RESOURCE: How LAs Are Trialling Pre-SEND Reform Reviews

Sneak Attack on EHCPs?

As whispers of SEND reform gather pace, a handful of local authorities are quietly experimenting with new annual-review models. These pilots may reshape how Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) land on your home desk and they could set the template for the next wave of statutory change. Here’s what’s happening, who’s involved, and why every parent and practitioner needs to sit up and take notice.

Who’s Leading the Charge?

• Bromley Council
  • Their “Annual Progress Review” swaps a full EHCP re-issue for a celebration of achievements, with formal amendments only at key-stage transfer or major need changes.
• Wiltshire Council
  • Spotlighting person-centred reviews, Wiltshire holds light-touch progress meetings and issues a decision letter but only redrafts the plan if short-term outcomes or provision need updating mid-key stage.
• Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea (RBKC)
  • Piloting a digital EHCP dashboard, RBKC lets families and professionals log progress online. The PDF plan stays static, with a new version generated only at defined transition points.

Across England, you may see nods to these models cropping up in Local Offers, ADCS SEND forums and SENCo network whispers long before any formal national reforms land.

What’s Changing?

1. Annual Progress Reviews Instead of Annual Amendments
   − Meet, celebrate progress, set fresh short-term targets and then leave the core plan untouched until a trigger event.
2. Dashboard-Driven Monitoring
   − Progress tracked in a case-management portal, cutting out repetitive paperwork and multiple PDF versions.
3. “Transition & Change” Triggers
   − EHCPs are only formally updated when moving between key stages or when a child’s needs or Section F provision shift significantly.

Why the Quiet Roll-Out?

• Budgetary Pressures: Rising EHCP caseloads are stretching LA teams. Streamlining reviews can free up time and save printing costs.
• Paperwork Fatigue: Parents and professionals often find annual EHCP redrafts repetitive when no substantive changes are needed.
• Pre-Emptive Alignment: With a SEND reform White Paper on the horizon, some councils are “future-proofing” processes to mirror expected national duties.

But what looks like efficiency could undermine statutory safeguards if done without robust parent engagement or clear decision notices.

Potential Impacts & Red Flags

• Loss of Formal Record: If you don’t receive an amended plan or decision letter each year, it’s harder to track baseline targets and exercise appeal rights.
• Token Consultation: Minimal-visibility surveys or single Zoom sessions may sideline meaningful parental input.
• Rights at Risk: Without a written decision within four weeks of review, the LA risks breaching SEND Regulations and you lose the clock on mediation and tribunal appeals.

What You Can Do

• Demand Transparency: Insist on written invitations, minutes, decision letters and access to any dashboard or case files.
• Trigger Reviews: Know you can ask for an out-of-cycle “Transition & Change” review whenever your child’s needs shift.
• Network Actively: Share pilot intel in your regional SENCo and parent-support forums knowledge stops reforms being “sneaked in.”
• Push for Genuine Engagement: If parent surveys feel tokenistic, ask for focus groups or co-production meetings before any rollout.

These pilots may promise leaner processes and fewer paper mountains but only rigorous parental scrutiny and safeguarding of statutory rights will ensure they don’t sneak in unwelcome pre-reform changes. Stay informed, stay vocal, and make sure any “pilot” doesn’t short-circuit your child’s full legal protections.

Bromley LA is apparently running a pilot where they change the way they conduct annual reviews. They proposing that that they won’t be doing annual reviews in usual way. This is what they outlined as changes: LBB EHCP Annual Review Pilot Project:

“Bromley LA are considering new ways to deliver the Annual Review process. Instead of amending EHCPs and issuing a new final plan after every Review. An amended Plan will only be produced when a child/young person is transferring into a new Key Stage or if there is a significant change in their needs or the provision, they require to access learning and make progress; a ‘Transition and Change Review’.

Instead, between transition points an ‘Annual Progress Review’ will be held, where the child’s  progress and achievements are celebrated and new short-term outcomes are agreed collaboratively and used to plan the support (from their Section F provision) for the upcoming year. The Plan will not be amended, but the Local Authority will store and monitor the child/young person’s progress and new shot term outcomes.

The SEND Code of Practice (2015) recognises EHCPs do not need to be updated regularly, where the provision and outcomes remain appropriate.

The professionals providing assessments, setting long term outcomes and recommending provision consider the progress the child/young person will make across a Key Stage, so it is not anticipated changes will need to be made in between.

However, it is recognised circumstances and needs can change, so this is a fluid process in which parent/carers and professionals can make recommendations for a ‘Transition and Change’ review outside of the Key Stage transition window. This will be agreed in partnership with the EHCP Coordinator.

We are keen to pilot the proposed new process, to ensure it fulfils the aims of the project before a wider roll out.”  ~ Bromley CC

SEN Parent Support Group’s analysis of said changes are detailed below. Of course, we are concerned  that this may be rolled out throughout England in the coming months pre and post SEND REFORM, as we await the Autumn White Paper from the Government!

Side-by-Side Comparison

Aspect	Statutory Model	Bromley Pilot
Frequency of review meeting	At least once every 12 months (6 months for early years)	Annual Progress Review each year
Plan amendment	Following every review, subject to LA decision	Only at key stage transfer or significant change
Parent/carer involvement	Must be invited, views recorded, reports shared	Invitation and collaborative outcome-setting retained
Amend-cycle timeline	LA decides within 4 weeks of meeting	Change/EHCP issued after Transition & Change Review only
Documentation issued	Always a formal amended or unchanged plan	Formal plan only at phase transfer or specific change
Right to request changes	Parents can request amendments at any time	Same right preserved via “Transition & Change Review”

Lawfulness and Risk Analysis

This pilot aligns with the letter of the SEND Code’s flexibility on amendments, provided that Bromley LA:

• Continues to hold a full annual review process, including inviting parents/carers and professionals, recording views, and documenting outcomes.
• Meets statutory deadlines for phase-transfer amendments and any change reviews requested outside key stage windows.
• Issues decisions on whether to amend, maintain or cease EHCPs within four weeks of each review meeting, even if the outcome is “no change”.

Risks arise if the LA:

• Fails to meaningfully publicise or engage parents in the pilot, undermining procedural fairness.
• Does not provide timely access to review paperwork and explanations for why plans remain unchanged.
• Let administrative efficiency override the child’s and parent’s legal rights to challenge decisions (e.g., via mediation or tribunal appeal).

 Recommendations for Parents

• Stay Informed: Track Bromley LA’s pilot updates and attend the advertised Zoom or face-to-face briefings.

• Document Requests: Ask in writing for review reports and, if the plan remains unchanged, request the decision letter outlining reasons within four weeks.
• Exercise Rights: You can call for a “Transition and Change Review” at any point a significant need arises, not merely at key stage points.
• Seek Advice Early: If deadlines lapse or consultation seems tokenistic, consult your local SENDIASS

Examples of Other LAs Trialling Streamlined Review Models

Below are the only two local authorities we could identify publicly piloting approaches that share key features with Bromley’s model namely, holding a person-centred progress meeting each year and minimising full EHCP re-issuance between key-stage transfers.

1. Wiltshire Council: Person-Centred Annual Reviews

• Wiltshire’s Local Offer describes an “Approaches to Person-Centred Reviews” model that
  • Places the pupil and family at the heart of an annual celebration of progress
  • Sets new short-term targets and reviews Section F provision
  • Only triggers a full EHCP amendment if outcomes or provision need updating mid-key stage

Though Wiltshire still issues a formal decision letter after every review, the emphasis on “light-touch” progress meetings mirrors Bromley’s intent to cut repetitive paperwork.

2. Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC): Digital EHCP Dashboard Pilot

• RBKC is piloting an online case-management dashboard for annual reviews
  • Professionals and parents log into a shared portal to record outcomes and provision changes
  • Aims to reduce the need to re-generate full PDF EHCPs each year
  • Retains the statutory step of issuing a written decision or amended plan within four weeks of the review meeting

The digital dashboard marks a shift toward monitoring progress in-system rather than in standalone documents.

No other English LAs appear to be running a fully paper-free, “amend-only-at-transfers” annual-review pilot akin to Bromley’s public proposal. Most authorities either:

• Emphasise person-centred reviews but continue formal re-issuance annually (Wiltshire, RBKC)
• Trial digital record-keeping to streamline paperwork without changing amendment cadence

Stay informed, stay ahead of your legal rights! Here

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If this is happening in your LA then please leave a comment and let us know or email info@senparentsupportgroup.org