Annual Review of an Education Health and Care Plan
Annual review decision
Once the educational setting submits the annual review paperwork, the Local Authority must make a formal decision on the outcome of the review. This decision must be issued to parents and the young person within four weeks of the date of the annual review meeting, as required by Section 44 of the Children and Families Act 2014 and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Regulations 2014 (Regulation 20).
Timely submission by schools and educational settings is therefore critical to ensure statutory compliance. It is essential that the paperwork is submitted as soon as possible, and no later than two weeks after the review meeting, in line with the requirement for reports and information to be circulated within statutory timescales. Any delay beyond this point risks impacting the Local Authority's legal timeframe for issuing its decision, which must be completed within four weeks of the meeting.
Prompt submission is therefore not only good practice but a necessary safeguard to ensure the Local Authority can fulfil its legal duties and that children, young people, and their families experience timely, reliable, and needs led decision making.
How the decision is made
All documentation from the meeting is reviewed by a senior member of staff within the SEND and Alternative Provision (AP) Service. This may be a Senior Caseworker, Team Manager, or Service Lead. The decision is based on:
- the evidence provided in the meeting record, including any requests made at the meeting and the outcomes suggested
- updated reports and professional advice
- statutory tests under the Children and Families Act 2014, including whether the Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) remains necessary and whether special educational provision specified is still appropriate
The outcome will be one of three options:
- amend the EHCP (where changes are needed to provision, outcomes, or placement) this would lead to a new draft EHCP being issued
- cease the EHCP (where the plan is no longer required)
- maintain the EHCP with no changes and at this point the annual review would be finalised
Requests made during the Annual Review Meeting
Schools or parents may make additional requests during the meeting, such as, but not exhaustive to:
- a change of placement
- an assessment by an external professional
- additional funding or resources
While these are not statutory decisions of the annual review, the person making the triage decision may refer such requests to SENDMAP (the decision-making panel) for further discussion. Parents and schools will be informed in writing if this happens and a decision will be issued in writing from the SEND Caseworker following the panel meeting, usually within two to three weeks of the decision letter being issued.
Importantly, this does not delay the statutory duty to issue the annual review decision within four weeks and even if a decision is going to be made at SENDMAP, the draft plan will be issued if required. Any changes to this process would be communicated to parents and school in advance of the panel discussion in writing.
Issuing the decision
A decision letter is sent to parents, the young person (if 16 or over) and the school, confirming the outcome of the review this comes from the local authorities SEND Team via email.
If the decision is to amend the EHCP, the letter will include a draft amended EHCP showing the proposed changes (additions in bold, deletions in strikethrough). If a no change or a cease letter is issued, this will conclude the annual review process at this stage and the letter, should be appended to the EHCP for future reference. The decision letter also includes a right to appeal for the parents or young person should the decision be disagreed with. This should be appealed within eight weeks of the date of the decision letter.
Key compliance points
The four-week deadline starts from the date of the annual review meeting, not the date the paperwork is received. Failure to meet this deadline is a breach of statutory duty under the SEND Regulations 2014. Decisions must be evidence-based and person-centred, reflecting the child's needs and outcomes.
