Parents and Carers
- SEN Support in Mainstream Schools
- SEN Support in School Meetings
- Choosing a School or College
- Education Health and Care (EHC) Needs Assessments, Plans and Reviews
- Appeals and Mediation
- Attendance and Exclusions
- Transitioning Between Schools or Settings
- Early Years
- SEND Funding
- Transport to School and College
- Preparing For Adulthood (PfA)
- Making a Complaint
- Health Needs and Education
- Elective Home Education (EHE)
- School Admissions
- Disability Discrimination
- Children's Disability Register
Choosing a School or College
We get lots of calls from parent or carers asking for advice around school placements.
The process for choosing a school place is different for children who have SEN Support at school, compared to those children and young people with an EHC Plan. However, both pathways require research and careful consideration.
It is important that you, and your child or young person, feel confident that a school or setting is right for your child and can meet their special educational needs.
If you are able, we would always advise visiting any potential new schools or settings, to get a feel for it, see how things are laid out, explore the building and the school day, talk to the Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo) and look at how the setting delivers their learning.
The Local Authorities are required to list the mainstream schools and specialist schools on their Local Offers. You can also read about admissions on the Admissions link.
There are a range of different types of school; including mainstream, academies and specialist schools, some which are under local authority control and some which are not. If you want a particular school, it is important to know what type it is.
It is a good idea to keep an open mind and look at several schools before making your final decision. You will have a good idea as to which school suits your child’s needs best. Looking at several schools allows you to compare the provision they make for children with special educational needs (SEN).
You should always look at the nearest mainstream school to your home, but a place cannot be guaranteed at this school, even if you live in the local area.
The law says that children with special educational needs and disabilities should be educated within a mainstream school wherever possible, but all parents have the right to inform their local authority (LA) which school they would like their child to attend. Only children with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan) can attend a specialist school, but most children with EHC Plans attend mainstream schools.
You can read about the different types of school at the IPSEA website.
In most cases, your child will be given a place at the school you want. However, your child may not get a place if all places in that year-group have already been given, e.g. if you are transferring from another school in the middle of the school year, or if you return your application form for entry after the deadline. Faith schools and academies may have additional admission criteria for applicants.
When your child receives a draft EHC Plan you will be asked to name the school you would like them to attend. The LA must consider this and will consult with the school to see if it can meet your child’s needs, as laid out in the Plan. The LA will often agree with you about which school is best but, if not, you will need to discuss your preference with them. The LA has a duty under law to consider whether:
- the school is suitable for your child’s needs
- your child’s attendance there would be compatible with providing an efficient education for other children at the school
- it is an efficient use of resources (people, buildings and money).
If you feel a special school would be best for your child and the LA agrees, you may need to look first at the nearest one unless your child has particular needs that require specific support. The LA needs only to consider whether a school can appropriately meet your child’s needs, so that if you prefer another school, you must demonstrate that it can meet your child’s needs a great deal better without significant additional cost.
Take advantage of any open days when parents generally can visit, but also make an appointment for an individual visit, so that you can discuss any particular concerns you have.
It is usually best to make the first individual visit to a school without your child if possible. There are likely to be issues you want to discuss without your child listening. It can also be very confusing for your child to be taken to visit several schools in turn. Once you have picked out two or three schools, you can take your child to visit those with you and see how they feel about each school.
Try to visit during school hours so that you can see the school at work. It can be difficult to arrange to see staff at short notice, so have several dates and times to suggest and be prepared to wait two or three weeks before your visit can be arranged.
Each mainstream school has a teacher who is responsible for arranging the support for children with special educational needs. This is the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator, or SENCo. It may be helpful to discuss your child’s needs with the SENCo when you visit the school, and you should ask to do this when you arrange the visit.
Schools may have a prospectus to give to interested parents, but also visit the school website, which should have access to the various policies listed below. Schools must publish information about the admission of children with special educational needs and disabilities, and how they are supported in the school (the SEN Information Report).
Other information you can ask for:
- Behaviour Policy – this should mention bullying (including racial and sexual harassment)
- Anti-bullying Policy (either separately or as part of the Behaviour Policy)
- Special Educational Needs Policy
- Sex Education Policy
- Race Equality Policy.
- Performance (league) tables
- OFSTED reports
- Accessibility plans
- Work schemes, e.g. for phonics, or number work
- How religious education is approached
- Home-school agreements
- Communication with parents, e.g. open days, home-school diaries, individual arrangements.
Please go to the ‘Transitioning Between Schools and Settings’ section for more information on questions that you can ask to make sure that the school or setting is right for your child.
Please go to the ‘Early Years’ section for information about choosing an Early Years provider.
SEND Local Offer
The Nottingham City Council and Nottinghamshire County Council SEND Local Offers are a great resource for finding events, support and activities in your area.
City Council County Council