EHCP Annual Reviews

EHCP Annual Reviews

Council for Disabled Children video on Annual Reviews.

If your child has an Education, Health and Care plan (EHCP), it should be regularly reviewed by the local authority. In Worcestershire your child’s school, educational setting or early years provider are responsible for arranging and facilitating the Annual Review. If your child is over 5 then it should be at least once a year, and if they are aged 0 to 5 then the plan should be reviewed more frequently, every 3 to 6 months. When your young person is in Year 9 and above, the reviews must include a focus on preparing for adulthood (we’ve included more information about this below).

EHCP’s are living documents, which should be used to actively monitor your child or young person’s progress towards their outcomes and long-term aspirations, which is why they should be regularly reviewed. You can request an Annual Review at any time, as long as you have good reason, such as you believe that there is an urgent need for a change to the plan.

An Annual Review is an opportunity to provide any updated medical advice or a new diagnosis. It’s important to remember that the only people who know which medical professionals are involved with your child or young person, are you and your child or young person. Other agencies are not routinely told about any new diagnosis or medical advice.

Annual reviews:

  • must be undertaken in partnership with you, their parent, and your child or young person and
  • must take account of their views, wishes and feelings, including their right to request a personal budget.
  • must be focused on your child or young person’s progress towards achieving the outcomes in their EHCP, as well as considering whether the outcomes and any targets are still appropriate

Annual reviews should also:

  • gather and assess information so that it can be used by your child or young person’s early years settings, schools or colleges to support their progress and their access to teaching and learning.
  • review the special educational provision made for your child or young person to make sure it is being effective in ensuring access to teaching and learning and good progress.
  • review the health and social care provision made for your child or young person and its effectiveness in ensuring good progress towards outcomes.
  • consider the continuing appropriateness of the EHC plan in the light of your child or young person’s progress during the previous year or changed circumstances and whether changes are required including any changes to outcomes, enhanced provision, change of educational establishment or whether the EHC plan should be discontinued.
  • set new interim targets for the coming year and where appropriate, agree new outcomes.
  • review any interim targets set by the early years provider, school or college or other education provider

Timings

  • the first Annual Review of your child or young person’s EHCP must be held within 12 months of the date of when the EHCP was issued, and then within 12 months of any previous review
  • the local authority’s decision following the review meeting must be notified to you, the child’s parent, or young person within four weeks of the review meeting

Additional information

The Annual Review process is covered in the Code of Practice: Reviewing an EHC plan 9.166
SEND Code of Practice January 2015.pdf (publishing.service.gov.uk).

You can also find useful information about What is an Annual Review? on the Council for Disabled website, where they have an Annual Review Factsheet PDF, an Annual Review timetable PDF and also information about Annual Review - Person centred planning meetings PDF.

Herefordshire and Worcestershire Special Education Needs and Disability Information, Advice and Support Service (SENDIASS) also have an Annual Review of an Education Health and Care Plan Factsheet (PDF).

IPSEA also have information: The annual review process | (IPSEA) Independent Provider of Special Education Advice.

Early Years Annual Review

When do we need to complete an Annual Review in the Early Years?

SEN CoP: Reviewing an EHCP page 198

Reviews of EHC plans for children aged 0 to 5

9.178 Local authorities should consider reviewing an EHC plan for a child under five at least every three to six months to ensure that the provision continues to be appropriate. Such reviews would complement the duty to carry out a review at least annually but may be streamlined and not necessarily require the attendance of the full range of professionals, depending on the needs of the child. The child’s parent must be fully consulted on any proposed changes to the EHC plan and made aware of their right to appeal to the Tribunal.

Transfer between phases of education 

9.179 An EHC plan must be reviewed and amended in sufficient time prior to a child or young person moving between key phases of education, to allow for planning for and, where necessary, commissioning of support and provision at the new institution.

The review and any amendments must be completed by 15 February in the calendar year of the transfer at the latest for transfers into or between schools. 

The key transfers are:

  • early years provider to school

Purpose of the review

The purpose of the review is to:

  • gather and assess information so that it can be used by your child or young person’s early years settings, schools or colleges to support their progress and their access to teaching and learning
  • review the special educational provision made for your child or young person to make sure it is being effective in ensuring access to teaching and learning and good progress
  • review the health and social care provision made for your child or young person and its effectiveness in ensuring good progress towards outcomes
  • consider the continuing appropriateness of the EHC plan in the light of your child or young person’s progress during the previous year or changed circumstances and whether changes are required including any changes to outcomes, enhanced provision, change of educational establishment or whether the EHC plan should be discontinued
  • set new interim targets for the coming year and where appropriate, agree new outcomes
  • review any interim targets set by the early years' provider, school or college or other education provider

Annual review timeline 

Annual Review Timeline (PDF)

Step 1: 4 to 6 weeks prior to meeting  - obtain advice and information about the child including completing the Parental Views and Child’s views forms (or similar) from:

  • all the relevant professionals
  • the parent
  • the child themselves

Step 2: 2 weeks prior to meeting - circulate the reports received along with the invitations to attend the Annual Review meeting

Step 3: The Annual Review meeting

Step 4: Following the meeting the SENCo must complete the WCC Annual Review Report document (that SEND services have sent to you or you have downloaded). This should include recommendations for amendments to the EHCP including details where views differ. This must then be uploaded onto the  WCC portal (with the evidence) and shared with SEND within 2 weeks of the meeting.

EHCP Annual Review Request Form

EHCP Annual Review report (Word)

Step 5: The LA has 2 weeks (4 weeks from the date of the meeting) to decide to leave the plan unchanged, amend it or cease it and inform the parent, the child and the school/setting of its decision with everyone invited to the meeting within 2 weeks including the LA

Early Years Annual Review Training Guide (PDF)

Timings for 5 to 25 year olds

  • the first Annual Review of your child or young person’s EHCP must be held within 12 months of the date of when the EHCP was issued, and then within 12 months of any previous review
  • the local authority’s decision following the review meeting must be notified to you, the child’s parent, or young person within four weeks of the review meeting

Additional information

The Annual Review process is covered in the Code of Practice: Reviewing an EHC plan 9.166
SEND Code of Practice January 2015.pdf (publishing.service.gov.uk).

You can also find useful information about What is an Annual Review? on the Council for Disabled website, where they have an Annual Review Factsheet PDF, an Annual Review timetable PDF and also information about Annual Review - Person centred planning meetings PDF.

Herefordshire and Worcestershire Special Education Needs and Disability Information, Advice and Support Service (SENDIASS) also have an Annual Review of an Education Health and Care Plan Factsheet (PDF).

IPSEA also have information: The annual review process | (IPSEA) Independent Provider of Special Education Advice.

Year nine review

When a young person is in Year 9 and after, the Annual Review must include a focus on Preparing for Adulthood (PfA), though it can be helpful if reviews before this have this focus too.

Planning must be person centred and the local authority should ensure that the young person has the support they need (perhaps an advocate) to fully participate in this planning and to make decisions.

The planning must:

  • explore the young person’s aspirations and abilities.
  • find out what they want to be able to do when they leave post-16 education or training.
  • identify the support they need to achieve their ambition.
  • have transition planning built into the revised EHCP.
  • have clear outcomes agreed which are ambitious and stretching, which will prepare the young person for adulthood.

The review of the plan should also include:

  • support to prepare for higher education and/or employment, for example identifying the appropriate post-16 pathways which will lead to these outcomes, support needed to find a job, learning how to do a job etc.
  • support to prepare for independent living, including exploring what decisions young people want to take for themselves and planning their role in decision making as they become older. This should include talking about where the young person wants to live in the future, who they want to live with, what support they will need etc.
  • support in maintaining good health in adult life, including effective planning with health services of the transition from specialist paediatric services to adult health care. Helping the young person to understand which health professionals will work with them as adults, ensuring those professionals understand the young person’s learning difficulties or disabilities etc.
  • support in participating in society, including understanding mobility and transport support, and how to find out about social and community activities, and opportunities for engagement in local decision-making. This also includes support in developing and maintaining friendships and relationships

These are known as the Preparing for Adulthood outcomes; we have included further information about them on a separate page on the Local Offer.

The review should identify the support the young person needs to achieve these aspirations and should also identify the components that should be included in their study programme to best prepare them for adult life. It should identify how the child or young person wants that support to be available and what action should be taken by whom to provide it. It should also identify the support a child or young person may need as they prepare to make more decisions for themselves.
Code of Practice Children and young people with EHC plans: preparing for adulthood reviews 8.9
SEND Code of Practice January 2015.pdf (publishing.service.gov.uk)

The Special Educational Needs and Disability Information, Advice and Support Service (SENDIASS) employ a Young Person Advisor who is there to help and support young people. They also have a section for young people on their website SENDIASS guidance for young people.

The National Development team for Inclusion, which is an independent, not for profit organisation which has worked alongside people, communities, policy makers, support organisations and services for over 30 years have developed a number of Preparing for Adulthood resources. Included in these resources is a section on EHCP planning and a useful guide to the Year 9 review.

Useful links

Year nine review

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