EHCP annual reviews for post-16 learners in college

The annual review is the one point each year when everyone involved in an EHC plan is required to stop and ask whether it is still right. Done well, it is the young person’s meeting: a chance to say what is working, what is not and what they want next. Done badly, it is a form-filling exercise held at short notice with a report that arrives too late to change anything. This guide sets out the legal timeline for post-16 reviews, who does what, and how colleges can make reviews useful.

It explains duties and good practice, not legal advice.

What does the law say about EHCP annual reviews?

A local authority must review every EHC plan it maintains within 12 months of the plan being made, and then within every 12 months of the last review (section 44, Children and Families Act 2014). The detailed process is in the SEND Regulations 2014. For a young person who attends a school, college or other institution, regulation 20 applies.

Regulation 20 requires that:

• the local authority makes sure a review meeting is held
• the young person (or parent, where relevant), the head or principal of the institution, a local authority SEN officer, a health care professional and a social care officer are invited
• advice and information about the young person is obtained from those invited and circulated at least two weeks before the meeting
• at least two weeks’ notice of the meeting is given
• the meeting considers progress towards the outcomes in the plan
• for young people in or beyond year 9, the meeting considers what provision is needed to help them prepare for adulthood and independent living
• a report is prepared within two weeks of the meeting and sent to everyone invited
• the local authority decides whether to keep the plan as it is, amend it or cease it, and notifies the young person within four weeks of the meeting

What is the post-16 EHCP annual review timeline?

Working back from the meeting date, a typical timeline looks like this:

The amendment steps come from regulation 22. Each decision to keep, amend or cease the plan must come with information about the right to appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (SEND) and about mediation.

Who arranges the EHCP annual review at a college?

The local authority is responsible. Regulation 20 lets the local authority require the head teacher or principal of certain schools to arrange the meeting and write the report, but that list does not include post-16 institutions. Where the young person attends a college, the regulations say the local authority prepares the report itself.

In practice, many local authorities ask colleges to host the meeting, gather the advice and draft the report, and most colleges agree because they hold the evidence and know the learner. If you take this on, agree in writing who is doing what, especially who sends the report and by when. Delays at this point are a common reason post-16 reviews slip.

What are the special rules for phase transfer?

Regulation 18 sets fixed deadlines when a young person is moving between phases:

• Secondary school to post-16: the local authority must review and, where necessary, amend the plan by 31 March in the calendar year of transfer, so it names the post-16 institution or type of institution.
• One post-16 institution to another: where a young person moves at any other point, the plan must be reviewed and, where necessary, amended at least five months before the transfer.

These deadlines are the backbone of school to college transition. Colleges that want to be named should respond quickly and specifically to local authority consultations in the autumn and spring terms.

How should a college prepare evidence for an annual review?

Bring evidence of what was delivered and what difference it made, not only a description of the course. Useful evidence includes:

1. The young person’s own view, gathered in a conversation before the meeting, in their words. See the learner voice conversation template.
2. Progress towards each outcome in section E, with examples. Outcomes that cannot be evidenced are a sign they need rewriting.
3. Delivery of section F provision, including any missed provision and how it was recovered. Gaps are less damaging when they were noticed and acted on.
4. Attendance and engagement data, with context.
5. Changes in need, including new diagnoses, mental health concerns or changes at home.
6. Specialist reports, such as therapy or educational psychology input, where they exist.
7. Next steps, including the next course or destination and what will help with it.

If evidence is collected through the year, preparing the review takes hours, not weeks. See recording support delivery evidence and reviewing whether support worked.

How do you put the young person at the centre of their review?

Start from the young person’s agenda, not the form. From the end of compulsory school age, the rights under Part 3 of the Act belong to the young person, so their views carry the decisions about their plan, subject to capacity.

Practical steps:

• Ask how they want to take part. Some want to chair, some want to present, some want to attend for part of the meeting, some prefer to share their views beforehand.
• Prepare together. Use a short set of questions: what is going well, what is hard, what they want to change, what they want to do next. The learner voice question bank can help.
• Use accessible formats. Visual agendas, plain-English reports, and time to process.
• Keep it small. Not every invitee needs to be in the room at once.
• Write the record in their words where you can, and show it to them before it is sent.

Fictional example: Amira, 19, is on a supported internship. At her pre-review conversation she says she wants to work in a hotel kitchen and is anxious about travelling alone. Her review focuses on two things: kitchen skills evidenced by her employer mentor, and a travel training plan. The amended outcomes describe these in her words: “I can travel to work on my own by bus by June.”

What should a year 9+ review cover on preparing for adulthood?

From year 9, every review must consider what is needed to prepare for adulthood and independent living. For post-16 learners this is the heart of the review. The SEND Code of Practice frames this around four outcomes:

See preparing for adulthood outcomes for how to write outcomes in each area.

When can a review lead to a plan ending?

A review can recommend that the plan be ceased, but only the local authority decides. Under section 45 of the Act, a plan can be ceased if the local authority is no longer responsible or decides the plan is no longer necessary. For a young person over 18, the local authority must consider whether the education or training outcomes have been achieved. A plan cannot be ceased until the appeal period has ended or any appeal has been decided. Be cautious about recommending cessation when the young person is still in education and needs support. See EHC plans in further education.

What are the common problems with post-16 reviews?

• Late notice. Invitations sent a week before, which breaches the two-week minimum and loses key contributors.
• Advice not circulated in time. Reports tabled at the meeting cannot be considered properly.
• Outcomes copied forward. The same outcomes year after year suggest nobody is checking progress.
• Reports that never arrive. Agree who writes the report and track the four-week decision date.
• Amendments that drift. If proposed amendments are not finalised within eight weeks, the young person can raise this with the local authority and take advice.
• No learner voice. A review where the learner did not speak is not person-centred.

A support review meeting template and review meeting agenda tool can help structure the meeting.

How does Inclusion Studio support annual reviews?

Inclusion Studio is learner support software in development for England FE colleges and apprenticeship providers, at pre-pilot stage with a clickable prototype using fictional learners. It is designed to build review evidence through the year: the learner’s views in their own words, delivered and missed support, and review outcomes that record whether support was kept, changed or stopped. A controlled evidence export is planned to help prepare review advice. It does not manage the local authority’s statutory process, and the provider remains responsible for its contribution.