Education, health and care (“EHC”) plans can be long and complicated. They are required by law to contain certain sections, and it is important to ensure your EHC plan matches the legal requirements. If it doesn’t, it could make it difficult to enforce.

(If you’re not sure what an EHC plan is, or need advice on how to ask for an EHC plan, click here.)

The 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.

An EHC plan does not have a fixed format – each local authority (“LA”) can develop its own ‘style’ – but legally they must contain a number of separate sections.

You can also use our EHC plan checklist to see whether your EHC plan complies with the law.

What sections should an EHC plan have?

What should be in the sections relating to education (Sections B and F)?

What can I do if I’m not happy about the contents of the EHC plan?