How to Add Behaviour Support to Your EHCP

When I first learned how Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) actually work, I imagined something neat and tidy — a form, a few meetings, and done. (I was wrong.)

If you’ve ever sat through an EHCP review with too many professionals, a pile of reports, and a blinking cursor on “Section F,” you know it’s not that simple.

Adding behaviour support to an EHCP can feel like asking the universe to please cooperate. The good news: it’s absolutely possible, and it’s your legal right to request it.

Here’s how to make it happen — without needing a law degree, a megaphone, or a nervous breakdown.

Step 1: Understand what “behaviour support” means in EHCP terms

Behaviour support isn’t about “fixing” behaviour — it’s about understanding why behaviour happens, then creating the conditions for success.

Under the SEND Code of Practice (2015), an EHCP should identify a child’s needs and the provision required to meet them. That includes emotional regulation, communication, and environmental factors — all of which are part of behaviour.

So “behaviour support” might look like:

• A Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) plan
• Regular supervision from a behaviour specialist (e.g., BCBA, UKBA(cert), or PBS practitioner)
• Staff training in communication, reinforcement, and de-escalation
• Visual supports, sensory breaks, or structured transitions

In EHCP language, this goes under Section F: Special Educational Provision — the legally binding part of the plan.

Step 2: Gather your evidence

If you want behaviour support written into the plan, you’ll need to show that your child’s current provision isn’t enough.

This might include:

• Reports from school about challenging behaviour or emotional distress
• Notes from speech and language or occupational therapy showing unmet needs
• Records from previous support plans (e.g., SEN Support, Individual Behaviour Plans)
• Data or observations that link behaviour to environmental triggers or communication gaps

You don’t need to frame this as “bad behaviour.” In fact, evidence that shows patterns — “he struggles when routines change” or “she becomes distressed when tasks are too open-ended” — is more powerful than emotional language.

The goal is to demonstrate why coordinated, proactive support is needed.gnosis yet — the key question is “are their needs being met?”

Step 3: Request the right assessments

To get meaningful behaviour support into an EHCP, the local authority needs specialist input.

You can request a behaviour assessment (often as part of the Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment). Depending on the area, this might be done by:

• A Behaviour Analyst, PBS practitioner, or Educational Psychologist trained in functional assessment
• A Speech and Language Therapist (communication and frustration links)
• An Occupational Therapist (sensory regulation links)

If your local authority doesn’t employ a PBS or ABA-trained specialist, you can request they commission one independently. The SEND Code allows for this if it’s necessary to identify and meet the child’s needs.

Step 4: Write the request clearly

Here’s a simple way to phrase it in your parental advice (Section A) or at your next review:

“We request that functional assessment and Positive Behaviour Support be included in [child’s name]’s EHCP to understand the reasons for behaviours of concern and to develop strategies that promote independence, communication, and wellbeing.”

That phrasing keeps it person-centred, positive, and evidence-based — exactly the language local authorities and tribunals prefer.

Step 5: Make the provision specific

The SEND Code says EHCP provision must be specific and quantified — not vague phrases like “access to support.”

Examples of strong wording:
✅ “Weekly input from a behaviour specialist (UKBA(cert) or equivalent) to review and update the Positive Behaviour Support plan.”
✅ “Staff training in reinforcement, prompting, and proactive de-escalation delivered once per term.”
✅ “Visual and environmental supports adjusted following functional assessment.”

Weak wording to avoid:
🚫 “Access to behavioural advice as required.”
🚫 “Support to manage challenging behaviour.”

Specific = enforceable. Vague = optional.

Step 6: Keep the ethical frame front and centre

All behaviour support written into an EHCP should respect dignity, autonomy, and inclusion.

Under the UK Society for Behaviour Analysis (UKSBA) Code of Ethical Conduct, behaviour analysts must:

• Use least restrictive, person-centred methods
• Collaborate with families and multidisciplinary teams
• Prioritise wellbeing, consent, and long-term skill-building

So when you advocate for behaviour support, you’re not asking for something clinical — you’re asking for something humane, proactive, and evidence-based.

As Wolf (1978) put it, social validity is the heart of good behaviour analysis: support should make life better, not just quieter.

Step 7: Review and follow up

Once behaviour support is added to the EHCP, it should be monitored regularly — usually termly or at least annually.

Ask:

• Is the behaviour plan being implemented as written?
• Are staff confident and consistent?
• Has the provision made measurable improvements in wellbeing and participation?

If not, request an early review. The EHCP is a living document — it can and should evolve as your child does.

Key takeaway

Adding behaviour support to an EHCP isn’t about asking for more — it’s about ensuring the right support is in place, consistently and ethically.

You don’t need to “fight the system.” You just need to use its language, backed by compassion and data.

Think of it like cooking (I can’t help myself here) — you don’t need 100 ingredients, just the right ones in the right order.

References

Department for Education. (2015). Special educational needs and disability code of practice: 0 to 25 years. London: DfE.

Taylor, B. A., LeBlanc, L. A., & Nosik, M. R. (2019). Compassionate care in behavior analytic treatment. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 12(4), 808–818. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-019-00313-0

Wolf, M. M. (1978). Social validity: The case for subjective measurement or how applied behavior analysis is finding its heart. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 11(2), 203–214. https://doi.org/10.1901/jaba.1978.11-203