An Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) annual review should leave the school with a clear decision about provision and next steps. If the meeting ends with a folder of reports and no named owner, the school has recorded activity without completing the review.
The local authority remains responsible for the EHCP. The school’s job is to provide a reliable view of what has happened in the setting, what the child or young person needs now, what has helped, what has not, and what should happen next.
What is an EHCP annual review for?
The SEND Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years sets the framework for reviewing an EHCP. The review should look at the child or young person’s progress towards the outcomes in the plan and consider whether the plan remains appropriate.
For most pupils, the annual review is a yearly process. There are additional expectations for young people preparing for adulthood and for children under 5, so schools should check the relevant part of the Code of Practice and local authority arrangements.
The review is not a general meeting about everything that has ever happened. It should focus on the outcomes, provision and decisions that need attention now.
Before the meeting: prepare the decision pack
A useful review pack is short enough to read and specific enough to support a decision. Include:
- the current EHCP and the date of the last review;
- each outcome being reviewed;
- the provision currently delivered, including frequency and responsible staff;
- evidence of progress and barriers;
- the pupil’s views, in their own words where possible;
- parent or carer views;
- relevant advice from education, health or care professionals;
- attendance, participation or behaviour information when it affects the outcome;
- changes in need, placement, curriculum, health or circumstances;
- decisions required from the meeting;
- actions, owners and dates from the previous review.
Do not attach every document held by the school. Include the evidence that helps answer a question. A long pack can hide the point just as effectively as a missing one.
A SEND evidence pack for annual reviews and complaints can help staff separate source material from the decision summary.
During the meeting: follow the outcomes
Work through the EHCP outcomes one at a time. For each outcome, ask:
- What was the intended change?
- What provision was delivered?
- What evidence shows the pupil’s current position?
- What does the pupil say about the support?
- What does the family say?
- What should continue, change or stop?
- Is a new or amended outcome needed?
This keeps the conversation anchored to the plan rather than to whoever has the longest report.
If the school disagrees with a professional recommendation, record the disagreement accurately. Do not remove it to make the minutes look tidy. State what evidence the school is using and what will be checked next.
What should the school bring about provision?
The important question is not only whether support was timetabled. Ask whether the provision was delivered in the form described and whether it was usable for the pupil.
For example, “access to adult support” could mean many different things. The review pack should explain when support was available, what it helped the pupil do, how independence was considered and what happened when the named adult was absent.
If provision changed during the year, show the date and reason. Changes may follow a review, an adjustment in need, staffing, a transition or advice from a specialist. A current record prevents the next meeting from treating an old plan as the present one.
What should the school record about pupil voice?
The pupil’s view should be more than a sentence saying that they were consulted. Record what they want to achieve, what helps, what gets in the way and what they would change.
Use accessible methods when a pupil does not communicate through a formal meeting. A conversation, visual choice, familiar adult, observation of participation or supported communication may all contribute, depending on the pupil.
Keep the pupil’s words distinct from the adult interpretation. That makes the record more respectful and makes it easier to see when the pupil’s view changes.
What should happen after the meeting?
The meeting is not complete when the notes are saved. The school should leave with:
- each action written as a decision rather than a vague intention;
- one named owner for each action;
- a deadline or review date;
- the person or service who needs to receive the action;
- the document or provision that will change;
- the evidence that will be checked next time.
Send the relevant information to the local authority through the agreed route and within the required local timescales. Do not treat the school’s meeting record as the authority’s final decision about the EHCP.
The practical guide to keeping EHCP transitions from stalling is useful when the annual review identifies a move between phases, settings or post-16 provision.
A one-page annual review checklist
Before
- Is the current EHCP the version being reviewed?
- Are the outcomes listed separately?
- Is current provision described accurately?
- Is there evidence for progress and barriers?
- Has the pupil’s view been gathered accessibly?
- Have parent and professional views been requested?
- Are actions from the last review checked?
- Are the decisions needed from this meeting clear?
During
- Has each outcome been discussed?
- Is the provision being delivered as written?
- What evidence supports the position?
- What has changed since the last review?
- What does the pupil want to happen next?
- Is there disagreement that should remain visible?
- Does provision need to continue, change or stop?
- Are actions, owners and dates being captured as the meeting goes?
After
- Has the school sent the required information to the local authority?
- Are agreed school actions assigned?
- Has the current record been updated?
- Can teachers find the decision and next review date?
- Has the family been told what happens next?
- Is there a follow-up date for anything unresolved?
Where MeritDocs fits
MeritDocs connects EHCP-related documents, support records, provision, review dates and supporting evidence in the current Student Record, so a SENCO can prepare from the live position instead of rebuilding the pupil’s history from emails and old attachments.
The school still owns the professional judgement and the local authority still owns the EHCP decision. MeritDocs supports the evidence trail, actions and current version. It does not issue or amend an EHCP.
Common annual review failures
- using an old EHCP because it is the easiest file to find;
- bringing reports without linking them to outcomes;
- recording pupil voice after the meeting as an afterthought;
- writing “support continued” without describing the actual provision;
- agreeing actions without an owner or date;
- treating the meeting notes as the end of the process;
- losing the final decision among separate folders and email threads.
The fix is not a longer template. It is a record that connects outcome, provision, evidence, view and decision.
FAQs
Does the school decide whether an EHCP continues?
No. The local authority remains responsible for the EHCP. The school contributes evidence and recommendations about the pupil’s progress, needs and provision.
Must every annual review have a long report?
No. The record should contain enough reliable information to support the decision. A concise pack with outcome-linked evidence is usually more useful than a large bundle of unstructured attachments.
What if the pupil or family disagrees with the school?
Record the different views and the evidence behind them. Do not erase disagreement to create a false impression of consensus. Explain the next step and who will follow it up.
What should be checked first when a review is late?
Check the last completed review, the current EHCP version, outstanding actions and the local authority route. Then record the delay and the next owner rather than allowing the missing meeting to disappear into the calendar.