Review of EHC plan for school admissions

When does a review of your child's Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan take place?

Your child or young person's (CYP) EHC plan will be reviewed during their Transition Review. The Transition Review should take place in the summer term the year before your child is due to begin one of the following:

• Start school
• Primary/Junior school  (transition review - Year 1)
• Secondary school  (transition review- Year 5)
• Sixth form or college (transition review- Year 10)

Your child's Transition Review will be arranged by your CYP's child's current school or educational setting, usually by their Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO). They will invite you, your CYP's EHC plan Coordination Officer and any other relevant professionals, to attend.

By the end of July:

• the Transition Review will have taken place to discuss your CYP's transition to their new school or key stage, (where applicable).
• your CYP's Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan will be been amended, where applicable, following the review.

What happens at the review?

At the review, you will discuss the type of school that you and other professionals feel will best meet your CYP's needs for the next key stage.

You will be able request a school to be considered by us, the local authority. Your CYP's EHC plan Coordination Officer, and SENCO at your CYP's current school or nursery, can support you with this.

As the local authority, we will consider your parental preference for a school, but will allocate your child the nearest school that meets their needs.

The types of schools you have a right to request are listed in Section 38 (3) of the Children and Families Act. These are:

• Maintained schools (mainstream or specialist)
• Academy (mainstream or specialist)
• Non-maintained specialist school

Consulting a school

Our Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Admissions Team will then consult the schools you have requested.

However, they may not consult with independent schools and post 16 institutions that are not officially registered under Section 41 of the Children and Families Act, or those that do not meet the legal requirements outlined in Section 39 (4) of the Children and Families Act and the SEND Code of Practice.

If you have any queries about the consultation process, please contact us.

We will only consider your request for a non maintained independent school for your CYP, after we have exhausted all maintained schools and alternative education options.

Find out more about: Requesting a particular nursery, school or college when a child has an EHC plan.

For more in-depth information about the review process, please see the following:

• Transition Review process
• Education, Health and Care plan reviews