{"id":73954,"date":"2026-04-09T10:53:42","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T09:53:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/children-families-education\/?page_id=73954"},"modified":"2026-04-09T10:55:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T09:55:17","slug":"ending-an-ehcp","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/children-families-education\/send-local-offer\/education-health-and-care-plans\/ending-an-ehcp\/","title":{"rendered":"Ending an EHCP"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>An EHCP can stay in place until a child or young person no longer needs it, or until a young person finishes education or training (up to age 25).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When a local authority decides to end an EHCP, this is called &#8216;ceasing to maintain&#8217; the plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If an EHCP is ended, the local authority no longer has a legal duty to make sure the special educational provision written in the plan is delivered. However, an EHCP cannot just stop suddenly. There is a legal process to follow, and the plan usually stays in place for a period of time, especially if you disagree with the decision and appeal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What must happen before an EHCP is ended<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Before making a final decision, we must:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>tell you we are considering ending the EHCP<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>take account of your views, wishes and feelings as well as those of your child<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>consult with your child&#8217;s place of education (if they are attending one)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This usually happens as part of an annual review.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If we decide to go ahead, we must send a formal written letter (often called a &#8216;cease to maintain notice&#8217;). This letter should explain:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>that the EHCP is being ended<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>why the decision has been made<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>which legal reason is being relied on<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>your right to appeal<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>how long you have to appeal<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>If you disagree with the decision to end the EHCP, you can appeal. More information about <a href=\"https:\/\/beta.devon.gov.uk\/children-families-education\/send-local-offer\/education-health-and-care-plans\/disagreeing-with-decisions\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"20397\" rel=\"noopener\">what you can do if you disagree with a decision<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The support in the EHCP continues until the appeal deadline has passed, or if you appeal, until the SEND tribunal makes a decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why an EHCP might come to an end<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>By law, we can only end an EHCP for one of two reasons:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>1. <strong>We are no longer responsible<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This can happen if a young person:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>moves into higher education (such as university)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>starts full\u2011time paid work (not an apprenticeship)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>leaves education or training at 18+ and does not want to return<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>reaches the age of 25<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>moves permanently outside England<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Age alone is not a reason to end an EHCP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>2. <strong>The EHCP is no longer necessary<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This means we believe the child or young person:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>no longer needs the special educational provision in the plan, or<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>(for young people over 18) has achieved their education or training outcomes<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>We must look at evidence, not assumptions, and should consider whether new outcomes are still needed before ending the plan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An EHCP can stay in place until a child or young person no longer needs it, or until a young person finishes education or training [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"parent":20381,"menu_order":21,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-step-content.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-73954","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-16 19:40:31","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/children-families-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/73954","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/children-families-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/children-families-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/children-families-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/children-families-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73954"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/children-families-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/73954\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":73956,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/children-families-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/73954\/revisions\/73956"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/children-families-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20381"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/children-families-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}