The annual review meeting
Annual Review meetings should normally be held at the educational institution attended by the child or young person and are generally most effective when led by the educational institution.
The Annual Review meeting must enable full involvement of the parent carers and the child or young person and consider their views wishes and feelings especially when making decisions.
It must focus on the child or young person's progress towards achieving the outcomes specified in the EHCP and on what changes might need to be made to the support that is provided to help them achieve those outcomes, or whether changes are needed to the outcomes themselves.
The Annual Review meeting is also required to check all sections of the EHCP - See "contents of an EHCP" section. It is not just about the educational targets and provision. It can provide an opportunity for parent carers and young people to request changes and updates.
Responsibility for holding an annual review meeting
The overall review process is the Local Authority's (LA's) responsibility. However, in most cases, review meetings will be convened by schools or the educational institution on behalf of the LA. This is because they know the child or young person best and will have the closest contact with them and their family and will have the clearest information about progress and next steps.
If the child or young person does not attend a school or educational institution the Local Authority SEND Team is responsible for arranging and coordinating the review.
Invitations to attend a review should be sent at least 2 weeks before the date of the Annual Review meeting. Reports should also be shared 2 weeks in advance of the meeting.
Who attends an annual review?
The person arranging the Annual Review meeting will coordinate invitations and manage attendance of those people involved in supporting or providing advice to support the child or young person.
The parent carer, child or young person and all relevant professionals working with the child or young person, will be invited to attend the review meeting.
Where a child or young person attends a school or other institution, a representative of that school or other institution, a Local Authority SEND Officer, a health service representative and a Local Authority social care representative must be invited.
Providing a contribution to an annual review
Parent carers and the child or young person must be invited to contribute their views, wishes and feelings towards the review, and should be offered support to do so.
Professionals across education, health and care must co-operate with Local Authorities during reviews and are expected to provide information related to the child or young person's progress towards their outcomes and any recommendations they have.
If services or professionals are not able to attend in person they can still submit a report for inclusion at the meeting.