Not automatically. An EHC plan can continue up to age 25, but only while education or training is still needed; the council can lawfully end it once your child's plan outcomes are met, even before 25.
What the rule actually says
“Until 25” is a ceiling, not a promise. A council has the power to keep an EHC plan going up to and including the end of the academic year in which your child turns 25, but it is not obliged to. The plan stays in place only for as long as your child still needs the special educational provision it sets out. The Department for Education is clear that there is no automatic entitlement to support at 19 and no expectation that everyone with a plan stays in education to 25.
When the council can end the plan
The council can decide to stop maintaining the plan when it is no longer necessary, and for a young person over 18 it must look at whether the education or training outcomes written into the plan have been achieved (section 45 of the Children and Families Act 2014). That can happen at 19, 20 or any point, not just at 25. Two boundary rules matter:
- EHC plans do not cover university or other higher education. Once your child moves to a Level 4 course, the plan ends and Disabled Students' Allowance becomes the route for support instead.
- The plan cannot simply lapse if a course ends early. If your 18-plus child leaves a course before finishing, the council must not cease the plan without first holding a review.
What you can do about a decision to cease
A decision to stop the plan is appealable. If the council tells you it intends to cease, you have the right to challenge that at the SEND Tribunal, and the plan must stay in place while the appeal runs. Guidance says support should usually continue to the end of the academic year so a young person can finish their study, rather than being pulled mid-course.
One thing on the horizon worth noting: the 2026 Schools White Paper and the Education for All Bill propose reshaping EHC plans over the longer term, but no changes take effect before September 2030 and existing plan holders are protected, so the 19-to-25 rules above are current law today.
Where the law comes from
Related
This page is general information, not clinical or legal advice.