Skip over main navigation
  • Log in
  • Basket: (0 items)
(IPSEA) Independent Provider of Special Education Advice
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
Donate
Menu
  • Home
  • About us
    • Who we are
    • Our impact
    • Our vision and goals
    • Our funders
    • Work for us
    • Annual report
  • How we help
    • Get support
    • Our services
    • Policy work
    • Services for professionals
    • Case studies
  • Training
    • For parents and carers
    • For parent groups, schools and charities
    • For local authorities
    • For SEN professionals and private organisations
    • Subscribe to our legal updates
    • Contact the training team
  • Get involved
    • Why funds are necessary
    • Donate
    • Fundraising
      • Join team IPSEA for the London Legal Walk 2022
      • Fundraising ideas
      • Other ways to give
        • Online shopping
        • Gifts in your will
        • Gifts in memory
        • Gifts in celebration
    • Volunteer
    • Corporate support
    • Trusts and foundations
  • Latest
    • News
  • Contact
    • Contact us
    • Press enquiries
  • IPSEA Legal Resources Portal
  • Admin
    • Log in
  • Basket: (0 items)
  • If your LA takes away your EHC plan
  1. How we help
  2. Get support
  3. Education, Health and Care plans
  4. If your LA takes away your EHC plan

If your LA takes away your EHC plan

What to do if the LA takes away your EHC plan

When a local authority (“LA”) decides to take away, or end, an education, health and care (“EHC”) plan, this is called ‘ceasing to maintain’ the EHC plan. This means that the EHC plan will come to an end and the LA will no longer have the legal duty to ensure that the educational provision specified in the EHC plan is received by the child or young person.

When can the LA cease to maintain an EHC plan?

An LA may decide to cease to maintain an EHC plan at any time, but they can only do so on certain grounds:

  • If the LA is no longer responsible for the child or young person; or
  • If it is no longer necessary to maintain it.

These are the only legal reasons for ceasing to maintain an EHC plan (they are set out in section 45 of the Children and Families Act 2014).

An LA would no longer be responsible if:

  • the young person has taken up paid employment (excluding apprenticeships);
  • the young person has started higher education (university);
  • a young person aged 18 or over has left education and no longer wishes to engage in further learning;
  • the young person has turned 25; or
  • the child or young person has moved to a different LA.

Situations in which an EHC plan would no longer be necessary could be because the child or young person no longer needs the provision set out in the EHC plan (because their needs have changed).

For a young person over 18, the LA must have regard to whether the educational or training outcomes in the EHC plan have been achieved. If they have not, that is an indication that the special educational provision should continue. However, the LA cannot cease to maintain an EHC plan just because the outcomes have been achieved – they should consider whether it is necessary for new outcomes to be set.

The SEN and Disability Code of Practice (the “Code”) says that LAs must not cease to maintain the EHC plan simply because the young person is aged 19 or over (paragraph 9.200). LAs should also not cease to maintain just because the young person has finished their current course at school or college; “Young people with EHC plans may need longer in education or training in order to achieve their outcomes and make an effective transition into adulthood” (paragraph 9.151).

The LA should not introduce additional criteria for continuing EHC plans after the end of compulsory schooling, such as requirements for the young person to be working towards qualifications, employment or independent living. Not all young people will be able to achieve these things, but this does not mean their support should be taken away. In Buckinghamshire County Council v SJ [2016] UKUT 254 (AAC) the Upper Tribunal made clear that it rejected “any suggestion that the attainment of qualifications is an essential element of education. For many of those to whom the 2014 Act and Regulations apply, attaining any qualifications at all is not an option. That does not mean that they do not require, or would not benefit from, special educational provision.” In this case there was: “no doubt, that any further achievements would be small. That does not mean that they would not be valuable for [the young person] in his adult life.”

Can the LA cease to maintain the EHC plan because the child or young person is out of education?

Where a child or young person under 18 is excluded from their education or training setting or leaves voluntarily, the LA should try to re-engage the young person in education or training as soon as possible. It must review the EHC plan and amend it as appropriate to ensure that the young person continues to receive education or training (see paragraph 9.202 of the Code). The LA can only cease the EHC plan if it decides that it is no longer necessary for special educational provision to be made for the child or young person.

Where a young person aged 18 or over ceases to attend the educational institution specified in their EHC plan, again the LA cannot simply cease to maintain that EHC plan. It must first hold a review (following all of the steps it should for an annual review) and then it can only cease to maintain the EHC plan if it has ascertained that the young person does not wish to return to education or training at any setting, or the LA has determined that returning to education or training would not be appropriate for the young person (Regulation 30 of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014). If the young person wishes to return to education at a different setting, the LA must amend the EHC plan to name an appropriate setting (see the section on choosing a school for more information).

What procedure must the LA follow?

For whatever reason the LA decides to cease to maintain the EHC plan, the LA must first:

  • consult with the child’s parent or young person as well as the head teacher or principal of the school or college being attended;
  • issue what is called a ‘cease to maintain notice’ – this means a notice in writing to the parent or young person telling them that the LA wants to cease to maintain the EHC plan and setting out the reasons why.

If the LA does not follow these steps, or simply states that they are going to stop funding the EHC plan rather than issuing a cease to maintain notice, this is not lawful. This is because the parent or young person’s right to appeal only arises when they have made a formal decision to cease to maintain the EHC plan. You should write to the LA requesting that they follow the correct procedure. You can book an appointment to speak with us for more advice if this has happened to you.

Will the provision stop straight away?

If a cease to maintain notice is issued, the LA is not allowed to simply stop funding the provision straight away.

The parent or young person has a right of appeal to the SEND Tribunal. The appeal must be lodged within either two months of the LA’s decision to cease to maintain or one month from the date of the mediation certificate, whichever is later (see the sections on mediation and appealing to the SEND Tribunal for more information). The LA must keep the provision in place at least until this right of appeal has expired.

If the parent or young person appeals against the LA’s decision, then the LA must keep the provision in place until the appeal is finished.

Similarly, the education institution named in Section I of the EHC plan must continue to admit the child or young person until the right of appeal has expired or the appeal is concluded.

 

If you haven’t been able to find the answer to your question on this page, see our FAQs.

Published: 9th March, 2018

Updated: 24th April, 2018

Author: Emma Brock

Share this page
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Latest

  • SEND Tribunal – Update for volunteers, parents and carers

    SEND Tribunal – Update for volunteers, parents and carers

    IPSEA has prepared an update on how the SEND Tribunal is operating during the COVID-19 pandemic, including tips regarding remote hearings

  • IPSEA update on COVID-19 and SEN provision

    IPSEA update on COVID-19 and SEN provision

    Read our guidance on how the COVID-19 measures affect children and young people with special educational needs

  • Local authorities - SEND decision making and the law: 14th September

    Local authorities - SEND decision making and the law: 14th September

    Jointly developed with the Department for Education (DfE), this workshop assists local authority decision-makers to interpret and apply the legal requirements of the Children and Families Act 2014 to key decision points

  • EHC plan masterclass - existing plans: 15th September

    EHC plan masterclass - existing plans: 15th September

    For parents and carers who already have an EHC plan in place for their child, this training looks at the information a plan should contain, through to how to achieve that through annual reviews, re-assessments and appeals to the SEND Tribunal

Related

  • EHC needs assessments

    EHC needs assessments

    An EHC needs assessment is an assessment of a child or young person’s education, health and care needs

  • What an EHC plan contains

    What an EHC plan contains

    An EHC plan should be written in a way that makes it clear, to parents, young people, schools, colleges and LAs, who is required to do what, when it has to happen and how often it should be reviewed

  • Personal budgets and direct payments

    Personal budgets and direct payments

    Once a child or young person has an EHC plan, the local authority must ensure the support set out in the plan is made for the child or young person

  • Changing an EHC plan

    Changing an EHC plan

    Once an EHC plan is in place for a child or young person, it is unlikely to remain the same over time - as they grow up, it may become out of date, and they may move to a different school or college

  • Appealing to the SEND Tribunal

    Appealing to the SEND Tribunal

    The SEND Tribunal is an independent national tribunal which hears parents’ and young people’s appeals against LA decisions about the special educational needs of children and young people

Most read

  • Asking for an EHC needs assessment

    Asking for an EHC needs assessment

  • EHC needs assessments

    EHC needs assessments

    An EHC needs assessment is an assessment of a child or young person’s education, health and care needs

  • Making a request for an EHC needs assessment: Model letter 1

    Making a request for an EHC needs assessment: Model letter 1

  • Model letters

    Model letters

    IPSEA model letters are available to download and amend for your own purposes

  • Advice Line

    Advice Line

    Book an appointment on our Advice Line for legally based information and next step advice on any educational issue that is the result of a child’s special educational needs or disability

  • What happens in an EHC needs assessment

    What happens in an EHC needs assessment

  • Choosing a school/college with an EHC plan

    Choosing a school/college with an EHC plan

  • Contact us

    Contact us

  • The annual review process

    The annual review process

  • Appealing to the SEND Tribunal

    Appealing to the SEND Tribunal

    The SEND Tribunal is an independent national tribunal which hears parents’ and young people’s appeals against LA decisions about the special educational needs of children and young people

How you can help IPSEA

How you can help IPSEA

Have you found the information on our website helpful today? If so, please consider donating! At IPSEA, we rely on your donations and fundraising efforts to help keep our vital services running. Read more

Donate Fundraise

Published: 19th March, 2014

Updated: 11th March, 2020

Author:

Sign up to receive regular email updates from IPSEA

The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Contact us
  • Accessibility
  • Sitemap
  • Privacy policy
  • Complaints policy
  • Login
  • My details
  • Log out

IPSEA is registered charity number 327691
Limited company 2198066

Registered office: IPSEA, 24-26 Gold Street, Saffron Walden, CB10 1EJ