EHCPs - phase transfer reviews
What is a phase transfer review?
A phase transfer review is a standard review of an EHCP that takes places in the year prior to the child moving to a new key stage.
An EHC plan must be reviewed and amended in sufficient time prior to a child or young person moving between key phases of education, to allow for planning for and, where necessary, commissioning of support and provision at the new setting. These reviews must take place before the following transfers:
- early years provider to school
- infant school to junior school
- primary school to secondary school
- secondary school to post-16 institution
Completing the review
A Phase Transfer Review Form should be used to help you to carry out reviews and to gather the information we need to update the EHC plan. A DIT should also be completed to help to provide a consistent view of the strengths and needs of children going through the transfer process and to help us to identify those who may need additional support in the next phase of their education.
Completed forms and paperwork, including a DIT, must be returned to EHCP.Review@derby.gov.uk no later than two weeks after the date of the review meeting (including school holidays). Do not send paperwork directly to your SEND Officer.
Phase transfer timetable
| Age group | Latest date review meeting should be held | Date EHCP must be finalised by LA (with new placement named) |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-16 transfers | Friday 27 October 2023 | 15/02/2024 |
| Post 16 transfers (including year 11 leavers) | Friday 22 December 2023 | 31/03/2024 |
If you are unable to meet the dates set out above you must let your linked SEND Officer know as soon as possible. The date by which the amended final plan must be issued are set out in the Children and Families Act and must be met by the local authority.
In order to meet these dates, the review meetings need to take place in line with the date above. This will allow your SEND Officer time to coproduce any plan amendments with the child, young person and / or their parent / carer.
Panel meetings for specialist placements to be agreed for September 2024 will take place week commencing 15 January 2024.
Key points to remember
- Phase transfer reviews follow the statutory process of a standard annual review meeting. This means that you must give all attendees at least 2 weeks notice of the meeting and ensure that any reports are circulated at this point too.
- Be sure to provide an accurate description of the current academic levels to help prospective settings to understand the type of provision that they will need to put in place. The completed DIT will also assist with this.
- Reviewing a plan prior to transition is especially important as this will probably be the last opportunity to update the plan before they leave your setting.
- You should capture the parental (and / or CYP) preference for the next school or setting as part of the review meeting and record this on the review paperwork.
- This review meeting is a formal review so you don't need to carry out another annual review on the anniversary of the last review as well. However an annual review must be held every 12 months so you must consider this when scheduling the phase transfer review.
- Be realistic when discussing potential future placements with parents. There is no guarantee of specialist provision for any child and these decisions will always go through our inclusion placement panel (IPP). Demand for specialist placements in the city is currently very high. The local authority will not consider an independent placement where needs can be met within the local offer, and we will not routinely consult with schools who are not approved under section-41.