Why is it different from the ordinary in-year process?
Because the EHCP is a legal document that specifies provision, and the law sets out a specific process for naming a placement in it.
Section 39 of the Children and Families Act 2014 governs how a school is named in an EHCP. When a parent requests a particular placement and the LA is about to issue or amend the EHCP, the LA must consult the preferred school and must name that school unless one of three specific refusal grounds applies. The process is statutory and procedural; it runs on timelines and paperwork rather than on the admissions team's waiting list.
Practically, this means the in-year admissions team will defer to the SEND team once the EHCP is on the file. The process runs through the SEND team and follows the annual-review cycle. If you try to go through ordinary in-year admissions first, the LA will typically reroute your application; better to start at the right door.
What is the annual review and why does it matter here?
The annual review is the statutory meeting that reconsiders the EHCP every twelve months (or sooner if there is an "interim review" triggered by a significant change). It is the legal moment at which the EHCP can be amended, including by naming a different placement.
If you want your child to start at a new school, the annual review is where that gets agreed in principle, a school preference is lodged, consultation begins and an amended EHCP is eventually issued naming the school. If your last annual review is more than a few months away and you want the return to happen sooner, you can request an early or interim review on the grounds that placement is being reconsidered.
Post-home-education annual reviews have specific features. They usually include a short written report from you about what the child has been doing at home and how the EHCP provision has been met. A recent professional opinion (from a SALT, OT or educational psychologist, as relevant) is often useful; these can be commissioned privately if LA assessment waits are long.
How do you name a school preference?
In writing, to the LA's SEND team, with a specific named school or schools. Early in the process, before consultation letters go out.
The letter should name the preferred school, give a brief reason why you consider the school suitable for your child's needs and reference Section 39 of the Children and Families Act 2014. Keep it short (one page is plenty). You can name more than one school, in order of preference, though most parents focus on one preferred school plus a named alternative.
The LA is then required to consult the preferred school within a defined period. The consulted school must give a view. The LA takes the school's view into account but is not bound by it; the final decision on whether to name the school sits with the LA, constrained by the three Section 39 grounds for refusal.
What are the Section 39 grounds for refusal?
Three, and only three.
The school is unsuitable for the child. This has to be specific: "this child needs a specialist autism provision that this mainstream primary does not offer" is a reasoned ground. "We don't think it's a good fit" is not.
Admission would be incompatible with the efficient education of other children. Usually only invoked where class size, specific adjustments or resource distribution would substantially affect the other pupils.
Admission would be incompatible with the efficient use of resources. The cost-effectiveness ground. Usually argued where a named independent specialist school is more expensive than a maintained alternative that could meet the child's needs.
If the LA cites none of these and refuses anyway, or cites them without a reasoned case, the parent can appeal to the SEND Tribunal. The Tribunal has power to direct the LA to name the preferred school. IPSEA runs the single most useful service in the country for supporting parents through SEND Tribunal appeals.
What happens during consultation?
The LA sends a consultation letter to each named school with the draft EHCP and the relevant professional reports. The school responds, usually within fifteen working days, either accepting the placement or explaining why it believes it cannot meet the child's needs.
From here, three outcomes are possible. First, the preferred school accepts and is named in the amended EHCP. Second, the school declines but the LA names it anyway (rare, because the LA then has to manage the school's objection). Third, the school declines and the LA agrees, in which case you can challenge via SEND Tribunal.
Most cases fall in the first bucket. Schools that decline usually do so for a Section 39 reason that is plausible; Tribunal cases are concentrated around the second and third outcomes.
A realistic timeline
For an uncontested case, six to ten weeks from the initial annual-review meeting to the amended EHCP naming the school.
For a contested case (school declines, parent appeals, SEND Tribunal hearing): nine to fifteen months. This is uncomfortable but normal; Tribunal hearings are scheduled months out.
If you want the child to start at a new school at the beginning of an academic year, trigger an interim annual review in January or February for a September start. That gives the LA time to complete the process, and gives you time to appeal if the first preference is refused.
A real family returning to school with an EHCP
A family we will call the Kwartengs had home-educated their Year 5 daughter (EHCP for autism) for two and a half years. By early spring of what would have been her Year 7, they wanted a return to a named mainstream secondary with a specialist autism provision.
They rang IPSEA in January. IPSEA helped them draft an early annual review request, a school-preference letter naming two secondaries with autism provisions and a short written account of the daughter's home-education progress. The LA triggered the interim annual review in February. Consultations went out in early March; the first-preference school's autism provision lead responded in the second half of March saying the school could meet the EHCP needs subject to small amendments.
The amended EHCP was issued in early May naming the first-preference school. The daughter started in September, in her Year 7 equivalent. The whole process took six months from the initial IPSEA call to the school-naming decision.
This is a realistic, well-prepared case. Cases without IPSEA support and without an interim review tend to take longer and are more likely to miss September start dates.
This article is information, not legal advice. EHCP placement decisions have appeal routes with strict deadlines; if the LA is refusing or delaying, ring IPSEA within a week.
Frequently asked.
- Does the standard in-year admissions process apply to my EHCP child?
- No. The EHCP placement process under Section 39 of the Children and Families Act 2014 applies. The LA names a school in the EHCP after the annual review and after consulting your preferred schools. The in-year admissions team will defer to this process.
- Can I name any school I like?
- You can name a preferred maintained school, academy, free school, non-maintained special school or independent special school approved under Section 41. The LA is then required to consult your preferred school unless one of the Section 39 refusal grounds applies.
- What are the Section 39 grounds for refusing my preference?
- The school being unsuitable for the child's age, ability, aptitude or SEN; admission being incompatible with the efficient education of other children; or admission being incompatible with the efficient use of resources. The LA has to make a reasoned case on one of these grounds; it cannot refuse without reason.
- How long does the process take?
- Statutory timeline is fifteen weeks from annual review to issuing the amended EHCP naming the school, though shorter is possible for uncontested cases. Planning for the start of a new academic year means triggering the annual review at least four to five months before the intended start date.
- What if my preferred school says it cannot meet the child's needs?
- The school can offer a view during the consultation. The LA decides whether to agree; you can challenge the LA's decision at the SEND Tribunal. IPSEA supports parents through this challenge process and legal aid is often available.
- Can the LA refuse to name any school at all?
- No. The LA must name a school or other provision that can meet the child's needs. If all the schools you prefer are refused and no alternative has been proposed, that is a ground for appeal to the SEND Tribunal.