Apply for a school place for a child with an Education Health and Care plan

Applying without an Education Health and Care (EHC) plan?

If your child does not have an EHC plan, or is being assessed for special educational needs or an EHC plan, you should apply for a school place through the mainstream process.

This admissions process is for parents or carers of children or young people with an EHC plan, who live in Surrey, and start school in September 2026 in the following key stage transfer years:

• Reception at a primary or infant school,
• Year 3 at a junior, primary or all through school with a Year 3 intake or,
• Year 7 at a secondary or all through school

Most children with an EHC plan are educated in mainstream schools, with the appropriate support. But 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 more appropriate.

You will be given the opportunity to choose a school with the help of your child’s EHC plan Coordination Officer or other professionals.

If your child has an EHC plan, regardless of the type of school place that has been agreed, you must follow this guidance to apply for a school place for your child.

How the process starts

• In September 2025, you will receive a letter detailing an overview of the admissions process.
• There is no online application form.
• The application process starts with a Transition Review of your child’s EHC plan. This is the same as an Annual Review, but when your child is moving to a new key stage ( Reception, Year 3, or Year 7), it is called a Transition Review instead.
• At your child’s Transition Review, you can request a school you prefer. We, the local authority will consider your preference, but will allocate your child the nearest school that meets their needs.