Guidance to schools regarding conversion of Statement to EHCPlan Transfer Review meetings
Introduction
By 1 April 2018, local authorities must have transferred all children and young people with statements of SEN to the new SEN and disability system following a ‘transfer review’ – that is an EHC needs assessment in accordance with the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014.
There will be a transition period between 1 September 2014 to 1 April 2018 during which all statements must be converted to EHC Plans. Please see North Lincs.transition guidance for details of the conversion time table. For the academic year 2014/15, Year groups 9 and 11 will be converted to the new system. For Year 11 pupils, transfer review meetings will need to be held in the autumn term and submitted to the SEND Team by 19th Dec 14. For Year 9 pupils, transfer review meetings will need to be held in the autumn or spring term, and submitted to the SEND Team by 22nd May 15.
To ensure that EHC plans are person-centred and focused on outcomes, an EHC plan must only be issued following a ‘transfer review’ (also known as EHCP conversion review). In the academic year within which the Local Authority intends to transfer the child or young person from a statement of SEN to an EHC plan, the transfer review meeting should replace the annual review of the statement of SEN.
The Local Authority must finalise an EHC plan, where one is needed, within 14 weeks of the notification to the parents or young person that a ‘transfer review’ is being carried out. The Local Authority will inform the child’s parent or the young person and the head teacher of the school attended by the child or young person at least two weeks prior to the transfer review meeting that a ‘transfer review’ (an EHC needs assessment) will commence. See Transfer Review process map for details.
Thetransfer reviewmeeting
i) Before the meeting:
Schools should compile a schedule of transfer review meeting dates and notify the Local Authority of these dates.
Schools must also notify the child’s parent or the young person of the meeting at least two weeks prior to the Transfer Review meeting date.
The child’s parents or the young person must be invited to contribute to the transfer review. Person centred approaches should be used to gather views of the child/young person and parent in advance of the meeting. This will assist in completing the Transfer Review Form during the review meeting.
The meeting should take the format of an annual review meeting which contributes to the EHC needs assessment.
Schools will also need to consider which professionals should be invited to the meeting to contribute to the assessment, and consult with the child’s parents or young person regarding this. Please invite education, health, and social care colleagues who are involved in the case to attend the meeting and/or submit a report.
In advance of the meeting, schools will need to consider what up to date and relevant advice is already held in relation to the child or young person, and consult with the child’s parent or the young person regarding further advice required for the transfer review. Additional advice should not be sought for an EHC needs assessment if such advice has previously been provided for any purpose and the person providing the advice, the local authority and child’s parents or the young person are satisfied that it is sufficient for the purposes of an EHC needs assessment.
ii) During the meeting:
The school must complete a transfer review form during the meeting. Part 2 of the document is a review of the Statement of SEN; Part 3 relates to information required for the EHC needs assessment. All sections of this form must be completed.
In reviewing the Statement of SEN, the school should, with parents and professionals, consider if the objectives of the statement have been met. If objectives have been met and it is agreed that the special educational provision can now be provided from within the resources normally available in school, a recommendation could be made to the Local Authority to cease the statement of SEN. The Local Authority would need to consider the evidence available, and make a decision whether to cease the statement or transfer the statement to an Education, Health and Care Plan.
The transfer review meeting will allow for outcomes to be developed for inclusion in the EHC plan and provision identified tosupportthe child/young person to achieve these outcomes. Please see advice sheet for further information on writing outcomes and planning provision.
From Year 9 onwards, all reviews must include a focus on preparation for adulthood, including employment, independent living and participation in society. A separate transition plan is not required, if transition elements are included in the Outcomes/Provision sections of the Transfer Review document. See section 8.12 of the Code of Practice for further information regarding preparing for adulthood planning.
During the meeting, parents and young people should also be offered a personal budget for provision where relevant. Further information will be provided regarding personal budgets.
iii) After the meeting:
The school must prepare and send a copy of the completed transfer review form to everyone invited to the meeting within two weeks of the meeting date.
To comply with the new SEN system, the school must also send a copy of transfer review form to the Local Authoritywithin two weeks of the meeting date. Please also attach any evidence used to complete the transfer review form plan during the meeting, including child/young person’s/parents views, person centred planning documents and reports from professionals.
The transfer review form and documentation should be sent to: SEND Team, North Lincs Council, PO Box 35, Hewson House, Station Road, Brigg, DN20 8XJ. The SEND Team can also be contacted by telephone (01724 297148 or 297151) or e mail,
To conclude a transfer review, the local authority must:
-Send a copy of the finalised EHC plan to the parent of the child or the young person and the governing body, proprietor or principal of any school or other institution named in the plan and the responsible commissioning body for health care provision, or
-Notify the child’s parents or young person of its decision that it is not necessary for special educational provision to be made for a child or young person in accordance with an EHC plan and that it is proposing to cease to maintain the child or young person’s statement of SEN (Transition to the new 0 -25 special educational needs and disability system, August 2014, para 6.10).
Where the local authority decides not to issue an EHC plan for a child or young person transferring from a statement of SEN, the local authority must notify the child’s parents or the young person within 10 weeks of the start of the transfer review.
Where the local authority decides to issue an EHC plan for a child or young person transferring from a statement of SEN, the local authority must finalise an EHC Plan within 14 weeks of the notification to the parent/young person that a transfer review is to be carried out.
Please see the local offer site for further information on the new SEN system and EHC Plan assessments (
Glossary of terms
Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC plan): this plan details the education, health and social care support that is to be provided to a child or young person who has SEN or a disability. The plan is drawn up by the local authority after an EHC needs assessment has determined that an EHC plan is necessary.
Personal Budget: an amount of money identified by the local authority to deliver provision set out in an EHC plan where the parent or young person is involved in securing that provision. The funds can be held directly by the parent or young person, or may be held and managed on their behalf by the local authority, school, college or other organisation or individual and used to commission the support specified in the EHC plan.
Special Educational Needs (SEN): a child or young person has SEN if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her.
Special Educational Provision: provision that is different from or additional to that normally available to pupils or students of the same age, which is designed to help children and young people with SEN or disabilities to access the National Curriculum at school or to study at college.
Young person: a person over compulsory school age (the end of the academic year in which they turn 16). From this point the right or make decisions about matters covered by the Children and Families Act 2014 applies to the young person directly, rather than to their parents.