Hi,
I completely understand your nervousness over ARs and I have been through a number of these now (4 to date).
I found it quite informal overall as many of the people previously invited did not show up!. At previous ARs I have seen the SENCO, his class teacher, a TA and a SALT.
We had a form to complete for our views on DS's progress prior to the AR.
One thing I did find difficult (and to some extent still do) is that in my case they called DS in to the AR to give his opinions (they will ask child's opinions e.g likes/dislikes re school in one form or another). He was only there for the first 10 minutes or so though and was then taken back to class.
Minutes are taken and the whole shebang is usually chaired by the Headmaster. In my case each one has lasted around 60-75 minutes tops. As these in my case started in the afternoon I used to leave the meeting just before end of school to collect DS. You should receive a copy of the minutes once they have been typed up.
I would suggest you take notes throughout and take your man along with you. Do not attend this - or any subsequent ARs on your own!!!!. You need an additional strong, determined and vocal advocate apart from yourself to ask questions and provide moral support.
For future reference the Year 5 annual review is the biggie as this is the Transitional review (at this stage preparation for Secondary school starts. They could well bring in the Ed Pysch again in Y5 to reassess your son). The Y6 AR in comparison is more straight forward as the paperwork for secondary is well underway at that stage.
I find both a cup of tea (and some headache tablets) very useful post AR!.
Good luck with your forthcoming AR.