Annual Review of an Education Health and Care Plan

Interim reviews are designed for exceptional and urgent circumstances, not as a substitute for the routine annual review. The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Regulations 2014 and Code of Practice 2015 specifies that reviews must focus on significant, immediate needs that cannot wait without detriment to the child or young person. Parents and carers can ask for an early review, they are at the Local Authorities discretion.

When interim reviews are appropriate:

• the child is not in school, and urgent arrangements are needed to ensure access to education
• a serious, unexpected change in the child's health, care or educational circumstances necessitates a prompt response, such as a permanent exclusion from school
• if a child or young person is at risk of permanent exclusion, it may be appropriate to request an early review to address any urgent changes to the Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP)

Interim reviews must not be used to:

• make routine updates or minor adjustments
• tackle issues better suited to the next scheduled annual review
• address matters that do not meet the threshold for urgency such as request for additional funding or Educational Psychologist (EP) Assessment or support from a Specialist Teacher

Statutory basis

There is no statutory requirement in the Children and Families Act 2014 and SEND Code of Practice 2015 for the Local Authority to agree to carry out an interim review of the EHCP.

Initiating an interim review

Schools and settings must inform the council and seek agreement to undertake an interim review before sending invitations to parents and professionals. Schools (or parents if it is at their request) should speak to their named SEND Caseworker in the first instance. This is essential to secure confirmation that the circumstances justify an interim review.

Guidance states that although not a necessity owing to the potential sense of urgency relating to interim reviews, schools and settings should endeavour to provide at least two weeks' notice, even on short timelines. If this is not feasible, there must be clear agreement with parents or carers explaining why shorter notice is necessary and this should be confirmed again during the review meeting.

Council's discretionary rights

The Local Authority retains the right to decline to process interim review materials if the:

• meeting was not formally agreed with the council beforehand
• content of the meeting does not meet the urgency threshold, such that it could have reasonably been deferred until the annual review

This ensures interim reviews remain reserved for genuinely urgent situations, avoiding procedural dilution or bypassing the statutory annual review process.