EHCP annual reviews solicitors

Our specialist SEN solicitors support families through EHCP annual reviews, helping to ensure plans remain accurate, appropriate, and reflect a child’s changing needs.

We help families navigate EHCP annual reviews, providing clear advice to protect their child’s educational rights and support.

An annual review is a statutory review of a child or young person’s Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). It ensures that the plan continues to meet the child’s needs, considers progress made, and updates provision where necessary.

At Boyes Turner, our specialist SEN solicitors guide families through the annual review process, helping parents understand their rights, engage effectively with local authorities, and ensure that their child’s EHCP remains fit for purpose. We often attend and support families at an Annual Review.

Trusted and nationally recognised special educational needs specialists with decades of experience.
Clear, practical support at every stage, helping families navigate complex SEN processes.

Extensive experience supporting families with EHCP annual review appeals, including challenges to amendments, changes to provision, and decisions made by local authorities.
Transparent and flexible fee structures, including capped fee options where appropriate.

Our annual review services

Preparing for an EHCP annual review

We help families prepare for annual review meetings by reviewing the existing EHCP, identifying areas that may need to be updated, and advising on the evidence and information needed to support your child’s needs.

Attending EHCP annual review meetings

Our SEN solicitors can attend annual review meetings with families, helping to ensure your views are heard and your child’s needs are properly considered. We provide support throughout the meeting and help address any concerns about provision or outcomes.

Challenging annual review decisions

If you disagree with the outcome of an annual review, we can advise on your options and support you in challenging local authority decisions, including refusals to amend an EHCP, changes to provision, or decisions to cease a plan.

Reviewing and updating EHCPs

We review EHCPs to assess whether they accurately reflect your child’s current needs, progress, and required support. Where amendments are needed, we advise on how the plan can be strengthened to ensure it provides appropriate provision.

Annual reviews FAQs

What is an Annual Review?

An annual review is a formal meeting and process to examine an existing EHCP. The purpose of an annual review is to:

Evaluate progress towards educational, developmental, and wellbeing outcomes
Review whether current provision remains appropriate
Identify any changes in health or social care needs
Plan for transitions, including moving schools, entering further education, training, or preparing for adulthood
Ensure multi-agency support continues to be coordinated
Provide an opportunity to strengthen outcomes and provision for the child

As children grow and reach key milestones, such as transitioning to a new school, annual reviews ensure that the EHCP continues to reflect their evolving needs and that the statutory provision remains appropriate.

What happens during an Annual Review?

Annual reviews are usually initiated and arranged by the child’s school or educational setting, in consultation with the local authority. The school will invite parents, relevant professionals, and, where appropriate, the young person to attend.

During the review, the following typically takes place:

Discussion of progress made towards outcomes set out in the EHCP
Consideration of current support and whether it remains appropriate
Recommendations for any changes to provision, outcomes, or goals
Agreement on a written summary of decisions, which is added to the EHCP

Families may also provide additional evidence, such as medical reports, therapist recommendations, or school assessments, to support updates to the plan.

Annual reviews provide a key opportunity for parents to advocate for their child, highlight evolving needs, and ensure that statutory provision continues to be appropriate. Boyes Turner’s SEN experts often attend annual review meetings with parents to provide advice and support.

How do I prepare for an EHCP annual review? What evidence should I bring to an annual review?

Preparing for an EHCP annual review is an important opportunity to ensure that your child’s needs are fully considered and that the plan continues to reflect their evolving requirements. Before the annual review, it can be helpful to gather relevant evidence such as school reports, recent assessments from educational psychologists or therapists, medical reports, and any observations or notes you have about your child’s progress, challenges, and achievements.

You may also wish to highlight specific outcomes or support you feel are working well or areas where additional provision may be needed. Bringing this evidence to the meeting helps the school and local authority understand your child’s current needs and supports informed decisions about any changes to the EHCP. If you would like, our SEN solicitors can help you formulate your evidence and accompany you to the annual review to ensure you get the most out of the meeting.

What are common issues following an annual review?

While annual reviews are intended to be collaborative, some parents experience delays in scheduling or completing the process. Even once the review has taken place, challenges can arise, including:

Proposed changes that parents do not agree with
Lack of clarity in updated outcomes or provision
Insufficient consideration of new or evolving needs, including key transitions such as moving schools or preparing for adulthood

Having specialist guidance can help parents navigate these challenges, understand their rights, and ensure the EHCP continues to meet their child’s needs effectively.

What if I disagree with the outcome of the annual review?

If you disagree with the decision made following an EHCP annual review, you have several options to ensure your concerns are addressed. You can discuss your views directly with the school and local authority to seek clarification or negotiate changes. If disagreements cannot be resolved informally, parents have the right to request mediation through the local authority’s mediation service, or to appeal to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (SEND Tribunal).

What are the next steps?

Annual reviews are a vital opportunity to ensure that your child’s EHCP continues to meet their evolving needs and supports key milestones, from school transitions to preparation for adulthood.

Our SEN solicitors can help you prepare for the review, gather and present evidence, attend meetings, and, if necessary, challenge or negotiate decisions with the local authority. Contact our SEN team today to discuss your child’s upcoming annual review, get tailored advice, or find out how we can support you in securing the right outcomes for your child.

How much does Boyes Turner's SEN services cost?

The cost of our SEN services will depend on the specific circumstances of your case and the level of support you require. Every child’s needs and situation are different, so we provide tailored advice and offer flexible fee arrangements to ensure our support is appropriate for your circumstances.

We will discuss costs with you at the outset and provide clear information about the options available.

Please note that we do not offer legal aid.

Find out more about our fees and funding options.

Why use our SEN annual review solicitors?

Specialist experience in EHCP annual reviews: Our solicitors have extensive experience supporting families throughout the EHCP annual review process, from preparing for meetings and reviewing plans to challenging decisions that do not properly reflect a child’s needs. Our expertise ensures you receive clear, accurate advice grounded in a detailed understanding of SEND law and local authority duties.

Tailored advice based on your child’s needs: Every child’s circumstances are different. We take the time to understand your child’s individual needs, current provision, and future goals, providing tailored advice to help ensure their EHCP remains accurate, effective, and provides the right level of support.

Support at every stage: The annual review process can be complex and overwhelming for families. We provide practical support at every stage, whether you need help preparing evidence, guidance during the review meeting, or advice on challenging a decision afterwards.

A leading full-service law firm: Boyes Turner is recognised by Chambers UK and The Legal 500 as a leading law firm. As a full-service firm, our specialist teams can support you with related legal needs where required, including Court of Protection, community care, medical negligence and private wealth, ensuring a cohesive and coordinated approach to your care.

Contact us

If you would like advice about a related matter, please complete the form and one of our SEN specialists will be in touch as soon as possible.

Please note we do not offer legal aid. Read about our fees.

Or give us a call:

0118 467 6547

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Our SEN case studies

What our clients say

Tribunal for placement

Laxmi helped with my son tribunal case in regard to section I of his EHCP. Our tribunal got brought forward by 6 months early, not giving us much time to get everything in place. Laxmi was great and said we can do it even with just little time left to get prepared and ready for the Tuesday. As a parent, I didn’t know what we needed to send or do, Laxmi took the time to explain everything to us and what we needed to do to prepare for the tribunal. Laxmi went above and beyond to help us and successfully won getting the school we needed for are son to start in September 2024. I would highly recommend Laxmi to take on the local authority in regard to any EHCP appeals. Thank you for everything you’ve done for us.

Natalie

What our clients say

We were immediately impressed

We were immediately impressed with James and our initial judgment proved correct as we went on to negotiate with Essex a care package for our daughter. Throughout the process, James supported us and was always on hand to give us excellent advice, source and guide an ISW in writing a report for us, and assist with crafting skilfully worded emails to the Authority. More importantly for us, James was always kind and understanding, and brought a wonderful sense of humour to our meetings. We feel most fortunate to have found him and would not hesitate to recommend him

Kitty Carrick

What our clients say

SEN Tribunal

Laxmi’s exceptional understanding in SEN law combined with her professional, honest and empathic approach gave us the assurance that we had a solicitor who was and would continually do her best on our behalf. We would highly recommend any one seeking a SEN solicitor to use Laxmi.

David Bernstein

What our clients say

Support with the EHCP appeal

We would like to thank the Boyes Turner team, especially Janata Ali, for the exceptional support throughout the process. Just over a year ago we were lost and scared for our child’s future. It is a completely different reality today. Our child is much happier in the new school, with all the support and the quality of teaching, mentoring that he is receiving. It was the right battle to fight. It would not have been possible without Janata’s help, guidance, experience and commitment to our case. We are endlessly grateful, as this means that our child can have a better quality of life now and better prospects in the future.

Boyes Turner Client

What our clients say

SEN support for EHCP

Janata Ali is an expert in n her field which resulted in us winning our case against the local authority to issue an EHCP for our son. Our son will hopefully now thrive and we will be forever grateful for her help and support with our case.

Boyes Turner Client

What our clients say

I would most definitely recommend

James, Laxmi and Daisy, worked so Patrick’s case, due to his very complex profile we had to go through three tribunals. They all worked so hard to secure our son’s placement. I would most definitely recommend James and Laxmi to anyone wishing to pursue the right provision for their young person.

Cath and Phil

What our clients say

I’m thankful

I’m thankful that we found James, without him my son would have been abandoned by his Local Authority. Moving on from college is a stressful process for all the family, & Local Authority knows this & uses this to try & push parents to the limit, by ignoring their responsibility hoping that you will give up . In came James, took pressure off me & onto them . Highly recommend. We won , my son now can start his transition to his next chapter. Thank you.

Rebecca Wallace

What our clients say

James was a pleasure to deal with

We contacted Boyes Turner earlier this year after we ran into a dispute with our local authority. This was about a social care matter and learning disability. The case was handled with professionalism and tact. James was a pleasure to deal with. Clear communication, humour and detailed knowledge of the law in this area.

Andrew

What our clients say

James was knowledgeable but at the same time very approachable

The help and support we received from James for our son’s EHC plan has been absolutely invaluable. With his help, we were able to secure an outcome that suits our child. James was knowledgeable but at the same time very approachable and made a very stressful process much more manageable.

Boyes Turner Client

What our clients say

Guiding us through EHCP and transition

James Pantling-Skeet helped us prepare my daughter’s EHCP to gain a good placement for the future. He was patient, extremely knowledgeable, had brilliant contacts, helped withe emotional upheaval and organised meetings with all parties to keep everything on track. We had the best outcome we could have had due to his professionalism. He was very caring too. He and his team worked tirelessly and answered our queries promptly. I would highly recommend their service.

Boyes Turner Client

Recognised leading UK law firm

Boyes Turner is consistently ranked as a leading law firm by top legal directories Chambers and Partners and The Legal 500.

EHCP annual reviews solicitors

We help families navigate EHCP annual reviews, providing clear advice to protect their child’s educational rights and support.

Our annual review services

Preparing for an EHCP annual review

Attending EHCP annual review meetings

Challenging annual review decisions

Reviewing and updating EHCPs

Annual reviews FAQs

Why use our SEN annual review solicitors?

Contact us

0118 467 6547

Related annual review insights

Our special educational needs solicitors

Laxmi Patel

James Pantling-Skeet

Rachael Allison

Emma Trevett

Steven Baylis

Janata Ali

Lacie Smith

Rachel Baxter

Daisy Fox-Clarkin

Libby Buxton

Amber Puri

Our SEN case studies

What our clients say

Tribunal for placement

What our clients say

We were immediately impressed

What our clients say

SEN Tribunal

What our clients say

Support with the EHCP appeal

What our clients say

SEN support for EHCP

What our clients say

I would most definitely recommend

What our clients say

I’m thankful

What our clients say

James was a pleasure to deal with

What our clients say

James was knowledgeable but at the same time very approachable

What our clients say

Guiding us through EHCP and transition

Recognised leading UK law firm

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