Parents, Power and Partnership: A Qualitative Study of Family Experiences of the Education, Health and Care Plan Process

The Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) was introduced in the Special Educational Needs and Disability policy reforms of 2014/2015 in England to replace the Statement of Special Educational Needs. The EHCP process sees information on a child or young person’s educational, healthcare and social care needs brought together, and aspirations and outcomes created for them, alongside a support plan. Designed to be a collaborative and co-produced document, the EHCP should outline exactly what support the child or young person needs to work towards their aspirations, who provides this support, and what form this support will take. Families should be supported by professionals and schools to play a key role in the process and be involved in the decision-making, with children and young people’s voices central to the plan being created.

This research project used a qualitative case study methodology to explore the experiences of families in the process of creating the EHCP and how well they felt the plan represented their child and their views. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 12 participants across England, 11 parents and 1 young person. An advisory group made up of parents and a young person with lived experience of the EHCP process co-produced the research to ensure the project focused on areas of importance, with discussions continuing around methodological elements, the findings and conclusions.

The findings showed that families have varying levels of involvement in the EHCP process, parents were more likely to be involved than children and young people, who were not found to have experienced meaningful engagement with the process. Families did not feel that their EHCP reflected their child appropriately at most stages of the process, with factual errors, deficit representations and a lack of clarity in the written outcomes. Families also reported difficulties with being listened to or included by professionals during the process.

A discussion of the findings using post-structural theories with elements of rights-based perspectives considered the power relations within the EHCP process, where families had experienced marginalising discourses, and how the EHCP process and plan operate as agents of surveillance and governmentality.

Recommendations for policy makers include focusing on meaningfully implementing the policy reforms, moving away from narratives of parent blame and providing appropriate, ring-fenced funding for local authorities to deliver the support outlined in EHCPs. Recommendations for local authorities and practitioners include focusing on creating true co-production and partnership with children, young people and their parents.