If your child is changing school phase this year, such as primary to secondary or Year 11 to a college place, there’s an extra deadline on top. The amended plan must name their next school or institution earlier: by 15 February, or by 31 March for post-16 moves. If it’s the move to secondary you’re facing, choosing a secondary school when your child has an EHCP walks through how that deadline interacts with the ordinary admissions round.
Missing that date doesn’t cancel the transfer. It just means your child could start the new phase with no confirmed place.
This is an England-only guide for parents and carers, and for young people aged 16 and over who hold some of these rights themselves. The duty comes from the Children and Families Act 2014 and the SEND Regulations 2014 made under it, which apply to Local Authorities (LAs) in England only.
How often must the council review an EHCP?
Every EHCP gets a formal review at least once every 12 months. That’s counted from the date the plan was made, or from the date of its last review, under section 44 of the Children and Families Act 2014.
If your child is under 5, ask whether your LA follows the SEND Code of Practice’s recommendation of a review every 3 to 6 months instead.
The review isn’t just the meeting itself. It starts weeks before, when the LA gathers reports from school and any professionals involved.
You should get at least 2 weeks’ notice of the date, under regulation 20(3) of the SEND Regulations 2014. Every report has to reach everyone attending at least 2 weeks before the meeting too, under regulation 20(4). That way, you’re not reading your child’s professional reports for the first time in the room.
At the meeting, the conversation should cover whether the outcomes in Section E are still right, and whether the support in Section F is actually being delivered. It should also cover whether the school or setting named in Section I still fits.
Bring your own notes.
What happens after the review meeting?
Within 4 weeks of the meeting, the LA must write to you with its decision, under regulation 20(10) of the SEND Regulations 2014. It has three options: keep the plan as it is, amend it, or stop maintaining it altogether.
If it’s amending the plan, you get a draft of the proposed changes and at least 15 days to respond, under regulation 22(2). The final amended EHCP then has to follow within 8 weeks of that draft being sent, under regulation 22(3). Add it up, and the whole process, from meeting to final plan, has a 12-week outer limit.
That deadline isn’t a suggestion. In R (L, M and P) v Devon County Council [2022] EWHC 493 (Admin), the High Court ruled that staff shortages and workload pressure don’t excuse a council missing it.
The most recent government figures show how often the 4-week deadline is met: only 47.6% of decisions were actually communicated within it in 2025. Just 56.8% of the 597,000 plans due a review that year had one completed at all, according to the Department for Education’s EHC plans statistics.
You’re entitled to chase this.
Why does the date matter more if your child is transferring phase?
An ordinary annual review can run a few weeks late and, while that’s never lawful, it rarely derails anything else. A phase-transfer review is different, because the calendar doesn’t move for anyone.
Regulation 18 of the SEND Regulations 2014 sets fixed points where the amended EHCP must name your child’s next school, college, or type of institution. Miss one, and your child could start the new phase of education with nothing confirmed.
| What happens | Statutory deadline | Who acts |
|---|---|---|
| Meeting notice sent to you | At least 2 weeks before the meeting | LA (Reg 20(3)) |
| Reports circulated to everyone attending | At least 2 weeks before the meeting | School and LA (Reg 20(4)) |
| Review meeting takes place, with a phase-transfer focus | At least once every 12 months; autumn term for a transfer year | School and LA (s.44 CFA 2014; Reg 18) |
| LA’s decision to maintain, amend, or cease | Within 4 weeks of the meeting | LA (Reg 20(10)) |
| Draft amended plan issued | Within 4 weeks of the meeting | LA (Reg 22(2)) |
| Your representations on the draft | Within 15 days of receiving it | You or your young person (Reg 22(2)) |
| Final amended plan naming the next school or college | 15 February in the transfer year; 31 March for secondary to post-16; at least 5 months before for post-16 to post-16 | LA (Reg 18) |
Work backwards from your deadline and the timing gets tight fast. The review-to-final-plan process can take up to 12 weeks from start to finish. So if the final plan needs to name a secondary school by 15 February, the meeting itself needs to happen by around late November.
For a 31 March deadline, aim for early January at the latest. If nothing’s booked in by then, ask the LA directly.
If your young person is moving between post-16 places, remember that from age 16 these decisions, and the right to appeal, belong to them rather than only to you. Involve them in the review from the start.
What if the deadline slips?
If a date passes with no final plan, your child’s rights don’t disappear. Under section 42 of the Children and Families Act 2014, the LA has an absolute duty to keep delivering everything in Section F of the current plan.
The only exception is if you’ve already arranged your own suitable alternative for that specific provision. A late amendment doesn’t pause any of this.
If your child ends up with no school place at all, the LA also has to arrange suitable full-time education under section 19 of the Education Act 1996. Part-time or online-only provision on its own isn’t enough to meet that duty.
You can only appeal to the SEND Tribunal once the LA has actually issued its decision or the final amended plan. If the deadline has simply passed with nothing in writing, there’s nothing yet to appeal against. Put the missed date in writing and ask for it directly rather than waiting for the paperwork.
Our guide on what to do when the council misses your EHCP deadline walks through the full chasing route, from the first letter to the Ombudsman or judicial review.
Common misconceptions about annual reviews
“The review is just one meeting.” It isn’t. It’s a process that starts with evidence-gathering weeks before, and doesn’t finish until the LA’s decision, and if needed the final amended plan, land in writing.
“If the deadline passes, my child loses their place or their support.” Not automatically. The provision in the current plan keeps running, and a missed deadline is the council’s failure to act on time, not a reason your child’s support stops.
“I can appeal as soon as I disagree with something said at the meeting.” Appeal rights only start once the LA’s written decision or final amended plan arrives. Raise your disagreement at the meeting and in writing afterwards, but the formal appeal clock hasn’t started yet.
What should you do next?
Start by checking your child’s year group against the transfer table above, and work out which deadline, if any, applies this year. Most transfers should have a review booked in by autumn term. If nothing’s arranged by then, write to the LA and ask for a date, citing the phase-transfer deadline under regulation 18.
Before the meeting, pull together school and professional reports, examples of your own, and a short written contribution. Our guide on preparing for an annual review with the free assistant compares what Section F promises against what’s actually happened this year.
Mark the 4-week and 12-week points on your own calendar the day the meeting happens. Chasing early is easier than chasing late.
Getting help
IPSEA (Independent Provider of Special Education Advice) publishes free guidance and template letters for phase-transfer reviews and for annual reviews that stall.
Your local SENDIASS (Special Educational Needs and Disability Information, Advice and Support Service) can help you prepare for the meeting and may attend with you. Find yours through the Council for Disabled Children’s IASS Network.
Contact, the charity for families with disabled children, runs a free helpline if you want to talk through the timing or the meeting itself before you go in.