropriate to all children through reasonable adjustments.
  • It would be unsuitable for the age, ability, aptitude or SEN of the child or young person  This is an argument that cannot be made by a mainstream school as there is an expectation that differentiation should take place.
  • The attendance of the child or young person there would be incompatible with the efficient education of others. Responses need to demonstrate reasonable steps that could be taken to remove incompatibility (this is not just in the class but throughout the School) Judgment on the efficient use of resources can only be made out be the Local Authority.

Annual Reviews

  • All annual reviews will now be held on the EHC Hub. There are training videos around how to undertake an annual review within the Hub. There is a '? In the Hub at the top near the log in page you can access guidance notes / training videos.
  • When organising a review always ensure you ‘request information’ off the members of staff you have invited.
  • If people have not submitted their advice prior to a review, please close the request for advice to enable you to ‘progress to meeting’. If you do not close the pending requests for advice, the system will not let you move to progress to meeting as it thinks it is still awaiting information.
  • Funding will be reviewed annually- There will be a form shared with you to fill in alongside the reviews and to attach when you submit your review through the hub. This must also be submitted to the Pyramid Funding Panel through perspective including the Annual Review Report and the CYPs EHCP.
Annual review timeline
Download (150KB - PDF)
Review, PCP guidance 2024
Download (315KB - PDF)
Year 9 PFA Planning Tool
Download (90KB - DOCX)

Education, Health and Care Plan Quality Assurance Procedure

Doncaster SEND QA Framework Jan 2024 PDF
Download (376KB - PDF)

Resources

Outcomes rainbow
Download (174KB - PDF)

Person-Centred Working - Listening to and working with learners and their families | Whole School SEND

Links

 

Introduction Image

Display your introduction over featured image?: No