Understanding outcomes in Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans
A key element of an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan is looking at desired outcomes for the child or young person.
What an outcome is
An outcome is the benefit or difference made to someone as a result of an intervention. For more information, view the SEND code of practice: 0 to 25 years on the GOV.UK website.
Outcomes often start with the words:
- [child's name] will be able to
- [child's name] will
The difference between outcomes and interventions
The intervention, or provision, is the help that will be given to help your child reach their outcomes. For example, 3 hours of speech and language therapy.
An outcome is what the intervention will lead to. For example, the child will have more confidence in communicating with others.
The outcome is that it is intended that the speech and language therapy will help the child or young person to do what they cannot do at the moment. It should be clear when the outcome could be achieved.
The difference between aspirations and outcomes
Section E of the EHC plan is divided into 2 linked areas: aspirations and outcomes.
Aspirations are long-term hopes and dreams. Usually, these will come from the child or young person and your family. They're directly linked to the hopes and aspirations question in Section A of the EHC plan.
The outcome will describe what the child or young person will achieve by the end of the next phase of their education or key stage. Outcomes will help the child or young person achieve their aspirations over the next few years.
For example, an aspiration is that the child will eat a range of foods and have a healthy diet. An outcome is that by the end of the next key stage, the child will eat a range of foods:
- particularly those not dry and crunchy
- at home and in other environments
- twice a day