How to run an EHCP review meeting

The EHCP annual review is one of the most important meetings in a SEND pupil's school year — and one of the least consistently run. Done well, it is a meaningful conversation that genuinely shapes the next year of provision. Done poorly, it is a box-ticking exercise that satisfies a legal requirement without achieving much else.

Here is how to run one that does the former.

What the annual review is legally required to do

The EHCP annual review must: consider whether the EHC Plan remains appropriate; assess progress against the outcomes; determine whether any amendments to the plan are needed; and result in a formal recommendation to the local authority to maintain, amend, or cease the plan.

The meeting must include the child's parents or carers, the SENCO or a school representative, and any relevant professionals. The child should be involved in an age-appropriate way.

Preparation matters more than the meeting itself

Most of the value of an annual review is created in the preparation, not in the meeting room. You want everyone arriving having thought about the child's progress and next steps. This means:

Sending pre-meeting information to parents well in advance — not a legal form, but something that genuinely asks them to reflect on how their child is doing, what is going well, and what concerns they still have.

Gathering views from teachers across the curriculum, the child themselves, and any external agencies involved.

Having a clear picture of progress against the current outcomes before the meeting starts — not so the meeting can simply ratify it, but so the conversation can be about what the data means rather than what it is.

Running the meeting well

Start with the child's strengths and progress. This sets the tone and reminds everyone in the room that this is a conversation about a specific person, not a process about a plan.

Work through the outcomes systematically. For each one: is progress being made? At what rate? Is the outcome still appropriate? What needs to happen next?

Give parents genuine space to speak. In many EHCP reviews, professional voices dominate. The parent often has information — about what happens at home, how the child feels about school, what is causing anxiety — that is genuinely material to the review.

Make the recommendations clear and agreed before the meeting ends. Do not leave parents uncertain about what is being recommended to the local authority.

After the meeting

A review report must be submitted to the local authority within two weeks of the meeting. The local authority then has four weeks to respond with their decision.

Keep families informed about timelines. The period between a review meeting and a decision can be anxious for parents. A brief email confirming what was submitted and what the expected timeline is costs almost nothing.