You’ve finally got the plan in your hands, and it runs to pages of lettered sections you’ve never seen before. Section A, all the way down to Section K. Some of it reads like a description of your child. Some of it reads like legal small print.
Those letters aren’t just headings. Each one decides who has to do something, and what you can challenge if it doesn’t happen. Section F is where you’ll spend the most time, because it holds the actual support.
This guide walks through every section of an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), what each one holds, and which ones the law makes someone deliver.
An EHCP runs through eleven lettered sections, A to K, covering your child’s views (A), needs (B), the support that meets them (F) and the named school (I). Section F is the one your local authority (LA) is legally bound to deliver, and you can appeal Sections B, F and I to the SEND Tribunal.
This guide covers England only. EHCPs are created under Part 3 of the Children and Families Act 2014, the law that sets out what a plan must contain and who is responsible for it. Wales and Scotland use different systems.
What does an EHCP actually contain?
An EHCP is split into separate lettered sections, A to K, each covering a different part of your child’s needs, the support for them, and where it happens. The structure is set out in the SEND Code of Practice, the statutory guidance your LA has to follow.
Reading the plan as one long document is exhausting. Reading it section by section is how you check it does its job. So here is the whole map in one place.
A few of these do the heavy lifting. Section B names the needs, Section F sets out the support that meets them, and Section I names the school. Those three are the ones you’ll come back to, because they are the sections the law lets you challenge.
Two things worth knowing. Section J only appears where a personal budget has been requested and agreed, so not every plan has a filled-in J. And Section K is not really about your child at all: it lists the reports and advice the assessment gathered, the educational psychologist’s report, the speech and language advice, all in one place.
Which sections of an EHCP are legally binding?
Not every section carries the same legal weight, and Section F is the one with real teeth. Under section 42(2) of the Children and Families Act 2014, “the local authority must secure the specified special educational provision for the child or young person.”
Read that again. It says the local authority, not the school. If the support in Section F is not happening, the council is the body that has broken a legal duty, and a funding or staffing shortage is not a lawful reason to stop.
Health provision in Section G carries a duty too. The same Act, at section 42(3), says that “if the plan specifies health care provision, the responsible commissioning body must arrange the specified health care provision.” That body is the Integrated Care Board (ICB), the NHS body that commissions local health services.
Social care provision for a child under 18 in Section H1 is also binding, secured by the council under earlier law (section 2 of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970). The other sections set the foundations the binding provision rests on. Your aspirations in A, the needs in B, C and D, and the outcomes in E describe and justify the support, rather than being duties in themselves.
| Section F (education) | Section G (health) | |
|---|---|---|
| Who is responsible | Local authority | Integrated Care Board (NHS) |
| Legal duty | Must secure the provision | Must arrange the provision where specified |
| Legal source | Section 42(2) CFA 2014 | Section 42(3) CFA 2014 |
| Tribunal power | Binding orders | Recommendations only |
So when something in the plan is not happening, the first question is which body the duty belongs to. Education provision points at the council; health provision points at the NHS commissioning body.
Which sections can you appeal to the Tribunal?
You can appeal the education sections of an EHCP to the SEND Tribunal, and those are Sections B, F and I. The guidance is direct about it: the sections “about education” are B, F and I, as set out on the gov.uk EHCP appeal page.
That means you can challenge the description of your child’s needs (B), the support that meets them (F), and the school named (I). These are the sections where the Tribunal can make a binding order the council has to follow.
The health and social care sections (C, D, G and H) work differently. The Tribunal can only make non-binding recommendations about them, and only when you are already appealing one of the education sections too. This comes from the Tribunal’s extended appeal powers, made permanent in 2021, which let it recommend changes to health and care provision as part of an education appeal.
A recommendation is not an order. If the Tribunal recommends a change to Section G or H, the council or NHS body is expected to follow it but is not legally bound to. For the binding sections (B, F, I), a Tribunal order must be followed.
One more rule helps if your fight is only about the school. Normally you have to contact a mediation adviser before you appeal. But where your appeal is only about the school named in Section I, that step is waived. Section 55 of the Children and Families Act 2014 sets out this exemption, so a Section I-only appeal can go straight to the Tribunal.
Why does Section F have to be specific and quantified?
Section F has to be specific, detailed and normally quantified because vague wording cannot be enforced. The SEND Code of Practice says provision should be detailed and specific and should normally be quantified, for example the type, hours and frequency of support and the level of expertise needed.
This is not a style preference. It is the difference between a plan that can be held to and a plan that cannot.
Compare the two ways the same support can be written. One you can measure and enforce. The other you cannot.
| Need | Vague (hard to enforce) | Specific (enforceable) |
|---|---|---|
| Speech therapy | “Regular speech and language therapy” | “Weekly 45-minute sessions delivered by a qualified speech and language therapist” |
| Adult support | “Support from an adult as needed” | “Full-time one-to-one support from a teaching assistant during all lessons” |
| Sensory needs | “Access to a quiet space” | “A designated quiet room for up to three 15-minute breaks a day, on request” |
This goes back to a long-standing legal principle. In L v Clarke and Somerset County Council, the court held that provision must be “so specific and so clear as to leave no room for doubt as to what has been decided is necessary in the individual case.”
If Section F says “regular support,” who decides what counts as regular? The council does, and it can quietly shrink it. If Section F says “45 minutes a week by a qualified therapist,” there is nothing to argue about. Either it happened or it did not.
This is why a strong Section F is your best protection, and why a vague one is worth challenging. When the support is precise, the section 42 duty to deliver it becomes something you can hold the council to.
How do the sections fit together from draft to final plan?
The sections are filled in across the assessment, and the final plan has to be issued within 20 weeks of your request. That 20-week clock is set by the SEND Regulations 2014, and it is the deadline your council has to work to.
The order things happen in matters, because there is a point where your input shapes the plan.
- You request an assessmentThe 20-week clock starts when you ask the council to assess
- The assessment gathers adviceReports come in from the professionals involved, and that advice becomes Section K
- A draft plan is issuedYou receive the draft with Section I left blank so you can name a school preference
- You respond to the draftYou request changes to any section and state your school preference
- The final plan is issuedThe council issues the final plan, which then carries the legal duties
Use the draft stage well. When the draft arrives, Section I (the placement) is deliberately left blank so you can say which school you want. You then have a minimum of 15 days to ask for changes to any section, under the SEND Regulations 2014.
This is your moment to push on Section F. If the support is woolly at draft stage, ask for hours, frequency and who delivers it, before the plan is finalised and harder to shift.
After the final plan is issued, it does not just sit there. It has to be reviewed at least once every 12 months, under section 44 of the Children and Families Act 2014. That annual review is your regular chance to flag a section that has stopped reflecting your child’s needs.
What should you do if a section is vague or missing?
If a section is vague, missing or not being delivered, the route depends on which section it is and what stage you’re at. The first move is almost always the same: get it in writing and be specific about what you want changed.
For the binding education sections, you have real recourse. Here is the order.
- At draft stage, ask in writing for any vague Section F wording to be quantified, and name your school preference for Section I.
- If the final plan still has a weak Section B, F or I, you can appeal those sections to the SEND Tribunal within the appeal deadline.
- If a binding section is not being delivered, that is an enforcement issue, not an appeal. The council owns the section 42 duty on Section F, and a shortage of money or staff is not a lawful excuse.
- At each annual review, raise any section that no longer fits your child, so the plan keeps pace with their needs.
For the health and social care sections, the levers are softer. The Tribunal can recommend changes to C, D, G and H, but only alongside an education appeal, and those recommendations are not binding. Complaints to the NHS body or council, and ultimately the relevant ombudsman, are the main route for those.
If you are not sure whether a section is too vague to enforce, that is exactly the kind of thing the free assistant can help you read. You can also start with our guide to what an EHCP is and whether your child needs one.
Getting help
You don’t have to work out the wording on your own. Several organisations offer free, expert support on EHCPs.
Independent Provider of Special Education Advice (IPSEA) is the leading SEND law charity. It has detailed guides on what each section should contain, how to make provision specific and quantified, and how to appeal. If you bookmark one site, make it this one.
Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information, Advice and Support Service (SENDIASS), coordinated by the Council for Disabled Children, runs in every area. Your local service is free and impartial and can go through your draft plan with you section by section.
Contact supports families of disabled children with a free helpline and plain-English guides covering education, health and social care.
Sources and further reading
Legislation and official guidance
- Children and Families Act 2014, Part 3 (the legal framework for EHCPs)
- Children and Families Act 2014, section 42 (the duty to secure Section F and arrange Section G)
- Children and Families Act 2014, section 44 (the annual review duty)
- Children and Families Act 2014, section 55 (mediation exemption for Section I-only appeals)
- SEND Regulations 2014, regulation 12 (15 days to respond to a draft plan)
- SEND Regulations 2014, regulation 13 (the 20-week deadline for the final plan)
- SEND Code of Practice (statutory guidance on plan content and specificity)
- Appeal an EHC plan decision (the appealable education sections B, F and I)
- SEND Tribunal extended appeals (recommendations on health and social care sections)
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