Annual Reviews for children and young people with EHC Plans

Purpose of Annual Reviews

SEND Code of Practice (Section 9.166 – 9.167): "EHC plans should be used to actively monitor children and young people’s progress towards their outcomes and longer term aspirations. They must be reviewed by the local authority as a minimum every 12 months. Reviews must focus on the child or young person’s progress towards achieving the outcomes specified in the EHC plan. The review must also consider whether these outcomes and supporting targets remain appropriate.

Reviews should also:

gather and assess information so that it can be used by early years settings, schools or colleges to support the child or young person’s progress and their access to teaching and learning
review the special educational provision made for the child or young person to ensure it is being effective in ensuring access to teaching and learning and good progress
review the health and social care provision made for the child or young person and its effectiveness in ensuring good progress towards outcomes
consider the continuing appropriateness of the EHC plan in the light of the child or young person’s progress during the previous year or changed circumstances and whether changes are required including any changes to outcomes, enhanced provision, change of educational establishment or whether the EHC plan should be discontinued
set new interim targets for the coming year and where appropriate, agree new outcomes
review any interim targets set by the early years provider, school or college or other education provider”

The Annual Review Process

Throughout the annual review process it is important for everyone to know when to expect different stages to happen and who should be responsible for completing different actions.

For everyone involved read more in our What to Expect and When (PDF, 149KB) .

For a detailed breakdown of roles and responsibilities throughout the process you can also refer to the Standard Process Map (MS Excel, 29KB)

Transition year group deadlines

Schools and educational settings should follow the process and timescales set out above, unless the child/young person is in a transition year group. In this case, timescales need to be amended in order to ensure the following dates are met for issuing a Final EHC Plan naming the child/young person’s next educational setting for the following academic year.

Transition year group deadlines
Year groups	Deadline for review meeting	Deadline for final plan
Nursery/Pre-school moving up to Reception Class	Nursery 2 review meeting to be held in Autumn Term (or within 6 months since the last review or first Final EHC Plan).	Final Plan issued by 15 February
Year 6 moving into year 7	Year 5 review meeting to be held in Spring Term (or within 12 months from the previous review). Year 6 review meeting to be held in Autumn Term.	Final Plan issued by 15 February
Year 11 moving to College and Post-16 Transition year groups	Review meeting to be held in Autumn Term.	Final Plan issued by 31 March

These deadline dates only apply to children and young people who already have an agreed EHC Plan. These dates do not apply for EHC needs assessments where the due date for the first EHC Plan is after the above dates.

General Guidance, Information and Forms

Parent or Carer Annual Review Advice Form (MS Word, 57KB) – for completion by Parents/Carers prior to the Annual Review Meeting. This is an opportunity to record any changes for Section A of the EHC Plan, raise any changes in your child/young person’s Special Educational Needs and raise anything to be discussed at the review meeting. This form should be sent to the school/setting or Local Authority (who are organising the review meeting) 3 weeks before the meeting is due to take place.

Post Review Form for Schools and Settings holding Annual Review Meetings (MS Word, 316KB) - this should only be used by schools/settings who do not have access to Liquid Logic. If you have access to Liquid Logic, you should submit Post Review information on this platform.

We have produced a document with guidance on how to complete the Cheshire East EHCP Annual Review Paperwork (PDF, 284KB) to help you in completing the Post Review Form.

Participation Forms for Children and Young People

There are a range of forms to support in gathering children and young people’s views and opinions as part of the Annual Review Process. Please use the most appropriate form to meet the individual needs of the child/young person:

The What Matters Islands is one really good way to support children and young people to think about their aspirations and what is important to them and for them.

What Matters Island and how to complete them on The Preparing for Adulthood planning process page.

Normal text print versions

CYP Participation Voice 1 – Symbols (MS Word, 443KB)
CYP Participation Voice 2 – Short Questions with Picture Prompts (MS Word, 174KB)
CYP Participation Voice 3 – Open Questions and number scales (MS Word, 343KB)
CYP Participation Voice 4 – Open Questions and Matrix Scales (suitable for older children and young people) (MS Word, 82KB)
CYP Participation Voice 5 – Observation and recording (for adults to use when children/young people are unable to respond directly) (MS Word, 48KB)
Helpful Hints for children and young people completing CYP Voice Forms 3 and 4 (PDF, 199KB)
Preparation for Adulthood Transition Plan for completion with Young People from year 9 onwards (MS Word, 58KB). You can also use the resources on the NDTI website when thinking about future aspirations for adulthood and what support is needed

Large text print versions

All of our participation forms and information documents for children and young people are also available in large print versions which have limited colour included and can be easily printed onto coloured paper if needed:

Large Print - Voice 1 – Complex Needs Symbols (MS Word, 445KB)
Large Print - Voice 2 – Short Questions with Picture Prompts (MS Word, 174KB)Short Questions with Picture Prompts (MS Word, 174KB)
Large Print - Voice 3 – Open Questions and number scales (MS Word. 316KB)
Large Print - Voice 4 – Open Questions and Matrix Scales (suitable for older children and young people) (MS Word, 50KB)
Large Print - Helpful Hints for Children and Young People Completing CYP Voice Forms 3 and 4 (MS Word, 18KB)

Additional information and sources of support

If have any questions or require support you can always contact the SEND Team.

Young people and parent carers may also find it helpful to talk to the independent Cheshire East Information, Advice and Support team.

You can find more information and helpful hints to support with the Annual Review Process and Annual Review Meetings online:

We have prepared a Frequently Asked Questions document for Annual Reviews which you may find useful (PDF, 180KB)
The NDTI website has guidance and useful documents for supporting young people to think about their future. These documents can be used as part of the Annual Review Process for gathering information prior to the meeting.
You can find useful information from IPSEA (Independent Provider of Special Education Advice)
The Council for Disabled Children (CDC) Website has useful resources and information for a range of users including children/young people, parents/carers and professionals.

Responding to your feedback

Responding to feedback
You said	We did	Next steps
There is no information available online for Annual Reviews.	We have worked to deliver this new webpage to make all information available for everyone.	Website maintenance and updates will continue as we work to produce further guidance documents.
Information is given to schools and not to parents or other professionals working with the children/young people.	We want to be open and transparent - guidance and information made available to schools/settings will also be shared online to ensure everyone can access this.	We will continue to publish documents and updates via SENDing you the News and via this Annual Review webpage.
There is no process for capturing the child/young person’s voice.	We have worked in co-production to develop a set of participation forms to cater for a range of abilities and needs so that we can capture the voice of the child/young person through the EHC needs assessment and annual review process. We keep the child/young person at the heart of our work when producing EHC Plans.	Produce a guidance document to support staff and parents when they are helping children/young people to give their views.
Parents are only asked to contribute to section A of EHC Plans and their voices are not heard with regards to the rest of the EHC Plan.	We have worked in co-production to provide a more detailed and informative Parent/Carer Advice Template for Annual Reviews so that we gather meaningful information and provide a chance for parents to voice their opinions and concerns prior to review meetings.	We will monitor completed forms and welcome any feedback from parents/carers on the effectiveness of the new form.
Parents and schools are told what do and not consulted on processes and changes	We set up an Annual Review Working Group to work in co-production with our Parent Carer Forum, Health, Social Care and the Inclusion Quality Team on the new forms and information.	We will continue to co-produce guidance and information as needed by the SEND Service, parents/carers, schools/settings, other professionals and most importantly, as needed by children and young people with EHC Plans

Page last reviewed: 13 June 2022

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