Education, health and care (EHC) plans
8. Annual reviews
EHC plans should be used to monitor children and young people's progress towards their outcomes and longer-term aspirations. They must be reviewed by the local authority at least every 12 months.
The information in this guide is for parents, carers and young people, if you are a professional, please refer to the information for professionals.
The following short film from Independent Support, with support from the Department for Education, explains the annual review process of an education, health and care plan.
The nursery, school or college will arrange the review. You will be contacted every year (or every 3 to 6 months if your child is very young) to agree a time to review the EHC plan.
You should have at least 4 weeks’ notice about the review.
The professionals involved will be asked to provide updated information and you will also be asked for your views.
Two weeks before the meeting, an invitation to the review will be sent to you with the information from the professionals.
The annual review meeting
During the meeting the following will be considered:
- your views and the views of your child
- progress towards the goals and outcomes in the EHC plan
- the support that is working/not working
- whether your child's SENs have changed
- whether your child needs any specialist equipment to help them.
At the end of the meeting everyone will agree some recommendations. Within two weeks a summary report will be sent to everyone who attended the meeting.
Decisions from the meeting
Within four weeks of the review the local authority will write to let you know what they propose. This could be to:
- keep the plan as it is
- cease the EHC plan, which may be because your child has made progress and their needs can be met
- amend (change) the plan.
Amending the plan
If the local authority is proposing changes to the plan, the SENDO will share these changes with you. They will send you an amendment notice and a copy of the current plan with information about the changes that are being proposed. You can request a meeting with your SENDO to discuss these changes.
The amended plan will be sent out as soon as possible and within 8 weeks of the amendment notice. You have 15 days to respond to the proposals, from the date you receive the amended EHC plan.
If you are not happy with the amended plan you can discuss your concerns with your SENDO, the Designated Clinical Officer or any of the impartial services. If you aren’t able to resolve your concerns, you still have the right to appeal.