If you already have an EHCP, you might find the following information helpful.

My needs have changed/ I want more support

If things have changed for you and/ or you feel that you need more support, it may mean that your EHCP needs to be looked at again (reviewed).     

It might be that:     

  • you think you need some more or some different support
  • something has changed with your health or social care needs
  • you think that you need a change of school, college or setting
  • there is a big change coming up that you want some help and support to prepare for

All EHCPs must be reviewed at least every 12 months and you should have been given a date for your next review.     

If there is not a review happening soon, you can still speak to your school, college and/ or SENSAP about your concerns and you can ask for your plan to be reviewed earlier.     


I want to plan for the future

From year 9 onwards your EHCP reviews should talk about something called preparing for adulthood.     

This is to help you to:     

  • prepare for higher education or employment
  • prepare you to be able to live independently
  • be part of your community and have supportive relationships and friendships
  • be as healthy as possible in your adult life
You can read more about this on the planning for your future page, or by visiting the preparing for adulthood website.

I want to change school, setting or college

If you are thinking about a change of school, college or setting.     

You could:     

  • Ask for a meeting with them to discuss why you feel unhappy or why you feel they are not meeting your needs.
  • Speak to the SENSAP team about your concerns
  • Ask for your plan to be reviewed

You might find our support toolkit helpful to prepare for a meeting.     

Why is a plan reviewed?

Your EHCP must be reviewed at least every 12 months, to make sure that it is up to date and is still meeting your needs.     

A review can be requested earlier if it is needed, for reasons such as those mentioned above.     

The review process can take upto 12 weeks. Its purpose is to look at:     

  • Progress towards the outcomes in your plan
  • Information that needs to be included about your SEND
  • If the support you have is meeting your needs
  • If you need anymore support to be added
  • Your goals for the future
  • What will help you to prepare for adulthood
  • To look at your education placement

This is mainly done by holding a meeting to discuss this, known as a review meeting.     

About the review meeting

  • The meeting is usually hosted by the education setting
  • You must be invited
  • Your parents or carers may also be invited, along with any professionals that are working with you.
  • You should be given 2 weeks notice about the meeting
  • All the submitted informations and reports should be shared with you in advance


You might find it helpful to watch our video about reviews:


Asking for an early review

If your next scheduled review is not coming up, you can ask for your plan to be reviewed early for the reasons discussed above.     

You can speak to your school, college or setting to request this.     

Or you can contact SENSAP on:     

  • 0113 3785256

Preparing for a review

As the review is your chance to ask for things to be changed, added or removed from your plan, it is important to think about what you want SENSAP to know.     

You might find our support toolkit helpful when preparing for a review.     

If you are unhappy with anything that happens during the review process, or if you have any questions about it, you can contact us to talk about this.     

What happens during a review meeting?

Your EHCP needs to be looked at once each 12 months to make sure that it is still helpful to you. This is sometimes called the annual review     

It is a chance for you to say what you think about it, talk about anything that is worrying you or ask for any other help or support that you think you need.

The following steps make up the review process:     

  • SENSAP will ask you for your views about your EHCP (you can use the EHC3 form).
  • A review meeting take place to talk about your EHCP
  • SENSAP will ask for information from your school, setting or college, your parents/carers and anyone else that has been working with you to help them to make decisions about your plan.
  • Within 4 weeks SENSAP will tell you if they are going to keep your plan the same, make changes to it or stop it

You might find it helpful to watch our video about review meetings:


What happens after a review meeting?

The whole review process can take 12 weeks.     

After the EHCP review meeting:     

  • Your school or setting must send copies of the review meeting report to SENSAP within 2 weeks. You will also be sent a copy of the report
  • SENSAP then has 2 weeks to decide whether to change your plan, keep it the same or stop your plan
  • SENSAP will write to you, to tell you their decision
  • If SENSAP agree to make changes to your plan, they will send you a document called a draft plan, so that you can see what your new plan will look like. Section I, which names your placement setting is left blank in a draft plan.
  • You will then have 15 days to tell SENSAP what you think about this draft plan.
  • Your plan must be made final within 8 weeks, which is when it becomes a legally binding document again.

If you are not happy with the final version of your plan, you can choose to appeal this to the SEND tribunal. You can contact us to talk about this and get some further help and advice.      

You might find it helpful to watch our video about review meetings:


I don't want a plan anymore

If you do not think that you need your EHCP anymore then you can speak to your school, college or setting about this.     

You can also contact SENSAP on:     

  • 0113 3785256 or

Your plan will automatically stop when you reach the age of 25, or if you choose to leave further education or training.



More information, advice and support (IAS)

Leeds SENDIASS are not responsible for the content of sites or services offered by third parties.

You can find more resources on our useful SEND links and tools page.