Education and Health Care Plans (EHCPs)

Reviewing progress for students with EHCPs.

All children with SEND should receive ongoing, formative assessment as an integral part of the learning and development process. 

Settings will put in place a structured review plan to capture the ongoing and changing needs of the child and allow for these in continued planning. There will be regular meetings with parents at least three times a year. One of these review meetings will be the annual review meeting.

An annual review – an overview

The annual review of an EHC plan looks at the outcomes that were decided previously and the effectiveness of provision set out in the plan. At each Annual Review steps towards achieving the outcomes in the plan are discussed and recorded as being ‘achieved’, ‘updated’ or ‘changed’ on the Record of Annual Review (ROAR) form.

The child and family are at the centre of this process and the Annual Review must take account of their wishes and feelings. Everyone at the meeting will talk about the progress made and agree new targets for the coming year.  Any changes to the plan are discussed, including whether an EHC plan is still needed.

The first annual review must be held within 12 months of the date when the EHC plan was issued and, after that, within 12 months of the previous review. 

What should be reviewed:

  • The review must focus on progress towards the outcomes specified in part E of the plan
  • The review must consider whether these outcomes and steps towards them remain appropriate
  • The review should consider if the special educational provision that is being made, continues to be effective and allows the child/young person to make progress towards their agreed outcomes.
  • The review should also consider whether the health and social care provision stated in the EHC plan is accurate and continues to support progress towards the agreed outcomes.
  • Next steps should be reviewed and progress recorded in the Record of Annual Review (ROAR) form. If outcomes require amending, this should be recorded on the EHC directly using the key below. If a child/young person has achieved their outcomes and support can now be met within delegated resources, a discussion with the child/young person/family should take place and a recommendation made to the LA on whether to cease the EHC plan.
  • New interim targets should be set for the coming year and new outcomes agreed where appropriate
  • All reviews from year 9 onward must include a focus on Preparing for Adulthood as a statutory requirement.

Timeframes and responsibilities

  • 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 EHCP was first issued or the anniversary of the last review.
  • The Local Authority will provide a list of children and young people requiring an Annual Review to all Headteachers or Principals of the identified provision attended by them at
  • least 2 weeks before the start of each half term break (May, October and February) The list will also include a CSC key worker if one is involved with the case.
  • The school/setting or college provider will arrange and conduct the Annual Review process
  • The child’s parents or young person, a representative of the school/college/setting, health service (if involved), social care (if involved), and the SEN Officer, must be invited and given at least six weeks’ notice of the review meeting. It is also best practice to include SENSS / EYSEN and other professionals involved with the child. Professionals can telephone in or video link into the meeting if they are unable to attend in person but must submit a report to inform the review.
  • The school/college/setting must seek advice and information about the child or young person prior to the meeting. All reports must be circulated to all those invited at least two weeks prior to the meeting.
  • The school/college/setting must prepare and send a report of the meeting to everyone invited within two weeks of the meeting, including the SEN officer.
  • The report must set out recommendations for any amendments required to the EHC plan and should reference any difference between the educational provider’s recommendations and those of others attending. Annotations should be made directly onto the EHC Plan using strikethrough text for deletions and red type for additions.
  • Within four weeks of the review meeting the Local Authority must decide whether it proposes to keep the EHC plan as it is, amend it or cease to maintain it. The child’s parents/young person and the educational provider should all then be notified.
  • Where an EHC plan is to be amended the Local Authority must issue the amended EHC plan within 8 weeks of the decision to amend letter.

Paperwork to support the annual review process

The Council for Disabled Children (CDC) have developed useful guidance on the annual review process.Further details about reviewing an EHCP can be found on the SEND Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years, on page 194.

Information to share with parents can be found on the local offer reviewing an education, health and care plan page.