To build an EHC plan annual review calendar, start with each plan's statutory anniversary and any phase-transfer deadline.
Work backwards to reserve the meeting, request and circulate advice, send invitations, prepare the report and track the local authority's decision.
Give every step an owner and an evidence source. Review the calendar at least termly, because a meeting date alone is not a completed annual review.
This guide is for schools in England and is accurate on 27 July 2026. It is not legal advice, and local-authority processes may add earlier operational dates.
Why build the calendar before September
The legal clock belongs to each EHC plan, not to a convenient school term. A neat row of spring meetings can still miss a December anniversary or a February phase-transfer deadline.
Section 44 of the Children and Families Act 2014 requires the local authority to review a maintained EHC plan at least every 12 months.
The SEND Code says the first review must be held within 12 months of issue and later reviews within 12 months of the previous review.
It also says the local authority's decision after the meeting must be notified within four weeks and within that 12-month cycle.
The latest national EHC plan statistics, published in June 2026, report the meeting, decision and amended-draft stages separately. The process has several clocks because reality declined to fit in one column.
No relevant official development in the previous 72 hours changed these duties. The calendar below applies the current Act, regulations and statutory guidance.
Start with four anchor dates
Build one controlled register of dates before placing meetings in the diary. Keep the source beside each date, and flag any conflict for verification rather than choosing the tidiest value.
- Plan issue or previous review: the verified date that anchors the next 12-month cycle.
- Review due by:the local authority's statutory completion point, not merely the preferred meeting week.
- Phase transfer: the next move between the phases defined in the SEND Regulations.
- Operational meeting: a school date early enough for the report and local-authority decision to follow.
For children under five, the Code says local authorities should consider reviews every three to six months. These complement, rather than replace, the annual statutory duty.
Use one backward-planning sequence
The statutory minimums below are not a complete project plan. Add sensible school and local-authority lead time, especially where health, social care or specialist advice is needed.
| Calendar point | Action | Owner and evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Before the year starts | Verify every statutory anchor, transfer and known exception | SENCo checks the final plan, previous review and LA record |
| At least termly | Reconcile the school calendar with the LA's forthcoming list | SENCo records additions, conflicts and named follow-up |
| School planning buffer | Reserve the meeting and request advice early enough to circulate it | Review owner confirms attendees, access and contribution routes |
| At least two weeks before | Give required invitees notice and send gathered advice to all invited | School retains invitations, advice and circulation evidence |
| Meeting | Review progress, outcomes, provision and any needed changes | Chair records views, attendance, differences and recommendations |
| Within two weeks after | Send the meeting report and recommendations to everyone invited | School records the sent report and any differing recommendations |
| Within four weeks after | Track the LA decision to maintain, amend or cease the plan | LA owns the decision; school records receipt and resulting actions |
| Next cycle | Record the next anchor, unresolved actions and evidence to review | SENCo samples closure rather than assuming the meeting closed the work |
The school planning buffer is deliberately not labelled as law. Set it from your local process, staff capacity and the time contributors need.
A calendar that begins at the two-week statutory notice point has confused the last safe moment with a sensible start.
Place transition reviews first
Phase transfers override the temptation to schedule solely by anniversary. Regulation 18 requires review and any necessary amendment by 15 February for transfers into or between schools.
For transfer from secondary school to a post-16 institution, the deadline is 31 March in the calendar year of transfer.
Transfers between post-16 institutions need separate handling. Where a transfer is proposed within the next 12 months, review and any necessary amendment must occur at least five months before it.
Put these pupils into the autumn planning window first, then work backwards with the local authority. Do not wait for the ordinary anniversary if that would make the transfer deadline impossible.
From Year 9 onwards, reviews must include a preparation-for-adulthood focus. Reserve time to gather the young person's views and the relevant education, health, care and future-planning evidence.
The connected-data view
Consider a fictional composite Year 9 pupil whose review anniversary falls in January. The calendar shows a November meeting, but a date alone cannot show whether the review is ready.
The EHC plan lists communication and independence outcomes. Provision records show that one agreed activity started late, while attendance context shows missed sessions on the delivery days.
Pupil voice says the travel routine limits an after-school activity. These records change the question from “Is the paperwork ready?” to “What evidence is needed to review access and preparation for adulthood fairly?”
The SENCo asks the pupil and family what matters, checks delivery with staff, requests relevant professional advice and assigns a due date for the missing evidence before circulation.
The combined data does not prove that attendance caused slower progress or that the EHC plan must be amended. It identifies an evidence gap and a professional question.
What the calendar and data cannot prove
An overdue marker does not by itself establish who breached a duty. Verify the plan type, legal anchor, event history and the local authority's decision record.
A scheduled meeting does not prove that views were gathered, advice was circulated, provision was delivered or the local authority completed its decision.
Attendance, attainment or behaviour patterns cannot diagnose need or dictate an annual review outcome. They can prompt proportionate enquiry when interpreted with the pupil, family and relevant professionals.
Keep facts, views, professional judgements and system flags distinct. The ICO's accuracy guidance also supports recording the source and status of personal data where accuracy is challenged.
How Student Radar supports the workflow
In Student Radar, the Annual Review workflow keeps the due date, meeting, owner, readiness, documents and statutory milestones together for authorised staff.
The Planner can show school and personal events, actions, reviews and deadlines. Its scheduling assistant includes an annual-review meeting type and can link invited staff and the relevant pupil.
That supports co-ordination, but software does not transfer the local authority's statutory duty to the school or make a review compliant by displaying a green date.
Next actions for the SENCo
- Export or list every active EHC plan and verify its legal anchor.
- Mark phase transfers, Year 9 reviews and under-five reviews.
- Place transition deadlines before ordinary anniversary scheduling.
- Work backwards through notice, advice, meeting, report and decision.
- Assign an owner and evidence source to every step.
- Reconcile the calendar with the local authority at least termly.
- Sample completed cycles, not only meetings held.
If the source dates are unreliable, run the review-date audit first. For a connected annual-review walkthrough, contact Student Radar.
Sources and further reading
- Children and Families Act 2014, section 44, UK Parliament, 2014.
- Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014, regulation 18, UK Parliament, 2014.
- Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014, regulation 20, UK Parliament, 2014.
- Department for Education and Department of Health and Social Care, SEND code of practice: 0 to 25 years, published 11 June 2014 and page updated 12 September 2024.
- Department for Education, Education, health and care plans: 2026, published 25 June 2026 and updated 30 June 2026.
- Information Commissioner's Office, Principle (d): Accuracy, current guidance accessed 27 July 2026.