Definition
An annual review is the statutory meeting, required at least every 12 months, where a child's EHCP is reviewed and updated. The local authority must decide within four weeks of the meeting whether to maintain, amend, or cease the plan (SEND Regulations 2014, regulation 20, and SEND Code of Practice 9.176–9.196).
In context for parents
Key checkpoints
- Statutory meeting at least every 12 months to review and update the EHCP.
- Required under SEND Regulations 2014, regulations 18–22, and SEND Code of Practice 9.176–9.196.
- LA must decide within four weeks of the meeting whether to maintain, amend, or cease the plan.
- Two weeks before the meeting, the school should circulate the current EHCP, parental and child contributions, and updated professional advice.
- Amendments to the plan trigger a fresh right of appeal from the date the amended final plan is issued.
The annual review process is laid out in regulations 18–22 of the SEND Regulations 2014. The school (where the child attends school) usually convenes and chairs the meeting on behalf of the LA. Two weeks before the meeting, the school should circulate the current EHCP, parental and child contributions, and any updated professional advice. The meeting itself is around an hour. Within two weeks of the meeting the school sends a report to the LA. Within four weeks of the meeting the LA must issue one of three decisions: maintain unchanged, amend, or cease.
Most annual reviews I've chaired run for an hour. Parents who came in with a written list of concerns leave having got two of them onto the working document. Parents who came in to "see how it goes" leave with the same EHCP they walked in with. The annual review is the moment to update Section B (needs that have changed), Section F (provision that needs sharpening or removing), and Section I (placement that may need amending for the next phase).
Common pitfalls:
- The four-week clock for the LA decision is in the regulations and is missed routinely; you can write to the LA at week five citing regulation 20(5)(b).
- The school's report may be sent late; ask for sight of it before it is submitted.
- Amendments to the plan trigger a fresh right of appeal: the appeal clock starts on the date the amended final plan is issued, not on the date of the review meeting.
Where the LA proposes to cease, you have a right of appeal under s.51(2)(g) Children and Families Act 2014.
Related terms
The terms parents most often see alongside Annual Review.
Education, Health and Care Plan(EHCP)
A legally binding document, issued by a local authority in England, that describes a child or young person's special educational needs and the provision the LA must arrange to meet them.
Phase Transfer Review
The annual review held before a child moves between key stages of education (e.g. primary to secondary). The LA must amend and finalise the EHCP by 15 February of the transfer year.
SEND Tribunal
An independent tribunal that hears appeals against local authority decisions on EHC needs assessments, EHCP contents, school placement, and disability discrimination by schools.
Working Document
The version of an EHCP that parents, the LA, and the tribunal mark up with proposed amendments during an appeal or annual review process before a final plan is issued.
Where parents ask about this
Parents usually find this page in the two weeks before an annual review they have not yet prepared for, or in the four weeks after one where they have not heard back from the LA. Searches include "annual review preparation checklist", "annual review LA hasn't responded", and "annual review amendment notice". A Beaakon SENCO or advocate can prepare your parental contribution to a tribunal standard, attend the meeting alongside you, and chase the LA's four-week decision so it does not slip.
References
The primary legislation, statutory guidance, research, and clinical tools this page draws on.