Education, Health and Care Annual Review information
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What is an Annual Review of an Education, Health and Social Care (EHC) plan?
When a child or young person has an Education, Health and Care plan (EHC plan) there is an ongoing requirement for the EHC plan to be reviewed by the local authority at least annually. This is referred to as the Annual Review.
The Annual Review process is more than just a review meeting, it is a process that must be completed on or before the anniversary of when the EHC plan was first issued or the anniversary of the last review.
The Annual Review process 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.
You can view the process in the drop down tabs below.
The annual review process is 12 weeks from the date of the annual review meeting, to the date of the Amended Final EHCP being issued.
The Local Authority SEN team will send you and the school their decision within 4 weeks of the review meeting.
If the Local Authority SEN team decide to amend the plan, you will also receive a copy of the amended proposed EHC Plan along with the decision.
You will have at least 15 days to respond to the proposed changes. You can ask to meet with your EHCP Co Ordinator to discuss requested changes if you want to.
We will issue an amended final plan within 8 weeks of sending the proposed changes to you.
Once the amended final plan is issued, you have the right to appeal against the content of the plan to the First-tier Tribunal for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
This right also applies if the Local Authority SEN team decide not to make any changes to the plan following a review.
If the Local Authority decide to propose to cease the EHCP, the parent or young person will have 15 days to respond to the propose to cease with their representations, if they disagree with the decision. If the local authority decide to proceed with the decision and issue a final cease letter, the parent or young person will have a right of appeal. The reasons to cease the EHCP may include when the local authority is no longer responsible for the child or young person’s EHCP such as if they go onto higher education such as university or gain employment, no longer residing within England or evidence to show that they no longer require the provision set out within the EHCP. If the Local Authority are proposing to cease the EHCP, they will set out to you the reasons as to why they have taken this decision.
Step 1) Collection of information
An annual review meeting to review your child’s EHC plan will take place within a year of the Final EHC plan being issued and annually thereafter, the setting will usually arrange and chair the annual review meeting. If a child or young person is not attending an education setting, the Local Authority SEN team will prepare and chair the annual review. The annual review documents will then be issued to the Local Authority SEN team.
You will be given at least 2 weeks' notice of the date of the annual review meeting and any professional relevant to your child’s plan will also be invited.
The setting must seek advice and information about your child from all those invited to the review meeting and any information received should be circulated at least 2 weeks before the meeting takes place.
Step 2) Annual review meeting
The review meeting usually takes place at the education setting your child or young person attends. The meeting must focus on the child or young person’s progress towards achieving the outcomes specified in the EHC plan, and on what changes might need to be made to the support that is provided to help them achieve those outcomes, or whether changes are needed to the outcomes themselves. Children, parents and young people should be supported to engage fully in the review meeting.
Step 3) Annual review report
The setting must prepare and send a report of the meeting to the local authority SEN team and everyone invited within two weeks of the meeting. The report must set out recommendations on any amendments required to the EHC plan. It should also include any differences of opinion and not just the general consensus.
Following the meeting, your child's education setting must prepare and send a report of the meeting to the Local Authority SEN team and to everyone invited.
Step 4) Reviewing the plan
The actual review process is when the Local Authority SEN team review your child’s EHC plan following receipt of the annual review documents and make one of the following three decisions, within 4 weeks of the annual review meeting date:
- keep the EHC plan as it is (referred to as maintaining)
- amend the plan
- or cease to maintain the plan