Professionals across education, health and care have worked alongside the co-chairs of the Devon Parent Carer Forum to agree on a common set of standards about what an EHC plan should be.
This has been informed by the thoughts of parents gathered through the forum and gives us a common set of principles that we are all agreeing to work with and use.
EHC plan charter
A good EHCP will reflect me, my views and my wishes…it will be useful and usable and:
- share my views and focus on my aspirations for the future
- build on my strengths, support that is already there in school, in my community and at home
- will be about my learning, my care and my health
- be used by everyone around me – they will share it, read it, understand it and make sure actions happen
- have other plans underneath it – a school plan with short-term targets that school looks at every term – there may also be a care plan or a health plan as well (these plans can change quickly)
- use simple language and common sense that we can all understand. It will be copied into accessible communication – for example, braille – if needed
What a good EHC plan will describe
Where I am now
It will include:
- the things I am good at and what I find difficult
- any diagnosis or conditions I have
- the important things happening in my life
- how these things impact my life and my learning
Where I want to get to
It will:
- have an eye to the future, where I want to get to next and when I am older
- support conversations about my future education, jobs, and independence as I get older
- have a small set of outcomes that everyone works towards
- include and work towards my aspirations
How I am going to get there
It will describe:
- what will happen to help me make progress; when it happens, how often it happens, who does what and where it happens
- what else I need in school or college or my care and for my health, to help me to feel safe, happy and be ready to learn
A good EHC plan will also check I am on track to get there. It will:
- be reviewed each year by all those who have done and those who are still supporting me
- be amended when big changes happen such as key points in my life, for example, moving to a new school or new needs emerging – it shouldn’t need to be amended every year
- stop when I no longer need the special educational provision