Your child’s Education, Health and Care Plan

As part of our support for children and young people with a vision impairment and their families, we offer a specialist education support service.

This section includes guidance on applying for an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) for your child, and everything you need to know about the EHCP process.

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Abbreviations you may hear used

You’ll find out very quickly that a lot of abbreviations are used when talking about your child’s educational needs. These are some of the most common:

EHCP – Education Health and Care Plan
SENDCo – Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Coordinator
CYP – Child or Young Person
QTVI – Qualified Teacher of children with a Vision Impairment
QTMSI – Qualified Teacher of children with Multi-Sensory Impairment
LA – Local Authority
SENDO – Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Officer (at the Local Authority)

What is an EHCP?

An EHCP is a legal document, drawn up by the local authority, which describes the needs of a child or young person. It explains what the child can and can’t do and identifies what should happen to get their needs met through education, health and social care services.
An EHCP is provided where your child’s needs can’t reasonably be met without additional specialist support under the 'graduated approach'.
An EHCP looks at all of your child’s needs across education, health and social care. Professionals from each area, along with you, the parent, consider what outcomes you’re hoping for and what’s needed to achieve them.
An EHCP supports your child from birth to the age of 25.
The education, health and social care process takes a person-centred approach, meaning that you and your child are involved.
The process focuses on your child’s aspirations so that they can achieve their personal goals.
A parent or young person may request a personal budget at the draft stage of the EHCP process if that will help fulfil their education, health and social care needs (for more information check your local authority website).

A good quality EHCP is:

Clear, to the point, easy to use and understandable to all.
Focused on the needs and ambitions of your child.
In line with the Children and Families Act 2014.
In line with the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice.

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What special educational needs are considered when you request an EHCP?

Your child's needs are looked at under four broad headings (in some areas there may be more than four):

Some children and young people have difficulties in communicating with others. This may be because:

They can’t understand or make sense of what’s said to them.

They have difficulty saying what they want to say.

They have difficulty understanding and using verbal and non-verbal communication skills (the social rules of communication).
Some children and young people:

Learn at a slower pace than others their age or find it hard to understand parts of the curriculum.

Have difficulties with organisation and memory skills.

Have particular difficulties in certain areas of learning, such as literacy or maths.
Some children and young people experience social and emotional difficulties and may find it hard to manage their relationships with other people:

They may behave in a way that will hinder their learning or that of other children.

They may have difficulties that affect their health and wellbeing.
Some children and young people have one or a combination of the following which hinders them from using standard educational facilities:

A vision impairment

A hearing impairment

A physical need

This means they’ll need additional equipment and ongoing support.