Securing the special education provision in an EHCP

If a child/ young person has an EHC plan in place and the provision is not being made or the provider is not making reasonable adjustments it is best to discuss any problems with the education provider first, e.g., teacher, Special Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo) and head teacher.

You should explain your concerns and request that they deliver the provision as set out in the EHC plan.

The charity Scope has put together some advice that might be helpful for parents / carers when speaking to a SENCo about provision.

If this does not resolve matters, then you should contact the SEND Case Officer and let them know. The Case Officer may be able to resolve the issues in discussion with the provider (school/ college etc). They may also recommend that there is a meeting or a formal review of the EHC plan.

The Sections of the EHC Plan and your rights

Some of the sections of the EHC Plan are for information, such as Section A which contains views, wishes and aspirations, and these cannot be legally enforced and are not appealable.

Other sections are legally enforceable by a parent or young person, for example, Section F which details all the special educational provision required to meet all the needs set out in section B, and that the local authority (Surrey County Council) is under a legal duty to ensure is delivered.

Responsibility for the delivery of provision in an EHC plan depends on which section of the EHC plan the provision is set out in:

Section F – Special Educational provision

The local authority (Surrey County Council) has a legal duty to ensure that the special educational provision specified in section F of an EHC plan is delivered. In practice, the school/ college will be delivering the provision.

It is the local authority's legal duty to ensure that staff have the correct financial resources, training, and equipment.

The local authority must also ensure any therapies detailed in Section F, such as speech and language therapy, occupational therapy or physiotherapy or the services provided by CAMHS (Child Adolescent Mental Health Service) are delivered. For example, if one hour of speech therapy is required every week, this is likely to be delivered by the NHS, but it is the local authority's responsibility to ensure this is done.

The local authority owns this duty. This means it cannot pass the responsibility onto to someone else. The local authority must make sure that the child/ young person receives it, even if a different organisation is providing the provision.

IPSEA has a guide to what should be in Section F of an EHC plan.

Section G – Health care provision

The commissioning health body has a legal duty to provide the health care provision specified in section G of the EHC plan.

If this is not being provided you will need to speak to your health body (provider) and follow their complaints process. You should also let your SEND Case Officer know as they will be able to contact the provider too.

In most cases this means your local health body, known as Integrated Care Boards (ICBs), which were previously called Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs).

Surrey's ICB is NHS Surrey Heartlands Intergrated Care Board. You can find out more information on the NHS Surrey Heartlands Integrated Care Board website.

You can find NHS Surrey Heartlands ICB complaints procedure on their website.

Some Surrey residents might come under a different ICB if they are registered at a medical practice that is outside of this area, this is usually where someone lives on a Surrey boarder and their GP is in another area. You can find your local ICB, on the NHS website ICB finder.

Section H – Social care provision

In the case of those under-eighteen, social care provision which is being provided under the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970 must be set out in Section H1 and must be provided by the local authority under that Act.

For a young person over-eighteen, the care element of the plan may be provided by adult social care services under the Care Act 2014.

If this is not being provided, speak to social care: Support for you and your family on the Surrey County Council website.