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EHCP – What Does ‘Good’ Look Like Guide
Published
The SEND Quality Assurance Lead explains the purpose of the new, co-produced EHCP – What Does ‘Good’ Look Like Guide. It is now available on the Local Offer and can be used as a tool by families to understand the content of an EHCP. This Guide has been published in a flipping book format to support accessibility and useability for all.
The EHCP – What Does ‘Good’ Look Like Guide will not only support the improvement of professional practice within the services that contribute to the Education, Health and Care (EHC) Needs Assessment alongside the Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) Service but will also provide families with a child or young person with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) with information on what they should expect in their EHC plans.
The Graduated Pathway
The Children and Families Act (2014) introduced many changes to support young people in Education with SEND. In Gloucestershire, we have a Graduated Pathway to support all children with additional needs, this includes the MyPlan, MyPlan+ and the Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP).
Most children and young people with additional needs can be supported using a MyPlan or MyPlan+. Schools have a duty to put support in place to make sure children and young people with additional needs have the same learning and development opportunities as their classmates.
Education, Health and Care Plans
When a child's needs are more complex such that the nursery, school, college or setting might need additional resources to support them, a request for an EHC Needs Assessment can be made by the setting or parent carer to see if an EHCP is needed.
Co-production with Gloucestershire Parent Carer Forum
Ensuring the quality of our EHCPs is important to us. This new Guide, which was co-produced with Gloucestershire Parent Carer Forum, is a big step towards our improvement journey in enhancing the quality of EHCPs for children and young people. It will ensure that the professionals involved in producing EHCPs can be confident in knowing what ‘Good’ looks like and have a standard of practice to which to refer.
It should be noted that this Guide is not legal guidance, and professionals should take their own advice if there is anything of which they are unsure. The document will be reviewed and updated in-line with any changes to case law.
To view the Guide and for more information on EHCPs, please visit Support for Families with SEND, Gloucestershire's Local Offer.