Need help preparing for a summer SEND review?

We walk you through a simple review process, so your child has the right support in place and a smoother start in September. Discover what evidence to gather, questions for your SENCO, and key EHCP checks.

Your Summer SEND Review: What to Ask Before September

There are now 718,838 children with active Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) in England. That is a record 12.5% rise in just one year, according to the Department for Education (DfE). A further 1.3 million children are on SEN Support and mainstream classrooms are under real strain.

The end of the school year is busy and tiring for families. But summer holidays are some of the best times to take stock, while the year is still fresh in everyone’s mind.

This post is a practical, end-of-year SEND review for parents. It walks you through what to look back on, what evidence to gather, what to ask, and how to get ready for a smoother September. We cover children on SEN Support and those with an EHCP separately. There is also a section on how specialist tutoring can bridge the summer gap.

Why this summer holiday is the right time to review SEND support

The school year is still fresh. Teachers, teaching assistants, and families all remember what worked and what did not. By September, those small details fade. The exact phrase that helped your child grasp an idea, or the first signs of overload, can be easy to forget.

There is also still time to act. You can put together a one-page profile and write down your questions for the SENCO now, so everything is ready to send rather than waiting to be written in the September rush. That way, the next teacher can start the year already informed.

Small changes now stop bigger problems later. It takes weeks for a new teacher to truly understand a neurodivergent child. Sharing what you know early builds a bridge across the summer.

What worked well this year?

Try to look beyond grades and notice the small wins. Where did your child feel settled, confident, or engaged?

Here is a simple checklist to guide your thinking:

Note the subjects, routines, or settings where your child showed their strengths. These are worth writing down and passing on.

What still felt difficult?

Name the hard parts honestly, and without blame. Common challenges include Emotionally Based School Non-Attendance (EBSNA), worry about transitions, and sensory overload during unstructured times like lunch. You might also see gaps in confidence or struggles with homework and organisation.

The DfE’s 2025/26 attendance data shows a persistent absence rate of 18.06% across England’s schools. For children with SEND, this figure is often higher. High absence is rarely defiance or bad parenting. Most of the time, it is a sign of unmet needs.

Remember to think about what happens outside lessons too. Class time may go smoothly, while the playground or busy corridors drain your child long before the day ends. Friendships matter here as well. Feeling left out, or on the edge of a group, can be just as tiring as the noise and movement around them.

What evidence should you gather before the term ends?

Treat the summer as a chance to collect information. Here are useful documents to gather or request:

SEN Support plan, pupil passport, or Individual Learning Plan (ILP).
Assess-Plan-Do-Review (APDR) notes. Check if the school updates these each term, as it should.
Intervention or tutor reports. These show what your child can do in a calm, low-pressure setting.
Examples of work, both where your child thrived and where they struggled.
Attendance records, matched against specific school events.
Any professional reports, such as from an educational psychologist, speech and language therapist, or occupational therapist.

Anything you already hold at home can be sorted now. For anything you need to request from school, send the request in writing over the break and expect a reply once staff return. Having asked in July or August still puts you ahead of the September queue.

Each piece tells part of the story. For example, absences linked to certain events often say more than the absence figures alone.

What to share with next year's teachers

Be realistic about September handovers. In theory, folders pass between teachers. In practice, a new teacher facing a busy start of term may not have time to read a long report on day one.

So it helps to boil the key points down into a short, easy-to-scan one-page profile. Try to cover:

Your child's strengths and interests.
Key triggers and early signs of overload, such as intense doodling, humming, or avoiding eye contact.
Strategies that work, including sensory or learning adjustments.
Communication preferences: how your child likes to ask for help, and how they want adults to respond.
What to do if your child becomes overwhelmed.
Any access arrangements or support routines already in place.

The sooner staff know the warning signs, the sooner they can step in with a calm, low-demand response, before things escalate.

Questions to ask the SENCO or school team

The term has now ended, so you may not get a reply straight away. That is fine. Sending your questions over the break means they are near the top of the inbox when staff return, rather than competing with the first-week rush. Keep the email short, and say clearly that you are happy to talk in the first week of September.

Think of this as a script you can adapt:

"Who will be my child's designated safe adult or key contact from the very first day of term?"
"Which provisions on the support plan will be active from day one, not after a settling-in period?"
"How and when will my child's one-page profile be shared with all teachers, including supply staff?"
"What specific signs should we be watching for at home, and what will the school be monitoring, in the first half-term?"
"Can we provisionally book a short check-in during the third week of September to review the transition?"
"What can we do over the summer to support the move back?"
"When will support be formally reviewed in the autumn term?"

If you would rather not email during the holidays, note the questions down now while the year is still clear in your mind, and send them in the last few days of August.

If your child has an EHCP

An EHCP is a legally binding document. Even so, provisions often slip. Look closely at Section F, which sets out the exact support required. Ask yourself whether the school actually delivered it this year.

Local authorities are under pressure. The DfE’s 2026 data shows only 46.1% of new EHCPs were issued within the statutory 20-week timeframe. The system is stretched. That means you cannot wait for the local authority to make changes. You need to advocate proactively within the school.

Over the summer, take a moment to:

If your child is on SEN support

Unlike an EHCP, SEN Support carries no individually allocated funding. It comes out of the school’s own notional SEN budget, which leaves the 1.3 million children in this group more exposed to changes in school budgets or staffing.

Review what the school tried this year and what difference it made. Ask directly whether the support plan needs rewriting for September, rather than simply being rolled over. If progress has been limited, this is the question to put in writing early: “What evidence would we need to begin an EHC Needs Assessment (EHCNA) in autumn?”

Recording the school’s interventions and their results now builds an important paper trail. This can support any future assessment request. Ask for an autumn review date to be set within the first two weeks of term so support does not drift without accountability.

How a Bright Heart tutor can support a smooth September start

For many neurodivergent children, the six-week summer break is not simply a rest. Fragile routines and hard-won confidence can fade fast without gentle reinforcement.

A Bright Heart SEN specialist tutor gives your child a calm, predictable, low-pressure space. There, they can revisit key skills, practise organisation and independence, and rebuild confidence after a tough year, without the noise and social pressure of a classroom. A tutor can also help you build or refresh your child’s one-page profile, based on what actually works in sessions.

Summer tutoring is also a chance to test and refine strategies, whether that is colour overlays, mind-mapping tools, or a more gamified approach to practice. With your consent, the tutor can share what works directly with your child’s new teacher in September. That is a real head start.

You can explore how our SEN specialist tutors support children like yours across the summer and beyond.

Use the summer well

This is not just the end of the year. It is the start of September’s preparation. Reviewing support while the year is fresh, gathering key evidence, and sharing the right details with the school can shape how well your child settles after summer.

Here is a quick recap:

Try to take one step this week. That might mean drafting the email, collecting a piece of evidence, or starting a one-page profile.

If you would like support preparing for September, our SEN tutors are here to help. Get in touch to discuss your child’s needs and how we can support their educational journey.

Share this article