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Needs assessments for education, health and care plans

Education, health and care (EHC) plans were created in 2014 alongside the updated SEND Code of Practice, 2015 to provide funding and specific support to assist individuals with educational and health needs which impact their learning.

EHC plans are legal documents outlining and providing the necessary extra resources or provisions for children and young people to achieve their learning.

At HSR Psychology our specialist team can help support all involved in the EHC plan process and facilitate everyone working together for the benefit of the child or young person.

What is an education, health and care plan?

EHC plans combine the knowledge and experience of professionals in relation to an individual child or young person.

The purpose of an EHC plan is to make special educational provision to meet the special educational needs of the child or young person, to secure the best possible outcomes for them across education, health and social care and, as they get older, prepare them for adulthood. To achieve this, local authorities use the information from the assessment to:

  • Establish and record the views, interests and aspirations of the parents and child or young person
  • Provide a full description of the child or young person’s special educational needs and any health and social care needs
  • Establish outcomes across education, health and social care based on the child or young person’s needs and aspirations
  • Specify the provision required and how education, health and care services will work together to meet the child or young person’s needs and support the achievement of the agreed outcomes

SEND code of practice (2015)

We take a student-centred approach and include the student’s voice in addition to their parents’, carers’ view and school’s opinions. Involving the individual keeps the focus on the child or young person. An EHC plan will advise on support required for the individual student and we are here to provide advice and services when you need. Through our team simplifying the application, you will be able to fulfil other responsibilities.

EHC plans should be forward-looking documents that help raise aspirations and outline the provision required to meet assessed needs to support the child or young person in achieving their ambitions.

SEND code of practice (2015)

How to decide whether to apply for an education, health and care plan application?

As part of our transparent service we will provide you with independent advice on whether a child or young person’s needs are at a sufficient level to consider applying for an EHC plan. We may have this discussion before or after an assessment, depending on the individual’s identified needs and information from previous reports and interventions.

Free initial discussion

We provide free initial discussions to education settings as part of our cost effective service. Specific services may be discussed in order to provide an accurate for our specialist psychological input.

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Exceeding your notional SEND budget

In addition to the level of need identified through assessments, it is necessary to work out the amount of money an education setting is spending on the individual in a year. If the cost an education setting has to spend in order to meet an individual’s needs through provision exceeds the notional SEND budget then it may be worth considering a psychological assessment to identify an individual’s needs, which may then be used towards an application for an EHC plan. Interventions, external services, specialist services and equipment, dedicated teaching assistant time and training are all services which would help to meet an individual’s needs.

Case managers we work with

We have experience working with lots of case managers, including:

What are the sections of an education, health and care plan?

The exact format of EHC plans may vary between local authorities, although they all contain the same sections.

Section A: All about the child or young person

Section A includes aspirations of the child, young person and parents for the future. Details of the child or young person’s background and current situation, a summary of how best to communicate with the child or young person.



Section B: Summary of special educational needs

Section B includes all of the child or young person’s identified special educational needs.



Section C: Summary of health needs

Section C includes all health needs relating to the child or young person’s special educational needs. Other health needs may be included only if they could need managing within a special education setting.



Section D: Summary of social care

Section D includes any social care needs relating to a child or young person’s special educational needs which require provision. Social care needs unrelated to a special educational need may be included, such as a child protection plan in order to facilitate co-ordination between services.



Section E: Outcomes, long-term goals

Section E includes a selection of outcomes related to education, health and social care. When education and training outcomes are achieved (over the age of 18) then the EHC plan may stop. Outcomes should be related to a child or young person’s aspirations.



Section F: Education provision

Section F includes specific details of the provision needed in order to achieve the chosen outcomes. Each special educational need identified in Section B should have specific provision.



Section G: Health provision

Section G includes specific details of the provision needed to achieve the chosen outcomes related to health needs.



Section H: Social care provision

Section H includes specific details of the provision needed to achieve the chosen outcomes related to social care needs. Social care provision can relate to services provided directly to adults around the child or young person.



Section I: Education placement

Section I includes details about the education setting which the child or young person attends, or will attend in the future. The type of setting and the name should be in this section.



Section J: Personal budget

Section J includes specific information relating to a personal budget used to support any provision mentioned in the plan, including the needs and outcomes to be met by the personal budget.



Section K: Advice and information

All advice and information received during the needs assessment will be included.




How do we help with the application process?

The application process for an EHC plan can be a stressful and frustrating time for all involved. Our specialist psychologists are here to help during the application process in many ways, including:

Speed

We provide immediate access to our specialist team of educational and child psychologists who are committed to producing accurate and EHC reports following a needs assessment.

Benefit the child or young person

Through our child-centred and needs-led holistic approach we ensure that the child or young person remains at the centre of any recommendations to support their needs. Support provided by our specialists can extend beyond the statutory requirement of the EHC plan application through interventions or training to support the child or young person’s mental health and wellbeing alongside their educational and physical needs.

Decrease stress

Our educational and child psychologists work proactively to decrease the stress for all involved in the EHC plan application process. Applications for EHC plans can be very stressful, and through efficient planning our specialist team intend to make our input as streamlined as possible. Part of the stress during the application process can come from not knowing how best to meet an individual’s needs without additional resources. Our psychologists are able to provide a needs assessment to identify needs and offer advice, training and other services relating to meeting needs throughout the process.

Realistic recommendations

Our educational and child psychologist assessments will take place around your timetable and will make realistic recommendations during the EHC plan process. Using realistic recommendations and SMART objectives to underpin the EHC plan increases the possibility of the plan being accepted when a child or young person has needs which require excess funding to meet. To receive an EHC plan it is necessary for an educational and child psychologist to provide psychological advice and information.

Joined-up approach

To provide a comprehensive and effective service, we work with your education setting and other professionals during the needs assessment for an EHC plan and application process.

The local authority must gather advice from relevant professionals about the child or young person’s education, health and care needs, desired outcomes and special educational, health and care provision that may be required to meet identified needs and achieve desired outcomes.

In seeking advice and information, the local authority should consider with professionals what advice they can contribute to ensure the assessment covers all the relevant education, health and care needs of the child or young person. Advice and information must be sought as follows:

Psychological advice and information from an educational psychologist who should normally be employed or commissioned by the local authority. The educational psychologist should consult any other psychologists known to be involved with the child or young person

SEND code of practice (2015)

Which assessments do we use?

Educational and child psychologists are one of the few professions who are able to carry out cognitive assessments. Cognitive assessments provide detailed information relating to an individual’s learning capacity, including strengths and difficulties.

EHC plans are unique for each child and young person, meaning the needs assessments used vary according to areas of need. The SEND code of practice (2015) categorises the four main areas of need as: cognition and learning; speech, language and communication; physical and sensory; and social emotional and mental health. A thorough understanding of the individual’s needs and background guides the choice of assessments. Our specialist psychologists are able to carry out assessments for each of the four main areas of need.

Who is suitable for an education, health and care plan?

Referrals for an EHC plan usually happen when a pupil in primary or secondary school has not made expected progress despite receiving approximately £6,000 in extra resources in a year in order to fulfil their academic potential due to an underlying condition or difficulty. Additional resources usually include one-one teaching assistants, specialist teaching, equipment, or specialist services.

Where, despite the setting having taken relevant and purposeful action to identify, assess and meet the special educational needs of the child, the child has not made expected progress, the setting should consider requesting an Education, Health and Care needs assessment.

SEND code of practice (2015)

Free initial discussion

We provide free initial discussions to education settings as part of our cost effective service. Specific services may be discussed in order to provide an accurate for our specialist psychological input.

Book now


Needs assessment for an EHC plan

One of our educational psychologists carrying out a cognitive assessment as part of a needs assessment for an education, health and care (EHC) plan



EHC plans are suitable in all education settings including: early years settings, primary schools, secondary schools, pupil referral units, specialist schools and post-16 education settings.

What are the benefits of a needs assessment for an education, health and care plan?

Needs assessments for EHC plans have many benefits for the student, the education setting and the student’s parents or carers, including:

The positive of using our independent educational and child psychologists is that we are available for swift assessments.

What happens prior to a needs assessment for an education, health and care plan?

Prior to a needs assessment for an EHC plan the education setting would have put a graduated approach in place. A graduated approach would usually involve quality first teaching, interventions and group work. Throughout the graduated approach at least one cycle of ‘assess, plan, do, review’ will take place to evaluate the impact of the measures put in place. More measures may be added to existing provision and then a further cycle of ‘assess, plan, do, review’ would take place. If schools feel as though they cannot provide for the student with their available resources and find themselves spending, usually, more than £6,000 trying to meet the needs of an individual child then a needs assessment for an EHC plan would be useful. Each child applying for an EHC plan will require an assessment by an educational psychologist.

How do I refer to HSR Psychology for a needs assessment for an education, health and care plan?

You can contact us by email or phone to discuss your needs and how we can help you. Our referral process is simple and can be done online or over the phone. Gathering relevant background information through the referral allows us to maximise our input through choosing appropriate assessments and discussing the next steps with you.

The referrer will need to have background information related to the student’s learning or medical history, including any previous reports or interventions if applicable. Having a robust background will help during the application process.

What happens during a needs assessment for an education, health and care plan application?

The educational psychologist assessment done as part of the needs assessment for an EHC plan will usually involve the student completing a number of activities, puzzles and questions. Observations may also be used within the needs assessment process, especially with younger children or students with low language abilities.

During the assessment and planning process we will:

We provide immediate access to our team of educational and child psychologists. Our psychologists are efficient, and take a proactive approach in order to speed up the process on their behalf where possible.

What happens after a needs assessment for an education, health and care plan?

After an assessment for an EHC plan we will feedback our findings from the assessment and discuss possible next steps with you. Following the assessment and our findings, you will be able to make an informed decision as to whether you will continue with the EHC plan application. Our team of psychologists are available to attend meetings to present the information they found in addition to review meetings to discuss any progress which may have been made. If you choose to continue with the EHC plan application we will help you in explaining the draft and final EHC plans to the relevant people during the 15 calendar days available to review. Discussing the draft and final plans could prevent unnecessary tribunals or further legal action.

Does a needs assessment for an education, health and care plan come with a report?

Each needs assessment for an EHC plan will come with a report which can be used towards the application for an EHC plan. The report will be written in the appropriate style and contain all of the relevant information.

How much does a needs assessment for an education, health and care plan cost?

There are many variables to consider when costing an EHC plan, which will be discussed, along with a quote, during an initial discussion. The report is included in the final price of a needs assessment for an EHC plan.

EHC plans are the combination of input from multiple professionals, including the education setting. The process of receiving an EHC plan can be long, which is why we offer a supportive service with many benefits to guide you through, including interim support.


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