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EHCPs specify the type and quantity of SEN provision a pupil needs, directly informing the staffing required. This guide explains how schools and SEN agencies use EHCP information to match the right SEN staff to pupils with complex needs.
Education, Health and Care Plans are central to identifying and securing the right SEN staffing for pupils with complex needs in London schools. The EHCP specifies the educational provision a pupil needs, including the type, level and any specific qualifications or experience required of the staff who deliver it. Schools and SEN agencies use this information to match workers with the right experience and skills to each pupil’s individual needs. Understanding how to use EHCP information for staffing purposes is an important skill for London SENCOs, heads and school business managers.
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Section F of the EHCP, which covers special educational provision, is the most important section for staffing purposes. It specifies what provision must be made to meet the pupil’s needs as described in Section B. Section F should include: the type of support required (e.g. specialist SEN TA, specialist teacher for autism or speech and language therapist); the quantity of support (e.g. 20 hours per week of 1:1 teaching assistant support); any qualifications or experience required of the staff delivering the support; and the setting in which the provision will be delivered.
When a school needs to source SEN staff to support a pupil with an EHCP, the EHCP’s Section F provides the specification for the role. The school should share the relevant parts of Section F with their SEN agency as part of the booking brief, enabling the agency to match a worker with the appropriate experience and skills. An EHCP that specifies ‘a teaching assistant with experience of autism and the TEACCH approach’ requires a different match from one that specifies ‘a specialist teacher of the deaf with mandatory qualification’.
Before an agency SEN worker begins supporting a pupil with an EHCP, they should be briefed on the relevant aspects of the plan. This does not require sharing the entire EHCP, which contains sensitive personal information, but should include the key outcomes and provision relevant to the worker’s role, the strategies and approaches specified in the plan, any specific communication needs or sensory requirements and relevant risk information. A well-briefed worker can contribute to delivering the EHCP provision effectively from the start of the placement.
Some EHCPs specify provision that requires a worker with specific qualifications, training or experience that not all SEN TAs or teachers will have. Examples include EHCPs specifying AAC-trained support workers, Makaton users, BSL signers, workers trained in specific autism approaches or workers with experience of complex medical needs. Schools should brief agencies specifically on these requirements and should not accept a placement worker who does not meet the specifications in the EHCP, as this may constitute a failure to deliver the provision the local authority is funding.
EHCP annual reviews are the mechanism for updating the plan to reflect changes in the pupil’s needs and the provision required. From a staffing perspective, annual reviews are an opportunity to ensure that the staffing provision specified in the EHCP remains appropriate and aligned with the pupil’s current needs. If a pupil’s needs have changed significantly since the last review, the staffing specification in Section F may need to be updated. Schools should engage meaningfully with the annual review process to ensure that EHCP-specified staffing remains fit for purpose.
In London, there can be a gap between the provision specified in an EHCP and the staffing that is actually available in the market. This is particularly true for specialist roles that require specific qualifications or experience. Where a school cannot source a worker who meets the full specification in the EHCP, they should document their efforts, inform the local authority and work with their SEN agency to identify the closest available match while continuing to seek the specified provision. Allowing an EHCP provision gap to continue unaddressed without notifying the local authority is not appropriate.
For related information see our articles on How to Apply for an EHCP and SEN Statutory Assessment Explained.
The EHCP’s Section F specifies the type, level and any specific skills required for SEN support provision. This directly informs the role specification for the SEN TA or teacher needed to deliver that provision. Schools should share relevant EHCP information with their SEN agency when placing bookings for EHCP-specified provision to enable appropriate candidate matching.
Yes, but selectively. Sharing the relevant provision specifications from Section F with the agency enables better candidate matching without sharing the pupil’s full personal information unnecessarily. The agency does not need the pupil’s name or home address but should know the type of support specified, any required qualifications or experience and the specific strategies or approaches to be used. Data sharing with the agency should be covered by a data processing agreement.
If the agency cannot immediately supply a worker who meets the full EHCP specification, schools should continue working with the agency to identify candidates, document their efforts to source appropriate provision and inform the local authority of the gap. Schools should not accept a worker who does not meet the EHCP specification as a permanent solution without revisiting the provision specification with the local authority.
Visit our SEN London Resource Hub for more guides on EHCP rights, SEN legislation, staffing costs, agency use, Ofsted expectations and borough-by-borough funding variations across the capital.
The information in this article is provided for general guidance only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. Legislation, funding and local authority policies change: always verify current requirements with the relevant authority. SENDhelp Education Limited accepts no responsibility or liability for any loss or damage arising from reliance on this content. Any links to third-party websites are provided for convenience only and do not constitute endorsement of their content.
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