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Comparison

PEP vs EHCP — why your child may need both

A PEP and an EHCP are not the same thing, and one does not replace the other. Children in care can — and often should — have both. Here’s the difference, in plain language.

The short version

PEP

Describes the support being given.

A planning document. Useful, reviewed every 6 months, funded by Pupil Premium Plus. But it is not legally binding on the school or the LA.

EHCP

Legally forces the LA to provide what’s written in Section F.

A statutory plan under the Children and Families Act 2014. If the support in Section F is not delivered, you have legal remedies (complaint, judicial review, Tribunal).

Why a child in care might need both

The PEP captures the bigger picture of a child’s education in care — attendance, attainment, PP+ spending, transitions. The EHCP captures the specific special educational, health and care provision they have a legal right to.

If your child has — or might have — special educational needs, the PEP on its own is not enough. A new social worker, a new Designated Teacher, or a placement move can quietly unwind everything written in a PEP. An EHCP is much harder to lose.

When to request an EHCP needs assessment alongside the PEP

You should consider requesting an EHCP needs assessment if any of these apply:

  • The child is significantly behind peers academically and progress is slow.
  • They have a diagnosis (autism, ADHD, FASD, attachment difficulties, etc.).
  • They have been excluded, are on a reduced timetable, or are out of school.
  • Their behaviour at school is described as “dysregulation” or “trauma response”.
  • The school is using PP+ to pay for what looks like SEND provision.
  • A transition is coming (primary→secondary, Year 11→post-16).

You can ask the Virtual School Head, the social worker, the school, or you can submit the request yourself — see who can request what.

Trauma can mask — or be confused with — SEND

Many children in care have lived through trauma. Trauma changes how the brain develops: attention, memory, emotional regulation and social skills can all be affected. These look a lot like the things schools describe as SEND.

The risk goes both ways. Sometimes a genuine, lifelong special educational need (such as autism or a learning difficulty) is dismissed as “just behaviour” or “just attachment”. Other times a child’s trauma response is labelled as SEND when what they actually need is therapeutic support.

A good EHCP needs assessment looks at both. Push for assessments from an Educational Psychologist and a clinician who understands developmental trauma, and ask that both sets of needs are written into Section B (needs) and met in Section F (provision).