Please note: If your child does not have an Education, Health and Care plan (EHCP), even if they are being assessed for special educational needs or an EHCP, you should submit a preference for a school place via our mainstream admissions page.
Applying for a school place for a child with an EHCP
If you are a parent or carer living in Surrey, and your child:
- has an existing Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) and
- is due to start a new primary or secondary school (key transition stage) in September 2025
You will need to follow a separate process for requesting and applying for a school for your child. You can find out more about this process in the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Admissions Process section below.
The Local Authority has a duty to confirm your child's next placement or type of placement in their final EHCP before:
- the 15 February 2025 for transitions to Reception, Year 3, and Year 7
- the 31 March 2025 for transitions from Year 11 to Year 12
If your child is awarded their EHCP for the first time after 15 February 2024, then school consultations will take place, taking into consideration the placement offered through the mainstream admissions process.
Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) admissions process
Most children with an EHCP can be appropriately supported in mainstream schools. However, if your child has more complex needs, it may have been agreed that a place at a mainstream school with a specialist centre attached, or a specialist school, may be appropriate.
Below is an overview of the SEND Admissions Process for pupils with an EHCP. For more detailed guidance, please see the SEND Admissions arrangements for children and young people with an EHCP guidance
These arrangements apply to those pupils who will transfer to Reception, Year 3, Year 7 or Year 12 in September 2025.
Key deadlines for confirmation of placement or types of provision
| Transition Group | Deadline |
|---|---|
Nursery Year to 0 (Reception) Year 2 to Year 3 for those in an infant school, Year 6 to Year 7 | 15 February 2025 |
| Year 11 to Year 12 | 31 March 2025 |
Overview of SEND school age admissions process
| Date | Description of activity |
|---|---|
| By end of July 2024 | Annual Reviews to have taken place to discuss your child's transition to their new school or key stage. Education Health and Care Plans amended following review where applicable. |
| September 2024 | Key Stage Transfer Process for September 2025 commences. If you have a preferred choice of school for your child that you would like SCC to consider, please inform your SEND Case Officer. |
| October 2024 | Placements for children and young people already attending all-through maintained specialist schools, which are still deemed suitable, will be considered for continuation. |
November 2024 | School consultations undertaken for current Year 6 pupils requiring mainstream provision, and allocation of places in specialist schools and mainstream schools with specialist centres attached. College, sixth form and school consultations undertaken for current Year 11 pupils, and allocation of places in specialist schools and sixth forms with specialist centres attached. |
December 2024 | School consultations undertaken for children going into reception/leaving an infant mainstream school, or mainstream school with an infant specialist centre attached, and allocations of specialist school places. |
| February 2025 | Final EHCPs will be issued by 15 February for school age pupils with confirmed placements or type of provision for September 2025, in line with the Code of Practice 2014. Families will also now have the opportunity to apply for travel assistance, should this be required, and if they are eligible. |
March 2025 March 2025 to August 2025 | Final EHCPs will be issued by 31 March for current Year 11 pupils with confirmed placements or type of provision for September 2025, in line with the Code of Practice 2014. For the small number of pupils where SCC have not been able to name a specific school or Post 16 provision, SCC will continue to consult with appropriate provisions and will keep families informed of the progress. |
September 2025 | Key Stage Transfer process for September 2025 complete - Pupils will have a named school/Post 16 provision or education package in place. Key Stage Transfer for September 2026 commences. |
| Key Communication Points |
|
Children with an EHCP on roll at an all-through school
All-through schools are those that combine at least two stages of a child's education – typically primary and secondary, or junior and secondary – in one establishment.
If your child is currently in Year 2 in an all-through primary mainstream or maintained specialist school, then the process outlined above does not apply, and your child will remain at their current school unless a change of placement has been agreed following the most recent annual review.
If your child is in Year 6 and in an all-through maintained specialist school, your child will remain at their current school unless a change of placement has been agreed at the annual review.
Transition to new school placement
If your child's current school does not support the age range your child is moving into, or it has been agreed at an annual review that they require a new school, the transitions review process gives you the opportunity to discuss your aspirations for your child at their transition annual review, and to also consider where your child's needs would be best met for the next key stage of their education. The transition review often happens alongside the annual review or in place of, and your child's current education setting will arrange this.
Mainstream provision
Surrey County Council's (SCC) ambition is for children and young people to have access to a local education setting. SCC is committed to young people attending their local school and being part of their local community. As part of this process, you should identify the nearest school you would want your child to attend. You can search for your closest mainstream school to your home address by using the Surrey School Map.
Specialist provision
For some children and young people, more specialist provision may be better suited, and the type of specialist provision should be discussed at the transition review. An overview of Surrey Mainstream Schools with Specialist Centres attached, or Specialist Schools, can be found using the links below. SCC currently uses its own SEND Designations to describe our specialist settings, further information about these can be found in the following school brochures:
You are able to request a consultation to be sent to a school of your choice.
Travel assistance
Surrey's school travel webpages includes guidance on how to apply, travel eligibility, our key timescales for assessment of an application and includes our Travel Assistance Policy
Parental preference and travel assistance eligibility
If the Local Authority has complied with a parental request for a specific school which is not the nearest appropriate school to the home address, then it will normally be the responsibility of the parent/carer to ensure the child gets to school.
Post-16 travel assistance
Please be aware that your child's eligibility for travel assistance changes once they reach 16 years of age and/or are in Year 11 at school. Once a young person enters post 16 education there is no longer a legal duty for a local authority to provide free or subsidised travel assistance.
The local authority will on occasion provide travel assistance as a discretionary arrangement if the child or young person has exceptional circumstances
Information regarding how to apply, our post-16 policy statement and a post-16 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) is available on the school travel webpages
Contacting the Surrey School Travel and Assessment Team
If you have any questions or would like further information on eligibility for travel assistance, please contact the Surrey School Travel and Assessment Team via:
Additional information
- SEND Admissions arrangements for children and young people with an EHCP
- Post-16 Pathways
- You can refer to our guides: Finding the right primary school in Surrey and
- Finding the right secondary school in Surrey
- The Directory of Surrey schools lists maintained schools and academies, including specialist schools and specialist centres.
- The list of independent schools and non-maintained special schools on GOV.UK covers schools in the country that are registered with the Department for Education and charge fees for placements for children with SEND.
- Contact SEND Advice Surrey for impartial advice on submitting a preference for a school place.
- Our Local Offer website provides support and advice for children and young people with SEND.
- Visit our Family Information Service webpages for further information on services available for children with SEND.
L-SPA and SEND service contact details
You can find more information on the L-SPA and SEND Service, including contact details on Surrey's Local Offer website.
Moving into Surrey
When you move, your child's EHCP (along with all other documents relevant to your child's SEND), will be transferred to Surrey County Council from the local education authority where you live. SCC will then become responsible for making sure your child receives the support outlined in the EHCP. We will have six weeks to decide whether to review the EHCP and/or make any new assessment.
It may be that the move means your child is now too far away from the school named in the EHCP to attend it and we will need to name a new school. In this instance, we may need your child to go to a school of our choice temporarily, to allow enough time for you to visit schools and discuss your options.
We will always consult with you over changes to your child's EHCP, and you can express a preference for a school.