Can I get an EHCP for a child with dyslexia?

Yes. A child with dyslexia can get an EHCP, but only if their needs are too complex for ordinary school SEN Support. There is no diagnosis requirement and no list of qualifying conditions.

The rule: it is about need, not the label

An EHCP (Education, Health and Care Plan) is a legal document that sets out a child's special educational needs and the support they must receive. The law does not grant a plan for a condition or a diagnosis. It turns on whether a child has special educational needs and whether those needs are serious enough that the support cannot reasonably come from the school's own resources, the ordinary help known as SEN Support. A child has special educational needs if they have a learning difficulty that calls for special educational provision, which includes a significantly greater difficulty in learning than most children of the same age (s.20, Children and Families Act 2014). Dyslexia can clearly meet that test, and the British Dyslexia Association confirms it can found a request.

Why "you can't get an EHCP for dyslexia" is wrong

Parents are often told by a school or council that dyslexia "isn't enough" for an EHCP. That misstates the law in two ways. First, there is no diagnosis requirement. You do not need a formal dyslexia diagnosis to ask for an assessment, though a private diagnosis or specialist report is useful evidence. Second, the threshold to assess is deliberately low: the council must assess if it thinks your child may have special educational needs and that it may be necessary for support to be provided through a plan (s.36(8)). Being eligible to be assessed is not the same as being granted a plan, but most children with dyslexia have their needs met through SEN Support, so the question is the level of need, not the name of the condition.

The route: you can ask the council yourself

A parent can request an EHC needs assessment directly from the council, and you do not need the school's agreement (s.36(1)). Write to the council's SEN team, say plainly that you are requesting an EHC needs assessment, and attach school reports, records of the support tried so far, and any specialist or clinic letters you have. Councils frequently refuse to assess, but refusal is not the end of the road. Refusal to assess is the most common type of SEND Tribunal appeal, and IPSEA publishes a free appeal pack. In 2024/25, of the SEND appeals decided at a hearing, around 99% were upheld in favour of families (Tribunal Statistics, 2025).

It is worth knowing the direction of travel. The 2026 Schools White Paper and the proposed Education for All Bill set out plans to introduce a new support plan for every child with SEND and, over the longer term, to narrow EHCPs towards the most complex needs. This is a proposed direction of travel, not current law. No changes take effect before September 2030, and a child with dyslexia applying now is assessed under the rules that apply today.

Two questions worth reading next: do I need a diagnosis to get an EHCP? and what do I do if my EHCP application is refused?

This page is general information, not clinical or legal advice.