HOW TO… PREPARE AN EHCP ANNUAL REVIEW REPORT
All EHC plans must be reviewed at least every 12 months and when a child/young person moves between key phases of education. This will entail holding an Annual Review meeting and preparing an Annual Review report, both of which are normally done by the child/young person’s school or college, as they know the child/young person and their family best and have the clearest information about progress and next steps.
In this guide we’ll be looking at the importance of the Annual Review report and providing some top tips for those involved in the review process.
Why is the quality of Annual Review reports so important?
The Annual Review report is central to what happens next with a child/young person’s plan: the Local Authority will use this report (and any other new and relevant advice) to decide whether the child/young person’s plan should be maintained, amended or ceased, and if an amendment goes ahead, the report will also be central to updating the plan to reflect the child/young person’s current needs and support requirements.
Top 7 tips for Annual Reviews
1.
Encourage the child/young person and their parents/carers to attend the review meeting and support them to provide their views on the current situation and all aspects of the existing plan.
2.
Invite other involved professionals to attend the meeting and provide updated information.
3.
Provide a comprehensive update on the child/young person’s strengths and needs, including both progress made and ongoing/new needs.
4.
Annotate the existing plan to show suggested changes.
5.
Review the child/young person’s progress against the outcomes in their plan – do any outcomes need removing/updating/adding?
6.
Review the effectiveness of the existing special educational provision e.g. what is working, what is not working, what has not yet been implemented, what new provision might need to be added.
7.
From Year 9 onwards, address strengths, needs and support requirements relating to the young person preparing for adulthood.
Further learning
If you are involved in holding review meetings, preparing review reports and/or amending plans following review, you can learn more about statutory requirements and best practice with our Bitesize Amending EHC Plans online course.