What happens at the end of my child's EHCP?

An EHCP doesn't simply lapse. The council can only stop it after a review, must keep it running while you appeal, and it can continue until the end of the academic year your child turns 25. An EHCP is an Education, Health and Care plan, the legal document that sets out your child's special educational needs and the support they must get. There is no end date written into it, and leaving a school or reaching a birthday does not switch it off.

The only two reasons a plan can be stopped

A council can lawfully cease to maintain a plan in just two situations. The first is where it is no longer responsible for your child, for example because you move to another area. The second is where the plan is no longer necessary, meaning your child no longer needs the special educational provision it sets out. Section 45 of the Children and Families Act 2014 is the source of both, and for a young person over 18 it adds a further test: the council must look at whether the education or training outcomes in the plan have been achieved before deciding it is no longer needed.

The council has to consult you first

A plan is never stopped by a single letter out of the blue. Regulation 31 of the SEN and Disability Regulations 2014 means the council must inform and consult you, your child if they are over 16, and the head or principal of the setting before it ceases a plan. This normally happens through an annual review. If the council then decides to go ahead, it must tell you in writing, explain your right to appeal, and point you to mediation and disagreement resolution.

You can appeal, and the plan keeps running while you do

You have a right to appeal a decision to cease the plan to the First-tier Tribunal (SEND), under section 51 of the Act. This is the protection most pages leave out: the council cannot stop the plan until the time limit for appealing has passed, or, if you do appeal, until your appeal is finally decided. In plain terms, the support and the named placement carry on throughout the process, so nothing vanishes while you are challenging the decision.

What about age 16, 18 and 25?

There is no automatic end at 16, 18 or 19. A plan can be maintained up to the end of the academic year in which your child turns 25, but the Department for Education is clear there is no automatic right to keep it that long and no expectation that everyone stays in education to 25. As IPSEA explains, the council has the power to hold a plan to the end of that academic year (31 July) so a young person can finish their course. The one exception to the appeal rights above is this academic-year-end cessation at 25, which cannot be appealed.

At the final review, the law expects the focus to shift to transition. The review should agree the support your child needs to engage with adult services after leaving education, so the move out of the plan is planned rather than abrupt. When a council can cease to maintain a plan and the council's duties when a young person turns 18 cover the detail of how this works in practice.

What about the proposed reforms?

You may have seen news in 2026 about EHCPs being narrowed. The Schools White Paper and the Education for All Bill propose reserving plans for the most complex needs over the longer term. None of this changes the law now: there are no changes to EHCP support before September 2030, and existing plans and their protections remain in place.