EHCP what do they mean?

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DD7 is at main stream primary, we have recently had a diagnosis of global development delay for her. Still waiting for ed psychologist appt that has been delayed due to covid.
Just thinking ahead if she is eligible for an EHCP what does this mean in reality? Is it extra funding for help in school?
What does it mean for your children as they go throughout school including secondary and how likely are we to be successful?
Thanks

An EHCP is a legal document agreed with the council (with input from school and various professionals) that states what support your child must legally be given.

It may also include funding from the council to support the school in providing this support, but usually not enough. Both school and council may make the section stating what support is needed rather woolly, so they can claim it's being provided (eg a group for social skills met once, that ticks 'provide social skills education' - unless the EHCP specifies how often and what level of qualification the provider should have).

One huge advantage of an EHCP is that a kid with one must be accepted by any suitable mainstream secondary the parents choose, unless there is a strong reason the school can't meet the kid's needs. If you're considering special schools, having a EHCP is usually a requirement to be considered.

Dc1 is going to a mainstream secondary with good ASD support in Sept - without his EHCP we'd not get in on distance and the nearest school would be a disaster.

The council must assess for a EHCP if there is a reasonable possibility of special educational needs - so if the school isnt willing to push it yet, you can write straight to the council asking them to assess - templates are online.

Certain councils take forever, so I highly recommend pushing now.

Oh that's a great reply thank you so much. Sounds like it's very important for secondary education then.
Hope your DC gets on well in Sept such a big change for them and so important that it's the right school with good support

And yes we will push now we have the Drs diagnosis they are starting to listen. She is on the list for ED psych at school but we will try the council route if we have to that's a good tip. Thanks again

Thanks - he and two boys he likes are going to the school and he wants to go there. He's even wearing his new school trousers today at current school (he doesn't have to be in uniform but wants to be, and he's outgrown all but one pair of trousers, so has accepted a switch from black to grey!)

Certain councils can be very obstructive. My DN obviously needed support from reception but didn't get his inadequate EHCP until Y6, by which time he'd missed lots of the support he needed to transfer to Y7. Another tribunal looms... Ds, thankfully, was in a school that supported him pretty well anyway, and poked the different council into a reasonable document and now it should provide what he needs - the attitude of the school is crucial, especially for him, so fingers crossed.

The answers above cover it. Make sure that any outcomes, provisions etc are very clear. To give you an idea of how clear - i know a deaf child whose ehcp specified 'up to 2 hours speech and language therapy a week' which was interpreted as 0 and he recieved none. This was legal and his parents had a huge struggle to get it changed to 'a minimum of'

Gosh you really have to be on the ball with it then. All great tips thanks so much!
Glad your son is so positive about his new school Jack

Information here:
www.ipsea.org.uk/ehc-needs-assessments

www.ipsea.org.uk/what-an-ehc-plan-contains