DEVON County Council (DCC) maintains close to 10,000 Education Health and Care Plans (EHCPs), a Freedom of Information (FOI) request has revealed.

As of March 6, Devon is maintaining 9868 EHCPs, the FOI shows.

There are 969 where the child has a postcode within the South Hams area.

An EHC plan is for children and young people aged up to 25 who need more support than is available through the ordinarily available inclusive provision (OAIP) to support special educational needs in their mainstream nursery, school or college.

It is a legal document that sets out a child or young person’s education, health and care needs and the additional support required.

Special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) can affect a child or young person’s ability to learn, compared to other children and young people of the same age.