Parent learning support

EHCP Annual Review Checklist for Parents

Prepare your evidence, make your child’s views heard and keep track of what happens after the meeting.

Editorial

Lead authorRobin GibbonsFounder & CEO·Latimer Tuition
Reviewed byHeather LatimerTutor Matching & Customer Service·Latimer Tuition

Before the meeting: organise six things

The current plan and previous review
Keep the latest final EHC plan, its appendices, the last review report and any later decision or amendment letters together. Mark wording that seems out of date. Use the final plan as your starting point, rather than an old draft.
Your child’s views
Ask what is going well, what is hard, which support helps and what they would like to change. Keep their words distinct from your interpretation. Agree with the organiser how they can contribute: attending part of the meeting, a short recording, pictures or a trusted adult sharing their views may be useful options.
Progress towards outcomes
For each relevant outcome, note the starting point, what your child can now do and the help still needed. Bring dated work, school reports or observations that show this. Include communication, participation and independence where relevant, as well as attainment.
Provision actually received
Compare the support in the plan with what has happened. Record missed or changed provision, dates and its impact. Separate “the support happened but did not help enough” from “the support did not happen”: they require different questions.
New needs and professional advice
Bring relevant new reports and describe changes since the last review. Ask what advice the school and local authority are seeking and whether key professionals have contributed. List unanswered questions rather than trying to diagnose the difficulty yourself.
Your priorities and meeting arrangements
Send a concise written contribution in advance and keep a copy. Ask when contributions are needed so they can be circulated with the papers. Tell the organiser about access needs, an interpreter or someone you wish to bring to help with notes. Put your most important requested changes first.

Use the plan to keep questions specific

These sections help organise the education discussion. Review relevant health and social care needs and provision too; do not assume that progress in lessons answers every part of the plan.

Plan section	What to ask
A: views, interests and aspirations	Does this still sound like my child? What do they want adults to understand now?
B: special educational needs	Are the needs described accurately, including any changes and the evidence supporting them?
E: outcomes	What progress has been made? Is the outcome still appropriate, and what evidence will show progress next?
F: special educational provision	What support is required for each need? Is the wording specific about the type, amount and frequency of support and the expertise needed?
I: placement	Is the named placement still appropriate, and is a school or college transfer approaching?

Copy into your own notes

A parent contribution you can adapt

When this applies

Use short headings and attach only the evidence that helps explain your requests.

Suggested wording

What is going well: …

My child’s own views: …

Progress towards the current outcomes, and help still needed: …

Provision received, missed or changed: …

New or continuing needs, with dated examples: …

Changes I would like considered, by plan section: …

Questions requiring professional advice: …

My priorities for this review: …

Why this helps

A requested change is easier to discuss when it names the existing wording, explains the problem and points to evidence. You do not need to rewrite the whole plan to make a useful contribution.

Example for discussion

Example: progress does not tell the whole story

Imagine an EHCP review where one outcome is for the child to start written tasks more independently. A parent brings completed work, but notes that an adult still gives repeated prompts. The child says they can explain ideas aloud but lose track when writing. The school brings evidence from lessons and its record of the support delivered.

The useful question is not only “Has more work been completed?” It is “What can the child now do, with what help, and was the planned support provided?” If support was missed, record that separately. If it was delivered but the difficulty remains, ask whether the description of need, provision or outcome needs changing and whether further professional advice is required.

A parent might request: “Please record the prompts still needed and consider whether sections B and F describe the current difficulty and support accurately.” Use this wording to raise the question; the evidence and review process will determine whether changes are needed.

At the meeting: separate evidence, proposals and actions

What has changed since the last review?
Work through progress, needs, provision and the child’s views. Ask about differences between home and school accounts; record both rather than treating one as automatically wrong.
What changes are being recommended?
Name the plan section and proposed change. Ask why it is needed and what evidence supports it. Distinguish a recommendation to the local authority from a decision the meeting itself can make.
What remains unresolved?
Ask for differences of opinion and missing advice to appear in the report. If new assessments or other actions are proposed, record who will arrange them and by when.
Who will send the report and follow up?
Record the meeting date, organiser, local authority contact and expected dates for the report and decision. Keep your own notes of agreements and disagreements.

Track the review deadlines separately

The local authority must review the plan within 12 months of first making it, and within 12 months of each previous review. The decision after the meeting must also fit within that annual period: holding a meeting on the anniversary is not enough. The school-based process is set out in the SEND Regulations and the SEND Code of Practice.

Stage	Timing and what to look for
Invitations and papers	At least two weeks’ notice of the meeting. The advice and information obtained for it must also be circulated at least two weeks beforehand.
Meeting report	Prepared within two weeks of the meeting and sent to the required invitees. It should record proposed amendments, differing recommendations and the advice gathered.
Local authority decision	Within four weeks of the meeting, the authority must notify the parent or young person and the setting whether it proposes to keep the plan unchanged, amend it or cease to maintain it.
Proposed amendments	If it proposes to amend, the authority must send the proposed amendments with its decision notice within that four-week period, alongside the existing plan and supporting evidence.
Your response	You must have at least 15 days from service of the draft to make representations, request a particular school or institution, or request a meeting with an officer to discuss the proposed changes.
Final amended plan	If proceeding with amendments after representations, the authority must issue the final plan as soon as practicable and within eight weeks of sending the amendment pack. If it decides not to amend, it must notify you within that same eight-week period.

After the meeting: keep a short follow-up record

Save the report and correct inaccuracies
The school normally prepares the report where the regulations give it that role; in other settings the local authority does so. Ask who is responsible. If your views or a recommendation have been recorded inaccurately, send the correction promptly and keep the reply.
Record the actual decision
Write down the meeting date, report received date and local authority decision date. A school report recommending changes is not the authority’s decision letter.
Keep provision concerns active
If suitable support already specified in the plan is not being delivered, raise that with the SENCO and local authority now. Do not wait for the next annual review to report missing provision. Keep a dated record of what was missed and its impact.
Explain next steps to your child
Share the outcome in a form they understand. Tell them which ideas are still proposals and which actions have been agreed, and who they can speak to if support is not working.

Plan ahead

Year 9, school transfers and young-person rights

From Year 9, review meetings must consider provision to prepare for adulthood and independent living. Bring the young person’s interests and aspirations into the discussion, alongside the support they will need.

For the usual school phase transfers, such as primary to secondary, the review and any necessary amendments must be completed before 15 February in the transfer year. For secondary school to a post-16 institution, the deadline is before 31 March. These are completion deadlines, not simply dates for holding the meeting. Other post-16 transfers have different timing rules; ask the authority which applies.

After compulsory school age, EHC decision rights belong to the young person, rather than automatically remaining with the parent. This is not a change on their 16th birthday. Parents can continue to support them and act with their agreement. Where capacity to make a particular decision is in question, seek individual advice about the applicable rules and representation.

Decision caveat

If the review is late or you disagree

When this advice is not enough

The report or decision is overdue, provision is missing, or the authority’s decision does not address the changes you believe are needed.

What to do instead

Write to the local authority with the relevant dates, the missing document or provision and the action you are requesting. IPSEA has a letter for an overdue annual review. Ask your local SEND information, advice and support service (SENDIASS) for impartial help. If delay is causing an urgent problem, seek specialist SEND legal advice promptly rather than assuming a lengthy complaint process will resolve it in time.

A decision to keep the plan unchanged or cease to maintain it carries appeal rights on notification. If the authority amends the plan, the final amended plan is the appeal point. Read the decision letter and current tribunal guidance promptly for the steps and time limits. Most EHC appeals require you to consider mediation, but that does not require you to undertake it; an appeal only about section I is an exception. Do not assume a complaint pauses an appeal deadline.

Elsewhere in the UK: use the relevant national system

The preparation ideas can help organise a conversation elsewhere in the UK, but the England EHC-plan deadlines above do not apply unchanged.

Wales: additional learning needs
Use Welsh Government’s ALN Code for the additional learning needs framework and individual development plans (IDPs).
Scotland: additional support for learning
Use Scottish Government guidance and its signpost to Enquire for the Scottish additional-support system.
Northern Ireland: SEN and statements
Use nidirect’s SEN statements guidance for Northern Ireland’s arrangements, including statement reviews.

Frequently asked questions

Straight answers to the questions people ask most often.

Do all the professionals invited have to attend?

Required invitees include the parent or young person, the education setting, a local authority education officer, the identified health professional and a local authority social services officer. Being invited does not guarantee that every professional will attend. Ask what written advice they will contribute and how unanswered questions will be followed up.

Can I request a review before the next annual date?

Yes. If needs or provision need changing, ask the local authority to bring the statutory review forward and explain why. An informal school meeting does not automatically start the annual-review process; establish whether the authority has agreed an early statutory review. IPSEA’s early-review guidance explains this route and when a re-assessment may need consideration.

What if my child cannot manage the whole meeting?

Arrange how their views will be gathered and shared beforehand. They might contribute through pictures, a recording, a short written account or someone they trust, or join a manageable part of the discussion. Ask what communication support will help and explain afterwards what was recorded and what happens next.

Official guidance

1.
SEND code of practice publication
Department for Education and Department of Health and Social Care
2.
Before you appeal an EHC plan decision
HM Courts & Tribunals Service

Other sources

1.
Preparing for an Annual Review
Essex SENDIASS
2.
The annual review process
IPSEA
3.
R (L, M and P) v Devon case summary
IPSEA

A parent contribution you can adapt

Prepare for a SENCO meeting

Understand SEN support and EHC plans

Frequently asked questions

Official guidance

Other sources