The short answer
Most duties continue: the local authority keeps the EHC plan after 18 - potentially to the end of the academic year the young person turns 25 - while adult social care provides its care element from 18. Turning 18 is not a cut-off. The plan does not end on the birthday, and it does not end simply because the young person is 19 or over. Two things do change at 18, and they are the part of the question that actually matters: who holds the right to make decisions, and which service provides care.
What does not change
The council may continue to maintain a plan until the end of the academic year in which the young person reaches 25 (Children and Families Act 2014, s.46). It must not stop maintaining the plan just because of age. When it decides whether a young person aged over 18 no longer needs the special educational provision in the plan, it has to have regard to whether the educational or training outcomes in the plan have been achieved (s.45(3)). Age alone is never a lawful ground to cease.
What changes at 18
Two duties bite specifically at this point. First, the young person is now legally an adult, so the council deals directly with them, not the parent - subject to mental capacity under the Mental Capacity Act 2005. (In practice the right to make EHC decisions already transfers to the young person at the end of compulsory school age; turning 18 reinforces it.) Second, the care element moves from children’s services to adult social care under the Care Act 2014. The adult care-and-support plan now forms the care part of the EHC plan, and the council’s earlier transition assessment should have prepared for this.
Where the duties sit: before and after 18
| Duty | Before 18 | From 18 |
|---|---|---|
| EHC plan | Maintained; education duties apply | Continues - can run to end of academic year young person turns 25 (s.46) |
| Decision-maker | Young person (post-16) or parent | Young person, subject to Mental Capacity Act 2005 |
| Care element | Children’s social care | Adult social care, Care Act 2014 |
| Ceasing the plan | Only on lawful grounds (s.45) | Same - and not on age alone; have regard to outcomes (s.45(3)) |
Why this matters for officers
The common error is closing a plan at 18 or 19 on the assumption that adulthood ends the duty. It does not. The Care Act transition route is the bridge: where a child is likely to have needs for care and support after turning 18, the council must carry out a child’s needs assessment where it would be of significant benefit and the consent condition is met (Care Act 2014, s.58). That assessment is what lets adult care and support be in place on day one of adulthood rather than after a gap.
The 2026 Schools White Paper and the proposed Education for All Bill float Individual Support Plans and narrowing EHC plans to the most complex needs by 2035. None of that takes effect before September 2030, and current plan holders are protected, so the duties above are the law for this cohort.
- See also when a council can cease to maintain a plan, the duty to maintain an EHC plan, and the duty at an annual review.
Where the law comes from
Related
This page is general information, not clinical or legal advice.