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An EHCP is a legal document that places duties on an English local authority to deliver specified provision and on a named English school to honour it. Those duties are jurisdictional. Once your child enrols at an international school outside England, including in Scotland or Wales which use different SEN frameworks, the local authority is no longer responsible.

The plan itself does not vanish. It can be paused under most authorities while the child is overseas and reinstated on return if your circumstances and the child's needs still warrant it. But the plan does not bind the international school. A private international school is, in every jurisdiction we are aware of, free to negotiate the level of SEN provision it offers and to charge for it accordingly.

This sounds harsh, and in budget terms it can be. Practically, it changes who you are negotiating with. Rather than petitioning a local authority for funded provision, you are negotiating with a school admissions team for a service package. The strongest international schools will be transparent about what they can and cannot offer. Read our wider SEN support at international schools picture for context.

The shift in posture matters. In the EHCP world, parents are often in an adversarial relationship with the funding authority, fighting line by line for provision. In the international school world, the dynamic is closer to a service negotiation. That can feel disorientating after years of tribunal style engagement. The skill set parents need is different, more procurement, less litigation, and the strongest international school SEN coordinators recognise this and adjust their language accordingly.

Some British style schools overseas, particularly those operating as a campus of a UK independent school, will go further than the local norm in honouring the spirit of an EHCP. They are not legally required to, but the institutional culture often pushes them that way. Ask explicitly during admissions whether the school has experience with EHCPs and how it has handled them in the past two academic years.

The EHCP as a SEN documentation file

Stripped of its legal force, the EHCP is still one of the most useful SEN documents you can hand to an international school. It contains a recent needs assessment from a qualified professional, often more than one. It sets out provision that has been tested. It includes parent and child views. It captures targets and outcomes. It is structured.

Most reputable international school SEN coordinators will read it cover to cover. Many will use it as the starting point for their own setting-specific plan, often called an Individual Education Plan or an Individual Learning Plan. Where additional clinical input is needed, they will use the EHCP's professional reports as the basis for referral or assessment update. The work you did is not wasted.

Need help shortlisting SEN-strong international schools?

Our school finder tool filters by SEN tier, EAA history and named intervention programmes. Compare up to three schools side by side on how they handle existing EHCPs and other SEN documentation.

International equivalents to the EHCP

There is no global EHCP equivalent. In broad terms, the following are the closest analogues you will encounter at the international school level.

The United States. The IEP, an Individualized Education Program, is the federal SEN document under IDEA. Most American curriculum international schools use an IEP-style structure even where federal law does not apply. A Section 504 plan covers lighter accommodations.

International Baccalaureate schools. Most use the school-level Individual Learning Plan or Inclusive Education Plan, drawn up in line with the IB's inclusive education framework. There is no centrally mandated template, so structure varies by school.

Dubai under KHDA. Schools maintain an Individual Education Plan as part of the KHDA inspection framework. The framework recognises tiers of need and expects evidence of provision and outcomes.

Singapore. Private and international schools largely follow their own SEN documentation. The Singapore MOE framework does not bind them but informs local norms.

Australia and New Zealand. Most schools use Individual Learning Plans or Individual Education Plans aligned to local state frameworks. International schools in the region usually follow the same convention.

None of these are direct legal equivalents to an EHCP. All can carry weight at the destination school if drawn up rigorously and reviewed actively. The differences matter most when planning a possible return to the UK system, where translating an overseas Individual Education Plan back into the EHCP framework is a defined administrative process that benefits from familiar formatting and contemporaneous outcome data.

Twelve questions to ask the destination school

  1. Will you accept our existing EHCP as the SEN file, or do you require a fresh in-house assessment?
  2. Within how many weeks of arrival will you draw up an Individual Education Plan?
  3. Which elements of the EHCP do you anticipate being able to deliver in full?
  4. Which elements are likely to be partial, and which would not be possible?
  5. What additional fees would the recommended provision incur?
  6. How are SEN reviews structured, how often and who attends?
  7. What is your model for one to one support, where indicated?
  8. How do you coordinate with external clinicians such as speech and language therapy or occupational therapy?
  9. What is your access arrangements track record at IGCSE, IB or A-Level?
  10. How do you handle transitions to the next year group and to the next phase?
  11. If we may return to the UK in two or three years, how would you structure documentation to support a potential EHCP reinstatement?
  12. What is your withdrawal pathway if the placement is not working?

Funding the provision yourself

In most international postings, parents fund SEN provision personally, sometimes with employer support if the move is corporate sponsored. Negotiate the SEN package as part of the relocation conversation, not after. SEN tuition uplifts of 5,000 to 20,000 USD per year are common at Tier 1 international schools for moderate need profiles, with one to one support potentially adding another 15,000 to 40,000 USD per year on top.

Some employers will reimburse SEN provision as a recognised cost of educating a dependent child. Many will not, treating SEN as a personal matter. The point to clarify is whose risk it is, before signing. Our relocation cost calculator includes SEN provision lines for major markets.

If you may return to the UK

If a UK return is possible within five years, structure the overseas period to preserve EHCP eligibility on return. The plan can be paused with the original local authority on departure. Maintain the diagnostic and intervention paper trail at the international school in a form that can be summarised for an English educational psychologist and SEN team on return. Keep contact with the original local authority where appropriate. Document outcomes clearly.

None of this guarantees a smooth EHCP reinstatement on return, but it materially improves the odds. For families weighing the wider implications of moving with a SEN child, our SEN parent rights guide is the natural next read.

FAQ

Does my UK EHCP still apply if my child moves to an international school abroad? No. The legal duties under an EHCP apply only within England. Once your child enrols at a school outside England, the local authority is no longer responsible for delivering or funding provision.

Will an international school accept an EHCP as a SEN file? Most reputable international schools will accept the EHCP as a comprehensive SEN file. The needs assessments, professional reports and provision detail it contains are extremely useful for the in-house SEN team.

Will an international school deliver everything in our EHCP? Often not in full. A private international school is not legally required to deliver an EHCP. Provision will be discussed and agreed on a case by case basis, depending on the school's tier of SEN support and your willingness to fund additional services.