EHCP annual review: how to prepare

The usual timeline

• At least 2 weeks before the meeting: you should be invited, and reports and advice should be sent to you.
• The meeting: usually held at school, with you, school staff and anyone else involved. Your child's views must be gathered.
• Within 2 weeks after: the school sends a report of the meeting to the council.
• Within 4 weeks of the meeting: the council must tell you whether it will keep the plan as it is, change it, or stop it.

Children under 5 should usually be reviewed more often, every 3 to 6 months.

How to prepare

1. Re-read the plan, especially section B (needs) and section F (provision). Mark anything out of date, missing or vague. See how to check section F.
2. Check the provision is happening. Ask for records of therapy sessions and support. If something in section F has not been delivered, note it with dates.
3. Bring a summary of the year. Patterns from your diary (sleep, school refusal, meltdowns, what helped) show what reports may miss.
4. Write down your views and your child's, in their own words if possible. Our guide to writing parental views has a simple structure, and the EHCP meeting checklist covers what to bring.
5. Ask for specific changes, written as you want them to appear in the plan.

Moving school

When your child is moving to a new phase (for example primary to secondary), the plan must be reviewed and amended in time. For school transfers the deadline is usually 15 February of the year of the move, and 31 March for moves into post-16 education. Start early.

After the review

If the council decides to change the plan, it sends you the proposed changes. You have 15 days to comment and ask for a meeting. The amended plan should then be issued promptly, usually within 8 weeks of the proposed changes. If you disagree with the final plan, or with a decision not to change it or to stop it, you can appeal. See EHCP refused: what to do next.

Common questions

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