Annual reviews of EHC plans: guidance and process

Last reviewed on 25 March 2022
School types: All · School phases: All
Ref: 11229

Find out about the requirements for reviewing education, health and care (EHC) plans from the SEND Code of Practice, including who should conduct the review in your school and how to carry it out. Also see examples of local authority guidance and templates.

Article tools

Contents

  1. EHC plan reviews must happen at least once a year
  2. How to conduct a review
  3. Examples of LA guidance and forms

The requirements for reviewing education, health and care (EHC) plans are outlined in chapter 9 of the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Code of Practice (pages 194 to 200).

We set out some of the key information below.

EHC plan reviews must happen at least once a year

This means:

  • The first review must happen 12 months after the plan was issued, at the latest
  • Subsequent reviews must happen 12 months after the last review, at the latest
  • If the child or young person’s circumstances change significantly, a new review can be requested before 12 months have elapsed

The local authority (LA) has overall responsibility for reviewing the plans

But in practice it's likely to ask you to arrange the annual review meetings on its behalf. 

The LA can only delegate responsibility for review meetings. It can't delegate responsibility for:

  • EHC reassessments
  • Amendments to EHC plans

They're

Read next

Also in 'SEN assessment and statements/EHC plans'