Children with EHCPs moving to a new phase of education
If you are a parent or carer of a child with an Educational Health Care Plan (EHCP) and your child is moving educational setting due to a change of phase such as moving from Primary School to Secondary School we want to hear from you. This is an important milestone in your child’s education, we want to work with you to secure a suitable school placement for your child.
Your child’s current setting will arrange an EHCP review meeting which will be held early in the Autumn term. If your child is not currently in an education setting, Cheshire East SEND Team will be in contact to organise a review meeting. As part of this review meeting, you will have the opportunity to discuss the options available, and following the meeting, you will be asked to formally confirm which schools you would like us to consult with.
If you already know which schools you would like (your parental preference) it is really helpful if you let the SEND Team know as soon as possible. To make this easier, you can submit your choices using the following form: Sharing your School Place Preferences.
Before submitting the form it is important to know
- This form is for pupils with an Education Health and Care Plan in place. All other applications must be completed via Mainstream Admissions.
- This form is used for both Primary and Secondary transfers so make sure you select the correct option.
Advice for parents/carers on completing the form
- If you move house between submitting the form
You must notify the SEND Team of any change of home address.
- If you do not complete the preference form
You will have the opportunity to provide these as part of your child’s autumn term annual review.
- When you will find out which school your child has a place at
Following your child’s annual review, a Final Education, Health & Care Plan will be issued by 15th February in the year of the transfer, naming the setting for the next phase of your child’s education. This is the Local Authority’s formal confirmation of school place.
If you do not have a preferred school, you are not required to do anything else.
Useful school information
- Information about school open days is available on the individual school’s website, as is information on how to contact the school Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo). Please also consider contacting the SENCo at your current setting.
- Information on primary and secondary schools in Cheshire East can be found on the information booklets page or by telephoning 0300 123 5012 or by visiting our education page.
- The Cheshire East Information, Advice and Support team (CEIAS) offers free confidential and impartial information, advice and support to parents and carers of young people aged 0 - 25 who have Special Educational Needs or Disabilities (SEND) as well as young people themselves. They can be contacted on 0300 123 5166.
Post 16
This information is related to young people that will be reaching the end of year 11 by the end of this academic year. This is an important milestone in your young person’s education and we want to offer help and support to you and your child/young person to secure the right place for them in post 16 education or training.
In order for us to support you and make preparations for a smooth transition to the next placement, it would be helpful for you to tell us (in order) which course and school/college/training provider your young person is intending to apply for. The Local Authority (LA) will use this information to support the undertaking of consultations with education and training providers. Your young person’s current setting should arrange the annual review in the Autumn term, ideally before the end of November.
If your young person is not in a setting the Local Authority will be in contact to organise the annual review.
The statutory deadline for naming the placement in Section I of the Education, Health and Care Plan is 31st March 2025.
Please note that if your child/ young person will be leaving their current educational setting that they still need to apply directly for a place on their intended course with the education provider e.g, college/training provider they are considering.
If your child/ young person is planning to stay at their current school and move into the 6th Form, please still do let us know so that we can make the necessary arrangements.
This information is only relevant for those young people with an EHCP.
To find out how we use your information see our privacy notice (opens in a new window).
Follow this link to Notify us of intention to apply for a post-16 school or college place
Post 16 SEND
If you are unsure which is your preferred educational preference, the following information may be of use:
- Information about college open days are available on the individual college’s websites, as is information from the college’s SEND support teams. Please also consider contacting the SENDCo at your current school.
- Information about colleges and training providers can be found on the Cheshire East Local Offer Site - Live Well
- Information about the Annual Review Process for transition years can be found Annual reviews of EHC plans page.
- The Cheshire East Information, Advice and Support team (CEIAS) offers free confidential and impartial information, advice and support to parents and carers of young people aged 0 - 25 who have Special Educational Needs or Disabilities (SEND) as well as young people themselves. They can be contacted on 0300 123 5166 or via the CEIAS website.
Resources
Contact the SEND team
Page last reviewed: 11 September 2024
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