How are young people attending a special school included in decision-making towards post-16 provision in the annual review process?

Cole, Shaquille (2025) How are young people attending a special school included in decision-making towards post-16 provision in the annual review process? Doctoral thesis, University of East Anglia.

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Abstract

In England, there is a statutory requirement for children and young people (CYP) with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) to have an Annual Review Meeting (ARM) each year. These meetings review progress and update the EHCP to reflect the current profile of strengths, needs, aspirations, and provision. For CYP in Year 9 and above, ARMs also incorporate transition planning for post-16 education, training, or employment. ARMs typically involve CYP, parents or carers, school staff, and representatives from the local authority. However, existing literature suggests that CYP’s voices are often underrepresented in these meetings. While some CYP attend, they may not play an active role in decision-making; others do not attend at all, leaving parents or staff to make post-16 decisions on their behalf. Furthermore, most studies examining ARMs focus on mainstream settings rather than special schools.

This research addresses that gap by exploring how Young People’s (YP’s) views are included in ARMs within a special school context. A qualitative case study design was used to examine three ARMs at one special school. Eight participants took part, comprising three YP, their parents or carers, and school staff. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with each participant to gather their perspectives on the ARM process. Data were analysed thematically to identify common patterns across accounts. Two overarching themes emerged: ‘Ambiguity and uncertainty’ surrounding ARMs, and ‘Communication,’ which included subthemes such as ‘Local authority involvement’ and ‘Eliciting the views of YP.’

Findings indicated that schools employed a range of strategies to gather YP’s views, including collecting their perspectives over time and using ‘Personal Profiles’ to inform key decisions, such as whether they wished to remain in school or pursue employment after graduation. Both school staff and parents highlighted that limited local authority attendance contributed to the perception of ARMs as an ‘informal’ process, particularly where the local authority prioritised Personal Education Plan (PEP) meetings over ARMs for YP in care.

The study has implications for Educational Psychology practice, particularly in promoting consistent local authority involvement and supporting the ongoing elicitation of YP’s views to ensure their voices are meaningfully represented in decision-making.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Education and Lifelong Learning
Depositing User:	Chris White
Date Deposited:	23 Apr 2026 13:47
Last Modified:	23 Apr 2026 13:47
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/102824
DOI:

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