When your child is in Year 5, the annual review will need to be completed by 15 April as usual. 

When your child starts Year 6, your LA should start the phase transfer review process in the autumn term to make sure that it leaves enough time to carry out and complete the review before the phase transfer deadline of 15 February. 

As an example, if the phase transfer review meeting is held on 1 November, your LA must tell you its decision about the plan within 4 weeks of that meeting (29 November at the latest). Your LA must tell you if it is going to maintain the EHC plan without any changes, change the EHC plan (and what changes the LA is proposing), or cease (stop) the EHC plan. 

If the deadline for the LA to tell you this decision by is 29 November and the LA sends to you its decision on 25 November, then the review is concluded on that November 25th date. This has the effect of re-setting the clock for annual reviews. The next annual review for your child’s EHC plan in Year 7 must be completed by 25 November, not 29 November or 15 April. 

The dates for reviews to be completed by for your child would look like this: 

Year 5 – by 15 April 2024

Year 6 – by 29 November 2024

Year 7 – within 12 months of 25 November 2024

Year 8 – within 12 months of the date the Year 7 annual review was concluded. 

Remember too, if your LA is going to amend your child’s EHC plan in a phase transfer review it must: 

  • send to you its proposed amendments at the same time it tells you its decision to amend the EHC plan
  • give you at least 15 calendar days to comment on the draft plan, ask for a particular school or other institution is named and request a meeting with the LA, and
  • send to you the final EHC plan within 8 weeks of its decision letter (this date must always be by the longstop date of 15 February). In this example, if the LA decided to amend the EHC plan, it must send a final version of it within 8 weeks of its decision letter of 25 November (and not by 15 February).