Phase Transfer Annual Review

The Annual Review is an opportunity for all parties (parent, school and child) to discuss the transition to Year 7 and to consider preferred schools – secondary schools can be discussed at Annual Reviews but the formal process will take place early in Year 6. 

At a phase transfer Annual Review the school must return the review paperwork to the LA within two weeks (copies of the paperwork should also be sent to the parents).  The Annual review must be completed by 15 February. 

For this reason, phase transfer Annual Reviews often take place in the Autumn term to ensure they are concluded well before the end of Year 6.  

After the review, the EHC plan will be amended to state that the young person will continue to attend their current setting until the end of the academic year (or another date if different). 

In Section I of the EHC plan, it should name the setting or the type of setting that they will attend from the start of the academic year.  If you need to appeal, this will give you plenty of time for it to be concluded and to prepare for the September term.   

The Essex Local Authority will consider your preference of school but will also consult with schools that are the nearest most appropriate school closest to your current home address.   

If you decide to move to another local authority, your child’s EHC plan must be transferred from Essex to the new local authority for them to follow their own review/consultation process for school placement. 

Please read our information on Year 9 Annual Reviews (Preparing for Adulthood)

• SEND Operations Service (local authority) ask for Annual Reviews to be held in the autumn term of year 11.  Conversations about next steps should have already taken place in the Year 10 annual review and students may already have decided what they want to do.
• Following discussions around next steps, the review paperwork will be circulated to you, the local authority and anybody else that attended the meeting,  within two weeks.  The Local Authority then reviews the EHC Plan in light of the report and will make one of three decisions (to leave the plan unchanged, to amend or cease the plan).  
• They must also inform you and your young person the  right to appeal through the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) First Tier Tribunal. 
• If the local authority agree that the EHC plan needs amending then the Local Authority must write to you with that decision within four weeks of the review meeting.  
• Parents/young person can make representations about the content of the draft EHC plan, request that a particular school/institution is named, and request a meeting with the SEND Operations Team.
• Across the autumn term responses to consultations are collated; any feedback on draft EHCPs is collated/acted upon and a final EHC plan will be issued confirming placements.
• They must also inform you and your young person the  right to appeal through the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) First Tier Tribunal.
• For those transferring from secondary school to a post-16 institution, the EHC plan must be reviewed and amended by 31 March in the year of transfer. For all other phases of transfer, the deadline is 15 February in the year of transfer.

Following an Annual Review (and only following a review) the Local Authority could decide to cease to maintain the EHC plan and they must notify the young person of their right to appeal that decision (following consideration of mediation) and the timescales in which to apply.

 

Generally a plan will only be ceased where the Special educational provision specified is no longer relevant, for example when a young person leaves education or training or if their outcomes have been fully achieved. Any decision to cease a plan should have been discussed during the Annual Review with parent and/or young person.

The SEND_Code_of_Practice_January_2015 2015 says:

8.10 Preparing for adulthood planning in the review of the EHC plan should include:

support to prepare for higher education and/or employment. This should include identifying appropriate post-16 pathways that will lead to these outcomes. Training options such as supported internships, apprenticeships and traineeships should be discussed, or support for setting up your own business. The review should also cover support in finding a job, and learning how to do a job (for example, through work experience opportunities or the use of job coaches) and help in understanding any welfare benefits that might be available when in work

An EHC plan does not stop because a young person begins an apprenticeship or internship – an EHC plan will only cease if it is no longer necessary. 

Before a local authority can take an EHC plan away, an annual review must be carried out.  An annual review is an opportunity for parents to share their views, the young person’s views, outlining the young person’s aspirations, achievements and  wishes for their education or training journey.  Following the annual review, the local authority will consider everyone’s views and decide if the EHC plan is ‘necessary’ for the young person’s next step.  The local authority will need to consider if the young person has achieved the outcomes in the EHC plan and if they need continued support to transition to adulthood.  

An annual review is an opportunity for parents to share their views, the young person’s views, outlining the young person’s aspirations, achievements and  wishes for their education or training journey.  Following the annual review, the local authority will consider everyone’s views and decide if the EHC plan is ‘necessary’ for the young person’s next step.  The LA will need to consider if the young person has achieved the outcomes in the EHC plan and if they need continued support to transition to adulthood.  An educational placement or training has to be named in the EHC plan by 31st March for post-16 students.

Below are the circumstances in which a local authority may not cease to maintain an EHC plan where the person is aged 18 or over:

1. (1) When a young person aged 18 or over ceases to attend the educational institution specified in his or her EHC plan, so is no longer receiving education or training, a local authority may not cease to maintain that EHC plan, unless it has reviewed that EHC plan in accordance with regulations 18 and 19 and ascertained that the young person does not wish to return to education or training, either at the educational institution specified in the EHC plan, or otherwise, or determined that returning to education or training would not be appropriate for the young person.

(2) Where following the review, the local authority ascertains that the young person wishes to return to education or training either at the educational institution specified in the EHC plan, or at another educational institution, and determines that it is appropriate for the young person to do so, it must amend the young person’s EHCP as it thinks necessary in accordance with regulation 22.

Following an Annual Review, if the local authority have made the decision to Cease to Maintain your young person’s EHC plan then you can appeal to the SEND Tribunal within two months of the local authority decision.  

It is clear from the SEND Code of Practice and the Department for Education Guidance that young people with EHCP’s are entitled to apprenticeships and internships.  Therefore the EHCP should operate in the same way as it would for a young person accessing any type of education or training.

Please read our Annual Review information which explains the process in detail. To allow sufficient time for transition, there are specific legal timescales for an annual review ahead of a child or young person moving into a different phase of education, as per the The SEND Regulations 2014 . The final amended EHC plan (including the name of the setting for September) must be issued in the year of transfer by:

• 31 March if the transfer is from secondary school to a post-16 institution
• (b) 15 February in any other case, or
• (c) If a young person is moving from one post-16 institution to another post-16 institution at any   other time, at least five months before that transfer takes place.

The local authority is expected to follow the lawful process and timescales (outlined from chapter 9.166 in the SEND Code of Practice 2015), however our advice is to contact the SEND Operations Team   in the first instance, so you can find out what is causing the delay and when you will receive the amended plan.

Let them know how the delay is impacting your child or young person, or for example where it is preventing being able to plan transition to the new school or setting.

If you are unhappy with their response, you could formally complain to the local authority.  Ipsea (Information Parent Special Educational Advice) have created some example model letters to complain to the local authority Ipsea Model Letter 12 .  

If this doesn’t resolve things, you can then complain to the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman.

The Department for Education  SEND: 19- to 25-year-olds’ entitlement to EHC plans - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) says

 

In line with preparing young people for adulthood, a local authority must not cease an EHC plan simply because a young person is aged 19 or over. Young people with EHC plans may need longer in education or training to achieve their outcomes and make an effective transition into adulthood. However, this position does not mean that there is an automatic entitlement to continued support at age 19 or an expectation that those with an EHC plan should all remain in education until age 25. A local authority may cease a plan for a 19- to 25-year-old if it decides that it is no longer necessary for the EHC plan to be maintained.

and

Students aged 19 to 25 with EHC plans who are continuing in education may have a range of options, including attending:

• further education
• training
• a supported internship
• an apprenticeship

EHC plans are available for those up to the age of 25 who need one

An EHC plan will cease if:-

• you are on a higher education course (level 4 or above)
• you are 18 or over, have left education and don’t want any further learning
• you are 25 or more 

In line with preparing young people for adulthood, a local authority must not cease an EHCP simply because a young person is aged 19 or over. Young people with EHC plans may need longer in education or training in order to achieve their outcomes and make an effective transition into adulthood. However, this position does not mean that there is an automatic entitlement to continued support at age 19 or an expectation that those with an EHC plan should all remain in education until age 25.

A local authority may cease a plan for a 19- to 25-year-old if it decides that it is no longer necessary for the EHC plan to be maintained. Such circumstances include where the young person no longer requires the special educational provision specified in their EHC plan. In deciding that the special educational provision is no longer required, the local authority must have regard to whether the educational or  training outcomes specified in the plan have been achieved (see the SEND Code of Practice section on Outcomes, paragraphs 9.64 to 9.69).

Information below from the Department for Education:-

 Learning support funding for apprentices with learning difficulties

Employers and providers taking on apprentices aged 19-24 with an Education, Health and Care Plan each receive a payment of £1,000, extending the financial support available for all 16-18 year-olds. Details of this Additional Funding is included in the Additional payments section of the Provider Funding Rules.

Providing supported internships for young people with an EHC plan

Supported internships are a structured, work-based study programme for 16 to 24-year-olds with SEND, who have an education, health and care (EHC) plan.

The local authority can keep the EHC plan going until the end of the academic year in which the young person turns 25 years old. 

Support generally stops at the end of the academic year so young people can complete their study (paragraph 9.207 SEND Code of Practice).

To clarify:-

• If the young person attends college, the LA could keep the EHC plan going until the 31^st July after they turn 25 years old.
• If the young person is an apprentice, the LA could keep the EHC plan going until the apprenticeship training finishes or the day before their 26th birthday if the young person turns 26 years old before it finishes. (If they moved onto a level 4 or above apprenticeship your EHC plan wouldn’t be able to cover this though).
• If the young person's education or training isn’t at college and isn’t an apprenticeship, the LA could keep the EHC plan going until the course ends or the day before their 26 birthday if they turn 26 before it ends.