Tracking Progress
No limits... Just possibilities
The annual review is the statutory process of looking at the needs and provision specified in an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP), and deciding whether these need to change.
At St Joseph’s, all Education, Health & Care Plans (EHCPs) are reviewed at annual meetings held at the school in Autumn Term each year. This ensures that for all students, and in particular those who are coming up to a change of phase or leading up to their final year and the need for good exit planning, all review paperwork, including minutes and proposed changes to the EHCP, are with Local Authorities in plenty of time for them to take forward any changes agreed or to set in train transition arrangements.
Each year, we send an annual review meeting invitation to parents, to others working with the student, and to Local Authorities in the Spring Term before the annual review meeting. We will also confirm the date and time of the meeting on the annual review report which will be circulated at the end of the Summer term and send a text confirming the date and time the week before the meeting. Families and professionals are invited to submit views ahead of meetings. Any written views will be circulated at the meeting.
The annual review meeting:
- Brings together everyone who is working with your child to review progress and current levels of attainment
- Reviews the outcomes in the EHCP and achievement against them
- Provides an opportunity to consider whether the EHCP remains effective and relevant and whether changes are needed, and to ensure that appropriate future planning is in place
- Encourages students to contribute their views and to attend meetings
- Gives families the chance to share their views and make any comments
- Reviews behaviour, the positive handling plan and the risk assessment
- Allows us to review progress towards outcomes in termly targets (two further target review meetings are held between the education staff and families in Spring and Summer Term).
We will send families and the Local Authority the minutes of the annual review meeting and any proposed changes to the EHCP within 10 days of the annual review. The Local Authority then reviews the student’s EHCP in light of the report and decide whether to keep the plan as it is or to change it.
The Local Authority will send the family their decision within four weeks of the annual review meeting. If the Local Authority decides to amend the EHCP, they should start the process straight away. They will send families a copy of the existing EHCP and a notice which sets out the proposed changes. Families will have 15 days to respond to the proposed changes and can ask to meet with the Local Authority to discuss them.
Throughout the year we do our best to make regular contact with the Local Authority to ensure that we have the most up to date version of the EHCP, that we have a Word version which facilitates our capacity to clearly identify proposed changes to EHCPs made at annual reviews and that we have the names of current case worker and social worker.
Wherever possible, we aim to hold an initial review meeting with families in the term that the student first starts at St Joseph’s.