Glossary
EHC plan
Education, Health and Care plan
A legal document describing a young person's special educational needs and the provision required to meet them.
In full
An Education, Health and Care plan sets out a young person's needs and the provision that must be made. It is maintained by the local authority.
For funding, it is significant both because it can extend 16 to 19 eligibility to students aged 19 to 24 on 31 August, and because it evidences the needs behind a high needs placement.
It does not by itself make a student high needs: that also needs additional support costing more than £6,000 and a local authority top-up. It is recorded in the ILR with the EHC flag, separately from the HNS flag.
Where this comes up
diagnostic
The learner is not able to be funded for a level 7 apprenticeship because they are either over 21 or are under 25 and are not an apprentice care leaver or have an EHC plan.
For level 7 apprenticeship standard programmes starting on or after 1 January 2026, then the learner must be 16-21 at the start of the aim or be an apprentice care leaver and be under 25 years old at the start of the aim or have an 'Education health care plan' and be under 25 years old at the start of the aim.
diagnostic
The learner is recorded as exempt from English GCSE condition of funding due to a learning difficulty but there is no Education health care plan recorded
If the learner is exempt from English GCSE condition of funding due to learning difficulties or disabilities, they must have an Education health care plan (EHC plan)
diagnostic
The learner is recorded as exempt from maths GCSE condition of funding due to a learning difficulty but there is no Education health care plan recorded
If the learner is exempt from maths GCSE condition of funding due to learning difficulties or disabilities, they must have an Education health care plan (EHC plan)
diagnostic
The learner must not have both a FAM type of SEN and EHC
If a Learner FAM Type of Special Educational Needs (SEN) is recorded, the learner must not have a record of FAM type EHC as well
diagnostic
There must not be more than one record with a FAM type of HNS, EHC, DLA, SEN, MCF, ECF, FME, MMH, or EMH
If the FAM type is HNS, EHC, DLA, SEN, MCF, ECF, FME, MMH, or EMH there must only be one occurrence of this in the learner record
scenario
A learner's age puts them in the wrong stream
Whether a learner is funded through 16 to 19 funding or the Adult Skills Fund depends on their age on 31 August in the funding year, not their age at the start of the aim, and from 19 on whether they are continuing a programme they began aged 16 to 18. A date of birth error moves them.