EHCP annual review support
Prepare clear requests for the support your child needs now and for their next stage of education.
An annual review should check whether the plan is accurate, the provision is being delivered and the outcomes and placement remain appropriate.
We help you build an evidence-led position before the review, with the option of online meeting attendance and support through the initial local-authority response.
Review the plan, the delivery and the next steps
The annual review is a statutory process: gathering advice, a meeting, a written report and a local-authority decision. The meeting alone does not change the EHCP.
Is the plan still accurate?
Check changing needs, new professional advice, your child’s views and priorities for the year ahead.
Is support being delivered?
Compare Section F with what your child actually receives, including frequency, duration and staffing.
What needs to change?
Identify amendments to needs, provision, outcomes or placement, supported by specific evidence.
You do not have to wait to raise urgent concerns
EHCPs must normally be reviewed at least every 12 months. More frequent reviews may be appropriate for children under five. Significant changes, attendance deterioration, placement instability or missing provision may need action sooner.
Raise urgent concerns with the school and local authority promptly. A review request should not delay action to address provision that is already required by the plan.
Choose preparation or support through the meeting
Both packages help you identify the important changes and prepare a clear written position. Documents and evidence allowances are agreed before work starts.
Annual Review Preparation
£275
For parents who will attend and manage the review themselves.
- Review of the current EHCP and agreed evidence allowance.
- Comparison of Section F with provision delivered.
- Identification of missing or outdated needs and required amendments.
- Consideration of current outcomes.
- Written parental representations.
- Questions and requested outcomes for the meeting.
- One preparation consultation.
- One agreed revision.
Supported Annual Review
£425
For parents wanting help before, during and immediately after the review.
Everything in Preparation, plus:
- Attendance at one online annual review meeting.
- Support presenting concerns and requested amendments.
- Practical help keeping the discussion focused.
- Review of the school’s meeting recommendations.
- Initial review of the local authority’s decision.
- One agreed follow-up response.
What is additional? A detailed review of a later amended draft or notice of amendment is quoted separately unless expressly included. Appeals, mediation and further casework are separate services. Your written service schedule confirms the fee, evidence allowance, meeting and follow-up work.
Check the important sections together
General progress reports can miss outdated needs, weak wording or support that has not been delivered. We review how the sections connect.
Section A: your child’s views and aspirations
Update strengths, interests, wishes, difficulties, parental views and hopes for the next stage. Gather the child or young person’s views in a way they can access comfortably.
Section B: current special educational needs
Check new needs, functional difficulties, professional findings and educational impact. Communication, sensory, emotional and independence needs should not be overlooked, and outdated descriptions may need revising.
Section E: outcomes that remain meaningful
Consider progress, which outcomes have been achieved and which need continuing, changing or replacing. Outcomes should be clear, measurable and relevant to current priorities and the next stage. They do not replace specified provision.
Section F: provision and actual delivery
Check that provision addresses the special educational needs and is clear about what happens, who delivers it, frequency, duration, individual or group support, group size and staff training or qualifications where relevant.
Consider specialist oversight and progress monitoring. Then compare the written requirements with what has actually been delivered.
Section I: suitability of placement
Can the setting deliver Section F and provide the environment your child needs? Consider attendance, wellbeing, peer environment, placement stability and the next phase of education.
Explore placement supportMake missing provision visible
Keep a simple delivery record. Quote the relevant wording from Section F, record what happened and connect it to the impact on your child.
What the plan requires
For example: three individual speech and language programme sessions each week.
What has happened
For example: records show one group session most weeks. Note the dates and how long this has continued.
Evidence and action needed
Use timetables, provision maps, emails and relevant observations. Explain the impact and request corrective action, with a responsible person and date.
Raise delivery failures promptly. The local authority is responsible for securing the special educational provision in Section F. Contact the school and local authority about missing provision rather than waiting for the annual review to resolve it.
Gather evidence around the changes you want
Plan and school information
- Current EHCP and previous review report.
- School reports, intervention records and provision maps.
- Progress, attainment and attendance information.
- Incident or exclusion records where relevant.
Professional advice
- Educational Psychology, Speech and Language Therapy and Occupational Therapy reports.
- Relevant ADHD or autism assessment reports.
- Health and social care information.
- Advice about transition or placement.
Family and pupil views
- What is working and what is difficult.
- Changes at home, attendance and emotional wellbeing.
- Your child’s wishes and experience.
- Correspondence about missing provision.
- Requested amendments and priorities for the next year.
Use specific examples in your parent views
Instead of “the support is not working”, explain what the plan requires, what has been provided and the continuing difficulty. For example: three individual language sessions are required, but records show one group session, and your child still struggles with classroom instructions.
Read the circulated reports for factual errors, missing evidence, conflicting advice and recommendations that should be reflected in the plan.
Questions to take into the meeting
Ask for clear answers, actions, responsibilities and dates. Relevant professionals may attend or provide written advice; not every professional attends every review.
Needs, provision and outcomes
- Does Section B describe all current needs?
- Which Section F provision has been delivered, and what records confirm this?
- Which outcomes have been achieved or need replacing?
- What professional advice needs updating?
- What additional provision is needed?
Placement, recommendations and decisions
- Does the placement remain suitable?
- What support is needed for the next transition?
- Which amendments will be recommended?
- How will disagreements be recorded?
- When will the local authority issue its decision?
Where an important recommendation is unclear or disputed, ask whether the relevant professional can attend or provide updated advice.
Know what to expect next
The review report records recommendations. The local authority decides whether to keep the plan unchanged, amend it or cease maintaining it.
Review report
For a review involving a school or institution, the report must be sent within two weeks of the meeting. Check requested changes, differing views, actions and responsibilities are recorded accurately.
Local-authority decision
The authority must notify the parent or young person of its decision within four weeks of the review meeting.
If amendments are proposed
You must be given at least 15 days to make representations on proposed amendments. The amended final plan must be issued as soon as practicable and within eight weeks of the amendment notice.
If the plan is maintained without changes
You may disagree if changed needs, missing provision or placement concerns have not been addressed. Check the decision letter for appeal rights and deadlines, and seek advice promptly.
If the local authority agrees to amend
Do not assume every meeting recommendation will be included. Check the proposed wording against the evidence: needs, provision, outcomes and placement. A detailed amended-plan review can be agreed separately.
Explore draft EHCP review supportIf the local authority proposes to cease the plan
Progress alone does not necessarily mean the plan is no longer needed, particularly where that progress depends on provision. Consider continuing needs, education or training, transition and the impact of removing support.
A cease-to-maintain decision may be appealable. Check the decision date and obtain advice promptly.
Transitions and preparation for adulthood
Phase transfer
Moving into school, between school phases or into post-16 education needs early planning. Consider future needs, environmental requirements, curriculum access, staffing, therapies, travel and placement preferences.
Check the relevant phase-transfer deadlines with the local authority and plan the review well ahead of the move.
Primary to secondary transition guidanceFrom Year 9 onwards
Reviews should include preparation for adulthood: further education, employment, independence, travel, community participation, relationships, health management and self-advocacy.
Outcomes should reflect the young person’s aspirations and be supported by appropriate specified provision.
How we support you
- Book a free consultation. Tell us the review date, main concerns, transition plans and documents you hold.
- Share the relevant documents. Include your current EHCP, previous review, recent evidence and proposed changes.
- Agree the package and scope. We confirm the evidence allowance, documents, consultation, meeting attendance, follow-up, fee and exclusions.
- Prepare a clear position. We analyse the plan and evidence and produce the agreed representations and questions.
- Complete the agreed support. In the supported package, we attend one online meeting and review the initial response as agreed.
Our approach connects needs, outcomes, provision and placement, with clear parent-friendly explanations. Preparation and online meeting support are available remotely across England.
Frequently asked questions
Who is this service suitable for?
Families with an outdated plan, changed needs, missing provision, unsuitable outcomes, deteriorating attendance or wellbeing, new evidence, placement pressures or a forthcoming transition. It can also help where previous reviews have led to little change or you are unsure how to request amendments.
Can I request an early review?
Yes. Explain significant changes and why waiting is inappropriate: new needs, emotional distress, attendance deterioration, exclusion risk, placement instability or an urgent transition issue. Asking does not automatically mean a review will be arranged, so follow up and raise urgent provision concerns separately.
What if the annual review is late?
Write to the school and local authority with the date of the final plan or previous review. Request the review date, keep correspondence and explain the impact on provision, placement or transition. Seek advice if the delay continues.
Can the school change the EHCP?
The school can recommend amendments. The local authority is responsible for deciding whether and how to amend the plan.
Can you attend the meeting?
Attendance at one online annual review meeting is included in the £425 Supported Annual Review package.
Does support include a full review or rewrite of the amended plan?
No. A detailed amended-plan review is quoted separately unless expressly included in the written scope. The supported package includes initial review of the local-authority decision and one agreed follow-up response.
Can I upgrade from preparation support?
Where possible, subject to availability and the case remaining within scope. Please contact us before the meeting.
What if I disagree with the local authority’s decision?
Depending on the decision, you may have appeal rights. Check the decision letter and seek advice promptly. Enquiries or ongoing discussions do not automatically extend deadlines.
Is this service available throughout the UK?
This service concerns the EHCP framework in England. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland operate different statutory systems.
Important service information
School of Diversity provides practical SEND guidance, evidence review, document preparation and parent advocacy. We cannot guarantee acceptance of amendments, continuation of an EHCP or a particular placement.
Unless expressly agreed otherwise, this is not representation by a solicitor or barrister or a substitute for regulated legal advice where required. Parents and young people remain responsible for forwarding correspondence promptly and checking local-authority, mediation and appeal deadlines.
Further information: SEND Code of Practice and SEND Regulations 2014.
Make your next annual review count
Share the current EHCP, review date and your main concerns. We will help you identify what needs to change and prepare clear requests for the next stage.