EHCPs Under Debate: Why We Must Protect the Rights of SEND Learners
The national debate around Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) has grown sharper in recent months. As demand rises and resources stretch, some argue that the system is unsustainable, too bureaucratic, or even open to abuse. But at TCES Group, where we have worked for over two decades with some of the most complex Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), we believe the answer is not to dismantle EHCPs, but to defend, reform, and re-invest in them.
EHCPs are not perfect, but they are essential. For many families, they are the only legally binding route to secure the education, health, and care their children are entitled to. Diluting that protection would risk turning today’s crisis into tomorrow’s catastrophe.
Inclusive by Design, Not by Chance
At TCES, we don’t treat inclusion as an aspiration or a bolt-on policy. It’s the foundation of how our therapeutic education model works. Our learners, including those with the most complex needs, don’t have to fight to be understood here. Their EHCPs are not just documents; they are living roadmaps that help us deliver personalised, therapeutic, and strength-based education every day.
Statutory Rights Are Essential, Not Optional
The current narrative that EHCPs are part of the “problem” overlooks their real value: they are legal safeguards. Without them, too many young people would be left invisible in mainstream settings that cannot or will not meet their needs. Removing or weakening those rights would not ease the strain on the system, it would deepen it.
Fixing the System Without Breaking It
The truth is, parents are not abusing the system. They are holding it together. When families battle for EHCPs, they are not seeking special treatment, they are seeking fair treatment in a system that too often fails them. The real abuse lies in years of underfunding, undertraining, and under-supporting schools and local authorities. The debate we need to have is not about scaling back EHCPs, but about funding them properly and giving schools the resources and training to deliver them.
A Call for Courage and Clarity
At TCES Group, we see the power of EHCPs in action every day. They enable us to provide integrated therapeutic education, empower families to be true partners in their child’s journey, and give young people the chance to thrive where they were once excluded.
EHCPs are not the enemy of efficiency, they are the guarantor of inclusion. As the debate continues, we urge policymakers and sector leaders to remember this: SEND learners are not asking for more than their fair share. They are asking for the rights and opportunities that every child deserves.
Now is the moment to fix the system, not to break it further.
Find out more about TCES here: The Complete Education Solution: We Never Give Up!