If school is not following an EHCP

This information applies to England.

An Education, Health and Care Plan, also called an EHCP or EHC Plan, is a legal document. This means that legally your local authority must provide the provision agreed in your child’s plan.

Special educational provision:

• ‘educates or trains’ your child
• and is additional to or different from the educational offer to others of the same age

Wales has a different process to England

Wales has Individual Development Plans (IDP), reviewed at least once a year.

Individual Development Plan (SNAP Cymru)

Local authorities must provide support in EHCPs

Legally, schools and local authorities must provide the support in your child’s EHC plan, even if your child is not at school.

If your local authority says that they cannot do this, contact your local parent support service for help.

Your child’s legal right to support

The local authority is legally responsible for making sure your child gets the support set out in the EHC plan. The school should follow what’s set out in section F of the plan.

What’s set out in section F of the EHCP (Independent Provider of Special Education Advice, IPSEA)

The local authority will have consulted the school on your child’s EHC plan, including:

• what resources the school can provide 
• any external expertise that’s needed 
• what additional funding the school might need  

If you think your child is not getting some of the support in the EHC plan, talk to your child’s Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) about it first.

Talking to the SENCO

It can be helpful to understand how the school is supporting your child. Some parents think the school is not following the EHC plan because of the way they’re using the provision.

How a school decides to use provision will depend on what’s described in the EHC plan and how specific it is.

If the EHCP says that the speech and language therapy support is ‘direct’, this would mean the work must be with your child and not used for other purposes.

If you’re not sure how the school is using your child’s provision, meet the SENCO to:

• ask how the school is allocating the provision 
• talk about how they’re using the EHC plan funding 
• ask how the school is using its wider resources to support your child
• work together to find the best way to use the provision 

You could also ask for this information in writing.

Asking for an informal review

You can ask for an informal review to talk about the EHC plan and your child’s progress. This could involve teachers and anyone working with your child.

You could ask for a meeting because:

• your child is not progressing as expected 
• you’re worried the school is not following your child’s EHC plan 
• you’re not sure how the school is delivering the support 
• there are problems with health or social care providers, such as physios or speech and language therapists, at the school 
• you want to talk about any team changes and who will be supporting your child

Be clear about what you think is not working. If you can, work with the school to understand:

• what provision and funding is in place 
• how they are following the EHC plan 
• what needs to change 

If there’s a bigger problem, like something the SENCO cannot deal with or a problem with the school, you might want to involve your SEN officer or caseworker from the local authority. Their contact details should be on your child’s EHCP paperwork.

If the school says there’s a budget problem

The EHC plan outlines funding for all SEN provision outside what is normally available to the child at their school. The plan should have enough support to meet your child’s needs.

If your child’s needs have changed or the school says they need more budget to support your child, they should seek support from the local authority. The school can ask for an early annual review.

Annual reviews only look at changes to the plan. You also have the right to ask for an early annual review if you are facing problems with the school saying they do not have enough funding.

Ask for an EHCP review

If you are concerned the school is not using the money in the right way, contact your local authority SEN officer or your point of contact on the EHC plan. 

Health and social care support

The local authority is legally responsible for making sure health and social care support is provided. For example, physiotherapy or occupational therapy. The local authority will also need to make sure there’s cover for things like sick leave.

Your school may be able to provide some support internally. For example if they have a speech and language therapist. Talk to the SENCO about who will provide the support and where it will happen. 

If you or the school is having trouble getting the services from a health agency such as the NHS, it’s good to talk to the SENCO first.

Then contact your local authority SEN officer or caseworker. The local authority is legally responsible for making sure your child has support.  

If your child is still not getting the support, follow your local authority’s complaints procedure. 

Find your local authority (GOV.UK).

Complaining to the school or local authority

If you feel that the school is still not following the EHC plan after a meeting with your SENCO or they do not resolve any problems you raised, talk to someone from the senior management team. For example, the assistant head teacher or head teacher.

If the school still fails to follow the EHCP, contact your local authority to make a complaint. IPSEA (Independent Provider of Special Education Advice) has a template letter you can use.

Enforcing your EHC plan (IPSEA)

In your complaint, be specific about what you want to happen. For example:

• people doing things they said they would in the last meeting, with the date and what they said
• doing things before legal deadlines
• why your child needs an emergency review

If you do not know what the next step should be, say that.

SEN code of practice and EHC plan parents guide

You can check the school and local authority responsibilities in the:

SEN code of practice (GOV.UK)

Government SEND guide for parents and carers

Disagreement resolution service

If you cannot come to a solution with the school or local authority, ask to see your local disagreement resolution service. This can help you deal with any disagreements between you and the education or health and social care organisations.

The service can also help with disagreements between local authorities and health organisations, like the NHS.

Maintaining your relationship with the school

Dealing with problems with your child’s support can be hard. But it’s helpful to maintain a good relationship with your child’s school and keep communication open. You’ll probably work with them for a few years.

To help maintain this relationship, you can:

• identify who your main contact is at the school. Is there a single SENCO or different ones for each key stage?
• ask the SENCO for the best way to contact them, such as email, and check how you can reach them if it’s urgent
• find out the SENCO’s availability for meetings or chats that suit you both
• get support from the SEN parent information service provided by the local authority

Meetings can also be more open and productive if you:

• are clear about the purpose of a meeting and who you want there 
• write down any problems you have and what you want to achieve from the meeting before you go 
• agree how long meetings will be to make sure everyone is available for the same amount of time 
• ask how meetings are going to be recorded or who is going to take the minutes 
• take someone with you for support or to take notes, such as your partner, family, friend or even someone from the parent information service 
• set a date and time for follow-up meetings, such as in 6 weeks, to check that people are doing what they said they would 
• keep copies of all your records, documents and communications with everyone involved

Parent Information Service

Your local authority must publish all services available to support disabled children and their families in your area. This is called a Local Offer. It covers education, health and social care services.

By law, every Local Offer should have a parent information service. They can give you independent advice and support about your child’s EHC plan. While it’s funded by the local authority, the service is there to help parents understand the local system and give impartial advice. They will know the different services and processes involved as well as how the local authority and school manage extra support. They should be able to help you with any problems.

The service may have a different name depending on your area. They’re sometimes called:

• Parent Partnership 
• Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information Advice and Support Service (SENDIASS)
• Information Advice and Support Service (IASS)

Find your local Information Advice and Support Service (Council for Disabled Children)

Where to find more EHCP support

IPSEA also has guidance on EHC plans, including letter templates and legal advice.

If you have questions you can:

• ask questions in the parents and carers group of Scope’s online community
• call the IPSEA helpline

Your local authority should also have an independent advice service for parents. They have different names, for example:

• parent partnership
• advice and support service

Contact your local authority to find your Local Offer (GOV.UK)

Support outside school

If your child receives Disability Living Allowance, ask social services to refer your child for short breaks. For example:

• soft play sessions
• trips to the cinema
• play schemes

If your child has complex needs or you need respite care, ask social services if they offer a care package. If you have a named social worker, you should also talk to them. A social worker would assess you.

You could find out if there is a:

• charity specific to your child’s needs
• local online group or page for parents of children with special educational needs
• parent or carer forum run by your local authority