If your child is struggling at school, you will hear two terms over and over: SEN Support and an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). They are not the same thing, and the difference between them is one of the most important things for a parent to understand. Choosing the right route, and knowing when school-level help is no longer enough, can change everything about whether your child gets the support they need. Last updated June 2026.
This guide explains what each one is, how they differ in practice, when SEN Support is genuinely enough, and when you need the legal protection of a plan.
What Is SEN Support?
Special Educational Needs (SEN) Support is the help a school provides for a child with SEN from its own resources, without any statutory plan. It is the first level of support in the system. The school identifies that a child needs more help than usual, puts adjustments and interventions in place, and reviews how they are working. This might include small-group teaching, a teaching assistant for part of the day, adapted work, or a programme designed with advice from a specialist.
SEN Support is a good and important part of the system. Many children are well met at this level and never need anything more. But it has one defining feature that parents must understand: it is not legally binding. The school decides what to provide, and it can change or remove that support without any formal process.
What Is an EHCP?
An EHCP is a legal document issued by the Local Authority (LA) after an Education, Health and Care needs assessment. It sets out the child's needs in detail and, crucially, sets out the provision that must be made to meet them. The local authority has an absolute legal duty to secure the special educational provision named in the plan. To understand the process of getting one, read our guide on how to get an EHCP.
The defining feature of an EHCP is enforceability. The provision in it does not depend on the goodwill of a particular teacher, the size of this year's school budget, or whether a teaching assistant stays in post. It is a legal entitlement, and if it is not delivered the local authority is in breach of its duty.
The Key Differences at a Glance
| Feature | SEN Support | EHCP |
|---|---|---|
| Who provides it | The school, from its own resources | The local authority, by law |
| Legally binding | No | Yes, Section F provision is enforceable |
| Written document | Usually a school support plan, not statutory | A statutory legal plan |
| Can it be removed | Yes, at the school's discretion | Only through a formal legal process, with a right of appeal |
| How to challenge | School complaint procedure | Appeal to the SEND Tribunal |
| Level of need | Met within ordinary school resources | Needs beyond what the school can ordinarily provide |
When SEN Support Is Enough
SEN Support is the right route where a child's needs can genuinely be met from the school's own resources and where the support is working. If your child is making progress, the support is reliable, and the school is responsive, there may be no need to seek a plan. The system is designed so that most children are supported at this level. Pushing for a plan a child does not need is not in anyone's interest.
When You Need an EHCP
An EHCP becomes the right route when the gap between what a child needs and what the school can provide is too wide to close at the SEN Support level. Consider it where your child's needs are significant or long-term, where SEN Support has been tried and is not meeting their needs, where the support keeps vanishing when staff change or budgets tighten, or where your child needs more help than the school can fund from its own resources.
The clearest sign is when the support a child needs must be guaranteed rather than hoped for. If your child's progress, wellbeing or safety depends on a level of provision that cannot be left to the school's discretion, the enforceability of an EHCP is the protection you are looking for. You do not have to exhaust SEN Support first, although evidence that it has been tried and is not enough strengthens a request. To check whether your child meets the threshold, read do I qualify for an EHCP.
If SEN Support is not enough, an EHCP makes the right support legally guaranteed. Generate a tailored request for your child.
Generate your EHCP request letterA Common Trap: "Try SEN Support First"
Many parents are told they cannot apply for an EHCP until they have tried SEN Support for a set period, often a year or two. This is not the law. The legal test for a needs assessment is whether the child may have SEN that require provision beyond what is ordinarily available, not whether a particular sequence of steps has been completed. A blanket "try SEN Support first" policy is unlawful as a reason to refuse to assess. If you face this argument, our guide on when the school says no to an EHCP explains how to respond.
How EHCP Expert Helps
EHCP Expert helps you work out which route fits your child, and if it is a plan you need, it builds the case. It frames your child's needs in the language local authorities and the SEND Tribunal expect, shows where SEN Support has not been enough, and generates a request letter citing the relevant references including the Children and Families Act 2014, the SEND Regulations 2014 and the SEND Code of Practice 2015. If the local authority refuses, see what to do if your EHCP is refused.
Your child's support should not depend on this year's budget. Find out whether a plan is the right next step.