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EHCP: Reviews

Four adults and one child sat down having a conversation.

Annual Review Process

Your child’s Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) will be reviewed every year. The annual review looks at:

You and your child should be involved at all stages of the annual review process. This includes the annual review meeting.

Annual reviews should take place within one year of the plan being first issued or last reviewed. However, a review can take place sooner if needed (this is called an early annual review). They usually take place at your child's educational setting.

The annual review may be chaired by education setting staff or Local Authority staff. If the annual review is being held at a point of transition to the next phase of education, the review meeting may be chaired by an EHCP Transitions Adviser.

Before the Review Meeting

You will be invited to the review and told who is leading the meeting. You can bring a friend, relative, or independent supporter to the meeting if you would like to. Where possible, the review process should involve your child. They should be encouraged to attend all or part of the meeting.

Other professionals involved in your child’s education should also receive an invitation.

Up-to-date information from all professionals involved with your child will be gathered. This could also include any reports or information you hold that needs to be shared with the school.

All up-to-date information will be sent to you and all the professionals involved in the review. This will be at least two weeks before the review meeting.

You and your child will also need to provide your views before the meeting. The school can help you with this if needed.

When providing your and your child’s views, you should consider:

There is information to help you prepare for the annual review on the EHC Plan page of the Amaze website:

If you have further questions, you can contact Amaze SENDIASS:

At the Review Meeting

You will be able to share your views and your child’s views if they are not able to attend, and ask any questions you may have. 

You can also request any amendments you think the plan needs. This includes requesting a change of school.

A summary of the conversation will be written down during the meeting. This forms part of the information that makes up the annual review paperwork.

An adult and a child sat on one side of a desk, with a professional sat on the other, writing up support plans and a provision map.

After the Review Meeting

Following the annual review meeting, the setting collates all the paperwork and sends it to all attendees and the Local Authority within 2 weeks of the meeting.

This includes any proposed amendments or recommendations for the EHCP.

We will decide whether to update the plan, keep it as it is, or cease the plan.

You should know our decision no later than 4 weeks after the review meeting.

If we are updating the plan, we will prepare a Proposed Amended EHCP and send it to you for comment.

You will have 15 calendar days to send us your comments on the Proposed Amended EHCP. We will also ask you for your school preference. You do not need to name a different school from your child’s current school.

You can also ask for a meeting with us during the 15 days if you have any queries. 

We will consider your comments on the Proposed Amended EHCP carefully and will then send you an Amended Final EHCP. We will do this within 8 weeks of sending you the Proposed Amended EHCP.

We will only consider issuing a Further Proposed Amended if there is new evidence that has not been shared at the annual review meeting.

If you don’t agree with us, you can consider Appeals and Mediation.

Additional Help and Support

Assessment & Planning Officer (APO)

Your APO will be able to support you with any concerns. The APO will contact you if there are any delays, or any information that you should know, as things arise.

Some of our APOs work part-time and may not be available immediately if you telephone or email them. However, if you leave a message, they will always respond to your contact as soon as they are able. You will find their direct telephone number on any of the letters you have received.

You can also contact the Assessment & Planning admin team by:

We will return all contact within the Customer Promise. You can learn more about this on the main East Sussex County Council website:

Amaze SENDIASS

Amaze SENDIASS (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information Advice and Support Service) are a local charity. They offer free, independent, and impartial advice for all matters relating to SEND. Contact Amaze SENDIASS by:

Visit the Amaze SENDIASS web page.

Amaze have also created an ‘EHC Plans Fact Sheet’:

Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (SENDIST)

You have the right to appeal. You can appeal to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (SENDIST). Appeal may be for the following reasons:

We would hope to sort out any disagreements with you and your child’s educational setting first. Please contact your APO in the first instance. They will try and resolve any issues and address any of your concerns. You will find their direct telephone number on any of the letters you have received.

To find out more, please visit our page on EHCP: Appeals and Mediation.

East Sussex Local Offer directory of services

You can visit our SEND-specific online directory, hosted on East Sussex 1Space. The directory lists many different services both throughout the county and online. Services cover many topics, including:

Visit the East Sussex Local Offer directory.

NHS - Health A to Z

The East Sussex Local Offer aims to provide as much information as possible. There may be some conditions that aren't covered in thorough detail. The NHS website has pages that list all conditions. These pages provide information and advice on how to get extra support:

Visit the NHS Health A to Z web page.

Glossary of East Sussex Send Terms

We explain some of the terms used on this website on our page, Glossary of East Sussex SEND Terms.

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