How do I choose or change my child/young person’s school/placement it they have an Education Health and Care Plan?
The admissions system for children with EHC plans is different; you do not go through the normal admissions system.
If your child/young person is getting their first EHC Plan the local authority will send you a draft EHC Plan as they would after an annual review.
Once you have request consultations to be sent to schools
The LA must give you at least 15 days (beginning with the day on which the draft plan/notice of amendments is served) in which to:
- Request any alterations or make representations about the content of the draft plan/proposed amendments, and to state a particular school or institution you would like to be named in the plan; and
- You can request the local authority to arrange a meeting with you and an officer of the local authority (usually a SEN Casework Officer) to discuss the draft plan/proposed amendments.
At this point you can ask the LA to consult with more than one school, but you should make the LA aware of your school preference.
The school or college will not be named in section I of a draft EHC plan and therefore will be left blank until a final plan is sent to you.
What types of school do you have the right to request?
In Section 38(3) of the Children and Families Act 2014 states parents/carers and young people post 16 have a right to request:
- a maintained school, mainstream or special;
- an Academy (which includes free schools);
- an institution within the further education sector in England (i.e. an FE college)
- a non-maintained special school;
- an independent school approved under s41 of the Children and Families Act 2014
You can find out more information about the types of school here (link)
The local authority has a duty to consult with your preferred school and that normally involves sending the school a copy of the EHC plan and reports. The school has 15 days to consider and give an opinion about whether they can meet your child/young person’s needs, but the final decision on whether to name a school lies with the Local Authority. If you feel this process is taking too long, you could ask the local authority officer to check if a response has been received.
If you want a school or college that is completely independent
If you want a school or college that is completely independent, then you can ask the Local Authority to consider it. The school or college will need to agree to take your child/young person, and you will have to prove that no other school or college is suitable. You are unable to appeal this to the SEND Tribunal unless they offer a place. Click the link below for more information on choosing an independent school or placement.
What is a non-maintained special school?
A non-maintained special school is a type of special school which is not maintained by the local authority but charges fees on a non-profit making basis. Most non-maintained special schools are run by major charities or charitable trusts.
What is an independent school approved under Section 41 of the Children and Families Act 2014?
The Secretary of State can approve certain special schools or post-16 institutions under s.41 of the Children & Families Act 2014 and this will mean that a request to name them in an EHC plan can be made. Therefore, the local authority could name this placement in Section I of the EHC Plan. You can find a list of the schools and institutions approved under s41 here:
Independent special schools and post-16 institutions – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) (External link)
What if I want to request a dual placement?
A dual placement is where you have a special school and a mainstream school working together to meet a child or young person’s needs.
There is no legal reason why an EHC plan cannot name a dual placement in Section I. You would need to tell the Local Authority why you think that this is the option which best meets your child/young person’s needs as set out in the draft EHC plan and to provide them with any supporting evidence. It has to be agreed by both schools and the local authority are responsible.
When should the local authority name my school/college preference?
The Local Authority must name your preference if it is:
- Suitable for your child/young person’s age, ability, aptitude and special educational needs
- Not incompatible with:
- The efficient education of other children
- The efficient use of resources (too expensive)
These are the only exceptions that the Local Authority can use to refuse the request, and the only ones that they would be able to rely on if the case were to go to the SEND Tribunal.
If a school is named in Section I of the EHC plan, they must give your child/young person a place and allow them to attend.
What happens if the school I want to request is full?
A school or placement stating it is full is not a reason in law for refusing your child or young person a place.
School or placements can take more pupils than the ‘nominal’ figure on roll, although there will come a point at which they cannot be expected to admit any more pupils. In this instance Local Authority might argue that the admittance of another pupil would be ‘incompatible with the provision of efficient education’ of other children. However, the legal test of incompatibility is a strong one; it is more than simple ‘inconvenience’ and to demonstrate this the Local Authority would have to show which children would be affected and how.
The Local Authority might also seek to argue that an additional child might represent an ‘inefficient use of resources’ if they had to employ extra staff or build additional facilities. However, in practice, it is very often possible to accommodate an extra child within an existing classroom.
It is always advisable to ask the Local Authority to explain the basis of their objection to naming the school that you have preferenced.
If the Local Authority will not name your preferred school because they are ‘full’ once the EHC Plan is finalised naming the Local Authority’s choice, you will be given your right of appeal to the SEND Tribunal. You will receive a decision letter from the Local Authority and it is important to keep this letter safe in order to appeal or take up mediation, if appropriate.
My child/young person already has an EHC Plan: how do I get the school / college named in it changed?
If you already have an EHC Plan which names a particular school or college in Section I and you want to change this, you need to ask the Local Authority to do this in the Annual Review. If there is a significant change in the child or young person’s needs and an annual review is not due for a while, you can ask for an early annual review to be held. The local authority will consider this and decide if this needs to be arranged.
Here is some information about this on IPSEA’s website EHC plans, EHC needs assessments and SEND Tribunal appeals (ipsea.org.uk) (external link)
IPSEA have a template letter for you to make this request which you can adapt for this purpose: Template letter 5: asking for an early review of an EHC plan (ipsea.org.uk) (external link)
What happens if the Local Authority refuses to name the school or college that I request?
If you are not happy with the school named in the final EHC Plan (or other aspects of sections B or F of the Plan), you have the right to go to mediation and/or the SEND Tribunal. You must consider mediation unless your appeal is only about the school / college (or type of school / college) named in the Plan or the fact that no school or college has been named at all (Section I).
North Yorkshire Council use Collis Mediation Ltd and you can find out more about mediation here – Mediation and Appeal Request (collismediationltd.com) (external link)
You could also visit Mediation (ipsea.org.uk) and Appealing to the SEND tribunal (ipsea.org.uk) (both external links)