Insights from an EHC Plan Writer: Essential Skills and Qualities Needed To Support SEND Children and Their Families
12 Mar, 20251-2 minutes
In this blog, you will learn:
- The essential skills and key qualities that EHC Plan Writer’s need to ensure children and young people with SEND have the best support.
- The importance of Quality First Teaching (QFT) and collaboration particularly in northern councils.
- How to find and apply for the best EHC Plan Writer jobs.
From a career in healthcare, to multiple roles in the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) sector, we recently spoke with an Education, Health, and Care Plan (EHCP) Writer who has developed the key skills and qualities to ensure children and young people with SEND have the best possible support.
As both an EHC Plan Writer and an EHC Coordinator, this individual plays a crucial role in shaping EHCPs to ensure every child receives the right level of support tailored to their needs. This interview delves into the increasing demand for SEND services, particularly in northern councils, and explores strategies to enhance support.
With a strong emphasis on the importance of the SEND Code of Practice, this conversation highlights the role of Quality First Teaching (QFT) in improving public SEND provisions and ensuring better outcomes for children and young people with SEND.
From supporting families through the EHCP process to tackling funding disparities, this EHC Plan Writer offers valuable insights into the reality of working in SEND in 2025.
Tell us about your career journey so far and your current role
I have a background in healthcare, having studied Biomedical Sciences at university. After leaving university and working within laboratories, I wanted a change. After graduating, I moved into education and took a Graduate Role in a Sixth Form. From there I transitioned into local authorities as an Assistant SEND Caseworker, then a SEND Caseworker and then as an EHC Coordinator.
As an EHC Coordinator, I apply many of the same skills that I used in healthcare. While my current role is more educational, the core principles remain the same as I liaise with other professionals, families and service users to deliver a standard of care.
This requires us to have an understanding of the SEND Code of Practice in order to produce a functional document to aid individuals to succeed. At the end of the day, the caring and communication aspects of the role are much the same.
How has SEND provision changed over the past 12 months, and where do you see it heading in 2025?
It has been interesting discussing changes with my colleagues and friends in the SEND sector and ultimately we all hope for a level of increased clarity for professionals and families. Improving family focus and Alternative Provision access will hopefully alleviate some confusion of the SEND Code Of Practice. I also hope that there is consideration for the constraints local authorities are facing fiscally to deliver SEND provisions.
The 2025 Labour government has introduced several educational and SEND reforms. Do you think Labour will have an impact on the challenges local authorities face?
I am unsure, but I would like to see them take a focus on this. Government support has been lacking in addressing fiscal shortfalls and increasing demand for SEND provision. I think their aims should be to increase the level of support that can be provided by schools within Quality First Teaching (QFT) provisions. This would have an overall positive impact on the number of children that need an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP).
What do you find most fulfilling about your role? Can you share a moment in your role that felt particularly rewarding?
I enjoy seeing things work for families; I had a particular case involving a family that had faced so many setbacks and difficulty with their EHC request and process. This was a Post-16 young person and the parents were very concerned that they would leave education without qualifications as their needs had not been addressed in Pre-16 or an EHCP applied for.
It was very rewarding to help this family through the parental application and encourage them that the EHCP would provide further access to education and the necessary support and level for their child.
What challenges do you believe councils and the SEND sector will face with the new labour government?
I think there is a difficult catch-22 for councils and SEND if demand continues to rise while government support continues to fall. The amount of funding required for continual SEND provision can be large but still entirely necessary for a child.
Local authorities are facing difficulty meeting this and I hope this can be addressed. I have found this to be the case even more in Northern councils. When public funding is much lower for councils than in the south, SEND support and success unfortunately has a large amount of ‘postcode lottery’ implications.
What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced in your SEND career and how did you overcome them?
It can be difficult in the SEND sector as it is fast-paced and the stakes are high. Our service users depend on the 20-week EHC process often to attend school or remain in school; therefore, we have worried parents, and they can be hard to manage.
I like to remember something a manager told me when I have to deal with stressed, angry or even combative parents - ‘They are grieving the loss of the future they had expected’. Having SEND needs can be at times catastrophic on a family, they can only give us their best.
It’s important to remove your own personal feelings as best as you can. It is a frustrating process, and this can make people act very differently than they would otherwise.
How might SEND provision change under Labour’s government and what reforms do you foresee?
I think Labour will have a difficult time focusing on SEND along with the other economic reforms and education concerns that are ongoing. I hope more provision can be made available for schools and local authorities to deliver support.
Services that we depend on; Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), Career services, GPs, Social Care etc, have long since been de-prioritised or simply neglected, and these services need to be bolstered. I believe this will help the SEND sector as we may write and mandate plans, but we rely on services to deliver them and our own services are struggling to do so.
What's the most valuable lesson you’ve learnt in your career so far?
To plan for the week you intend to have and be flexible for the changes that may arise.
What’s your vision for the future of SEND services and what changes would you like to see in 2025?
I would advocate for increased school teaching (to support SEND in a QFT manner) and funding. Schools sometimes submit EHCPs because they struggle to financially provide for children. I think this needs to be addressed and scaled back on a national level before further SEND reform can happen, as it will just continue the problem of oversubscription to SEND services.
What were your experiences of working with Spencer Clarke Group? What are the benefits of using a recruitment agency?
Using Spencer Clarke Group has been so beneficial for my work-life balance by giving me control of the contracts taken and when! It is a great way for EHC Coordinators to gain national experience across various local authorities and to gain more SEND knowledge as we know that everyone does this process slightly differently.
SCG educational psychology report
As specialists in SEND recruitment, we work alongside hundreds of Educational Psychologists throughout the UK and are mindful of the challenges they face in their ever evolving role.
After commissioning our own research from Educational Psychologists in both local authorities and private practice, we published the SCG Educational Psychology Workforce Insights Report 2024.
The report delves into trends within educational psychology, funding and resources, industry challenges, policies and legislation and the future of educational psychology.
Read the SCG Educational Psychology Workforce Insights Report 2024 here.
EHC Plan Writer jobs
If you’re searching for your next EHC Plan Writer job, why not take a look at the latest vacancies, or simply upload your CV to be notified when a relevant position becomes available.
Recruit EHC Plan Writers
As specialist local authority SEND recruiters, we support local authorities nationwide with their temporary, interim and permanent staffing needs.
If you’re struggling to recruit, we have exclusive access to some of the most experienced EHC Plan Writers in the UK.
If you’re struggling to fill a vacancy, why not get in touch with one of our team to see how we can help?
- South of the UK - Richard Shorrock
- Midlands & North of the UK - Adam Zyda
Share your experience
Every individual brings a unique set of experiences, thoughts, and insights to the table. We believe in giving a voice to a community of professionals to inspire positive change and champion reform in the SEND sector.
If you work in the SEND sector and would like to share your own personal and professional experiences, we’d love to hear from you. Perhaps you have a different perspective, could offer a fresh angle, or want to challenge assumptions.
Simply reach out to our Head of Content, Nicole Sherwood, to discuss a collaboration which makes your voice count.
Who is Spencer Clarke Group?
Established in 2017, we’re a vibrant and progressive recruitment agency based in the heart of the North West.
We continually reimagine the recruitment process to challenge convention and defy expectations; from creating a better recruitment experience to remodelling employee engagement, we thrive off doing things differently and turning heads along the way.
We operate in two sectors:
In eleven specialisms:
Healthcare, Social Care & Nursing
Corporate Functions & Business Support
