EHCP guides
Short, practical, jargon-free guides to the parts of the EHCP process where families most often lose ground. Every guide is grounded in the Children and Families Act 2014, the SEND Regulations 2014 and the SEND Code of Practice 2015.
Draft EHCP received — what happens next?
A plain-English walkthrough of what to do when your child's draft EHCP arrives: the 15-day window, requesting amendments, meetings, and what the council must do next.
Read the guide →Section F: examples of weak (and strong) wording
Weak Section F wording like 'regular support' or 'access to' cannot be enforced. See real examples of weak vs strong provision and how to ask for changes.
Read the guide →The 15-day EHCP response window explained
What the 15-day window after a draft EHCP is served means, what you can request during it, and what happens if you miss it.
Read the guide →How to structure comments on a draft EHCP (with template)
A proven structure for your draft EHCP response letter: one numbered amendment per issue, current wording, requested change, reason, and statutory basis.
Read the guide →Every need in Section B should have provision in Section F
Section B describes needs, Section F describes provision. When a need has no matching provision, families are left without support. How to spot and fix mismatches.
Read the guide →EHCP outcomes: why they must be specific and time-bound
Outcomes like 'will improve' or 'will be happier' cannot be measured. What a good EHCP outcome looks like and how to ask for stronger ones.
Read the guide →'Detailed and quantified': what the law expects from EHCP provision
The SEND Code of Practice expects EHCP provision to be specified and quantified — type, who delivers it, frequency, duration. What that means for your Section F.
Read the guide →Writing parent views for an EHCP annual review
What to include in your parent contribution to an EHCP annual review: progress, what's working, what isn't, changes to request — with a simple structure.
Read the guide →Section C and G: getting health needs and health provision into the plan
Health needs go in Section C, health provision in Section G. But provision that educates or trains belongs in Section F — where it's enforceable. How it works.
Read the guide →Section D: social care needs in an EHCP
What Section D should contain, what 'no social care needs' really means, and when social care provision belongs in Section F.
Read the guide →Section J: personal budgets in an EHCP
Section J records any personal budget for the special educational provision in the plan. What personal budgets are, and how to ask about one.
Read the guide →Section I: naming a school in the final EHCP
Draft EHCPs leave Section I blank. How placement naming works, your right to request a school, and what 'consultation' means.
Read the guide →Your EHCP amendments were refused — what next?
The council finalised the plan without your changes. Your options: written reasons, further evidence, mediation, and appeal to the SEND Tribunal.
Read the guide →Missed the 15-day EHCP response deadline?
What to do if the 15-day window for comments on a draft EHCP has passed: send late comments anyway, and know your appeal rights.
Read the guide →The EHCP 'working document' explained
During a SEND tribunal appeal the plan becomes a working document that parents can edit line by line. How it works and why it levels the field.
Read the guide →How to write an EHCP response letter that gets results
The complete method: find the weak wording, turn each issue into a numbered amendment with a requested change and statutory basis, and send it inside the 15-day window.
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