Most read, Supporting students, Legislation and policy, Products and services

Achieving the EHCP Golden Thread (PLUS: Exclusive 40% EHCP training discount!)

One of the key ways to ensure that Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) meet statutory requirements and work as functional documents is to achieve the ‘Golden Thread’. In this post we explain what the Golden Thread is, why it is important, and how to check that plans meet this requirement.

Dec 02, 2024

Enhance EHC

Achieving the EHCP Golden Thread (PLUS: Exclusive 40% EHCP training discount!)

Like Be the first to like this

What is the Golden Thread, and why does it matter?

EHC plans should clearly connect the aspirations of the child/young person and their family with the needs identified by assessing professionals, the agreed outcomes and the recommended education, health or social care provision.

This connection between aspirations, needs, outcomes and provision in an EHCP is called the Golden Thread.

The below diagram displays this relationship – between aspirations in Section A, needs in Sections B, C and D, outcomes in Section E and provision in Sections F, G and H – as a two-way continuum:

The following example case demonstrates the importance of these links:

Assessing professionals identified that Jane has NEEDS in relation to her difficulties communicating her basic wants and needs due to delayed speech and language skills.
Jane’s mum also expresses that one of her ASPIRATIONS is for Jane to be able to communicate her needs and wishes in some way.
Therefore, an agreed OUTCOME to meet this need, and to help Jane to achieve her family’s aspiration for her, could be for Jane to be able to use pictures, signs and single words to communicate what she wants, by the end of Key Stage 1.
Assessing professionals could then recommend PROVISION in the form of a speech and language therapy programme designed and reviewed annually by a speech and language therapist, to be delivered to Jane by school staff for 2 hours per week, in order to address this need and meet this outcome.

How to check that your EHC plan has a Golden Thread

The following checklist can be used to ensure that the Golden Thread is present in an EHC plan – you will find that some of these criteria require you to make reverse connections (i.e. work backwards from later sections to ensure full matching up between sections):

Next steps

Would you like to learn more about what makes a good EHC plan? For more guidance, strategies and good practice around plan writing, explore our online CPD accredited EHCP writing courses here.

PLUS: don't miss your exclusive SEND Network 40% discount code for all our EHCP training courses:

SENDNETWORK40

Offer ends Friday 13th December. Cannot be used in conjunction with any other offers.

Enhance EHC

Enhance EHC is the go-to solution for developing better education, health and care plans (EHCPs). We offer specialist EHCP writing services, training and resources to help everyone involved to meet statutory deadlines, improve quality and consistency of plans, and develop their knowledge and skills.

Enhance EHC’s range of EHCP solutions are underpinned by a wealth of experience and specific expertise. Established in 1996, we have produced over 190,000 EHC plans (previously SEN Statements), gained oversight of best practice across the country through our work with over two-thirds of Local Authorities (LAs) in England, and trained hundreds of EHCP writers.

How we help

We have been supporting LAs across England with writing EHCPs (/SEN Statements) since 1996. By providing flexible EHCP writing support, SEND teams are able to better manage variable workloads and dedicate their time to supporting families and working directly with schools and other professionals.

Writing an EHCP is a specialised task that requires specific training. Our EHCP support offerings have therefore grown over the years to include CPD accredited online training courses for a wide range of professionals, including:

LA SEND teams
Schools
SEND support organisations
Individual plan writers
Education/health practitioners involved in EHC Needs Assessments

Courses range from requesting assessments and writing statutory advice, to drafting high-quality EHC plans – all of which are ideal for workforce development, new staff induction, ongoing professional development, and/or retraining for a career in SEND.

We also believe in sharing good practice information and guidance for all involved in the EHCP process, which we do through our various guidance and resources, including EHCP Knowledge Hub articles, educational resource packs and free downloadable guides.