How to check an EHCP is legally compliant: a SENCO's checklist

A school doesn't write or amend an EHC plan: the local authority does. What a SENCO can do is check the plan the school has to deliver, and put anything missing or unclear in front of the local authority at the right moment. This checklist sets out what the law and the SEND Code of Practice ask for, section by section, and where your findings go.

This is practical guidance, not legal advice.

Must and should

The SEND Code of Practice explains its own wording: "where the text uses the word 'must' it refers to a statutory requirement under primary legislation, regulations or case law." Where it says "should", the guidance "must be considered" and those who must have regard to it "will be expected to explain any departure from it". The checks below keep the two apart.

The plan as a whole

• Every section is there, and labelled. Regulation 12(1) of the SEND Regulations 2014 lists what the local authority must set out, from the views, interests and aspirations of the child and their parents or the young person (section A) to the school or other institution (section I) and any direct payment (section J), and says "each section must be separately identified". The advice and information gathered for the assessment must be set out in appendices (section K, regulation 12(4)).
• Preparing for adulthood from Year 9. Where the child or young person is in or beyond year 9, the plan must include provision "to assist the child or young person in preparation for adulthood and independent living" (regulation 12(3)).
• A review date. Paragraph 9.61 of the Code says EHC plans "should have a review date".

Section B: special educational needs

The Code's table 'What to include in each section of the EHC plan' says "All of the child or young person's identified special educational needs must be specified". A practical test: read the advice in section K and check that each special educational need it identifies appears in section B.

Section E: outcomes

• An EHC plan specifies "the outcomes sought for him or her" (Children and Families Act 2014, section 37(2)(b)), and they sit in section E (regulation 12(1)(e)).
• Outcomes "should be SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, time-bound)" (paragraph 9.61). An outcome is "the benefit or difference made to an individual as a result of an intervention", and "should be personal and not expressed from a service perspective" (paragraph 9.66).
• Aspirations belong in section A: "Long-term aspirations are not outcomes in themselves" (paragraph 9.65).
• The plan "should also specify the arrangements for setting shorter term targets" at the level of the school (paragraph 9.69).

There is more on this in What makes an EHCP outcome measurable.

Section F: special educational provision

This is the section that becomes a duty. The local authority "must secure the specified special educational provision" (section 42(2)), and "specified" means "specified in the plan" (section 42(6)). For section F, the Code's table says:

• 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"
• provision "must be specified for each and every need specified in section B", and "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", and where the local authority has departed from that advice, "they should say so and give reasons for it"

Wording such as "access to", "regular" or "as required" leaves the amount open. Getting Section F specific works through examples.

The other sections

• Health and social care provision. For section G (health) and section H1 (social care under section 2 of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970), the Code's table says provision "should be detailed and specific and should normally be quantified, for example, in terms of the type of support and who will provide it".
• Section I. The name and type of the school or other institution "must be included only in the final EHC plan, not the draft EHC plan".

At the annual review

The review is where your findings go.

• The local authority must review the plan within 12 months of making it, and then within 12 months of each review (section 44(1)).
• Those invited must have at least two weeks' notice of the meeting, and the advice and information gathered must be circulated at least two weeks before it (regulation 20(3) and (4)).
• The meeting "must focus on the child or young person's progress towards achieving the outcomes specified in the EHC plan" (paragraph 9.176).
• The school must send a report of the meeting to everyone invited within two weeks. The report "must set out recommendations on any amendments required to the EHC plan" (paragraph 9.176). This is the place for each gap you found, with the rule behind it and the wording you propose.
• Within four weeks of the meeting, the local authority must decide whether to keep the plan as it is, amend it, or cease to maintain it (paragraph 9.176; regulation 20(10)).
• When a child moves between phases, the review and any amendments "must be completed by 15 February in the calendar year of the transfer at the latest" for transfers into or between schools (paragraph 9.179), and by 31 March for a move from secondary school to a post-16 institution or apprenticeship (paragraph 9.180).

If something needs to change

• The local authority amends the plan. When it proposes an amendment, it must send the parent or young person the existing plan and a notice of the proposed changes, with the evidence for them (paragraph 9.194); give them at least 15 calendar days to comment (paragraph 9.195); and issue the amended plan within 8 weeks of the original amendment notice (paragraph 9.196).
• Until then, the plan as written applies. The duty in section 42(2) is to secure the provision the plan specifies.
• Families can appeal. A parent or young person can appeal to the First-tier Tribunal against the special educational needs or provision specified in the plan, and against a decision not to amend it after a review (section 51(2)(c) and (e)), subject to the mediation requirements.

Questions SENCOs ask

Can a school change an EHCP?

No. The local authority maintains the plan and decides on amendments. The school's part is the review report, which must set out its recommendations on any amendments (paragraph 9.176).

How often must an EHCP be reviewed?

At least every 12 months (section 44(1)). For children under five, the Code says local authorities "should consider reviewing an EHC plan for a child under five at least every three to six months" (paragraph 9.178).

Who decides whether a plan meets the rules?

The local authority, which writes and maintains it. Families can appeal some decisions to the First-tier Tribunal (section 51). If you need a view on a particular plan, ask your trust's legal adviser or a solicitor experienced in education law.

The checklist

• Sections A to K are all present and separately labelled.
• From Year 9, the plan includes provision for preparing for adulthood and independent living.
• Every identified special educational need is in section B.
• Each outcome in section E is SMART, personal to the child, and not a description of a service.
• Aspirations are in section A, not section E.
• The plan says how shorter-term targets are set.
• Every line in section F is detailed and specific, and quantified where it can be: type, hours, frequency, level of expertise.
• Every need in section B has provision in section F, and it is clear which outcome each provision supports.
• Health or social care provision that educates or trains is in section F.
• Section F reflects the advice in section K, or says why it departs from it.
• There is a review date, and the annual review is within 12 months of the last one.
• Your review report sets out each amendment you recommend, with the reason for it.

Sendix checks EHCPs against these rules, flags outcomes and provision too vague to deliver or review, cites the rule behind each flag, and drafts a fix that the practitioner can accept, edit or reject.