Annual Review

What is an Annual Review?

The Annual Review is a legal process of checking a child or young person’s progress towards achieving the outcomes described in their EHCP. It is also an opportunity to review whether all the needs in the Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) are up-to-date, and whether any of the provision or outcomes need to change.

EHCPs must be reviewed by the Local Authority as a minimum every 12 months. Parents or carers and Children and Young People must be involved.

If your child is under five then the Local Authority should consider doing a review every three to six months.

What are the stages of an Annual Review?

At least two weeks before the Annual Review meeting an invitation should be sent to the parent/young person and any relevant professionals asking. Attendees should be asked for their views or advice at least two weeks before the meeting.
The meeting is held and a written report is created about what was discussed.
The written report should be sent to everyone that was invited to the meeting within two weeks of the meeting date.
Within four weeks of the Annual Review meeting, the local authority needs to write to the parent/young person with a decision whether they will either amend the EHCP, make no changes, or cease to maintain it (the last option can only be done after a formal consultation).

Who is responsible?

The Local Authority (LA) has legal responsibility for ensuring the review happens. In practice, the LA can delegate the organisation of the meeting to the school or setting where the child or young person (CYP) attends. If the CYP attends a setting other than at school, the LA will need to arrange the review.

Who is involved in the Annual Review?

The following people should be invited to attend an Annual Review:

The parent and where appropriate your child or young person
A representative of the school or setting
A Local Authority SEN officer
A health service representative
A local authority social care representative
Anyone else involved who the parent, young person or the head teacher think should be invited to contribute.

Seeking advice

The school or setting must seek advice and information about the child or young person from all of those invited to attend and must circulate it at least two weeks before the date of the meeting.

The SEND Code of Practice says:

9.169 Professionals across education, health and care must co-operate with local authorities.

The SEND Code of Practice says:

9.177 Children, parents and young people should be supported to engage fully in the review meeting.

9.168 Reviews must be undertaken in partnership with the child and their parent or the young person, and must take account of their views, wishes and feelings, including their right to request a Personal Budget.

Giving your views as the parent/carer

As a parent/carer and invitee to the annual review you will be asked for your views.

Things to consider:

How things are going at the educational setting?
Are your child or young person’s needs being met? If not, what needs to change?
Have there been any changes since the last review regarding your child or young person’s health or social care needs?
Are there emerging needs in a new area that are as yet unassessed?
What do you want to happen over the next year?

What are outcomes?

The Code of Practice says:

9.66 An outcome can be defined as the benefit or difference made to an individual as a result of an intervention. It should be personal and not expressed from a service perspective; it should be something that those involved have control and influence over, and while it does not always have to be formal or accredited, it should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time bound (SMART).

More on outcomes

Outcomes should always enable children and young people to move towards the long-term aspirations of employment or higher education, independent living and community participation.

From year 9 onwards the Annual Review meeting should also consider the four “Preparing for Adulthood” pathways: Education, Employment and Training, Independent Living, Health and Community Inclusion.

At the Annual Review meeting

The school or Local Authority should identify whether the needs (section B), Outcomes (section E) and Provision (section F) are relevant and up to date.

Have any outcomes been achieved? Are changes needed?

Has any request been made for a personal budget?

Annual Review recommendations

Recommendations should be submitted to the Local Authority (if they are not conducting the meeting) along with their report of the meeting and must include any difference of opinion between the school or other institution’s recommendations and those of others attending the meeting, including parents and young people.

Transfer between phases of education

Special time limits. When does an Annual Review have to take place?

Regulation 18 of The SEND Regulations 2014 states that the EHC plan must be reviewed and amended before

31 March if the transfer is from secondary school to a post-16 institution/ college.

15 February if the transfer is from primary to secondary or early years to primary.

If a young person is moving from one post-16 institution to another post-16 institution at any other time, at least five months before that transfer takes place.

After the Annual Review meeting

The Local Authority must send the report of the meeting to everyone who was invited within two weeks of the meeting.

If the child/young person attends school, it is usually the school that will take the role of sending the report.

Local authority must make a decision after the review meeting

The Local Authority review your child’s EHCP based on the meeting and must decide to either:

amend the plan,
maintain the current wording (ie not change the plan)
cease the plan or

In some circumstances the local authority may decide to re-assess your child’s needs.

Notification of decision

No matter what the Local Authority decide, it must write to you with its decision and reasons for it, within four weeks of the review meeting.

Decision to amend or change the plan

If the Local Authority decides to change the EHCP, it should start the process of amendment without delay.

The LA must:

send a copy of the EHCP to the parents or young person with notice of proposed amendments and any evidence.
inform the parent/young person of their rights to make representations about the content of the EHCP and to request a particular school/institution.

The parent or young person has 15 calendar days to make representations about the changes.

An updated EHCP will then be issued.

If the parent or young person disagrees with the changes, they will be given a right to make an appeal to the SEND Tribunal once the EHCP is finalised.