Ceasing an EHCP

Under certain circumstances, an EHCP may need to be ceased. This means the Local Authority (LA) will stop maintaining the provision and the plan will be 'ended'. The LA will no longer be legally responsible for providing any Special Educational Provision that was specified and, if appropriate, support may need to be provided by the Education Setting in line with SEN Support.

When an EHCP is going to be ceased, the LA will first issue a Notice of Intention to Cease to the Parent Carer of a Child, or a Young Person setting out the LA's intention and asking for their views. If the Young Person is 16-years or older, the law states that the LA must get their views directly.

The timeline for this process can be found in the SEND Regulations 2014.

As a Parent Carer of a Young Person, you should prepare for your Young Person to make a decision that you may not agree with. It is important to remember that just because you may not agree with their decision, it does not mean the Young Person is not allowed to make that decision themselves.

The only exception to this is when a Young Person lacks capacity under Section 2 of the Mental Health Act 2005.

An EHCP may be ceased for a wide range of reasons. Some of the most common reasons are:

• A Young Person leaving the country,
• A Young Person leaving education,
• A Young Person turning 25-years old,
• The Special Educational Provision provided by an EHCP no longer being needed.

It is important to note that an EHCP must be ceased at the end of the academic year in which a Young Person turns 25-years old. This is a legal requirement and cannot be challenged.