Process for naming a school

A parent or young person can express a preference for a particular school as part of the assessment process. Once we have decided to issue an EHCP (Education, Health, and Care Plan), we will ask you then what school you would like to be named on the EHCP.

Wherever possible we would wish to see children with special educational needs educated in their local mainstream school. There are some circumstances, which will mean that it will not be possible to do this, i.e. there are no reasonable adjustments that can be made in the local mainstream school to make placement possible for the child. If this is the case, we will explore other types of provisions, namely, special schools.

Identifying a school

When considering what school to name on an EHCP, we will take into account the following things:

• The needs of your child that have been identified   
• The education of the other children at the school    
• The efficient use of the local authority’s resources    

How the process works

• We contact a school for a place by sending a copy of your child’s EHC (Education, Health, and Care) Plan and the additional reports and information used to write the EHC Plan.
• Maintained schools have 15 days to review this paperwork. The non-maintained and independent sectors have no time limit. Schools may request additional time to decide whether they are able to meet needs and offer a place. In such cases, it is likely that some additional time will be considered. This is usually the case for special schools that hold admissions panels when there are more requests than places available.
• The identified school will be named in Section I of the final EHC plan or final amended EHC plan
• The school named in section I is a confirmation of the education place your child will attend. You will not receive any additional confirmation from the school's admission service.

This process can be time-consuming but it is essential that we identify the right school for your child’s needs and the steps laid out above will help us to do this.

Find education settings

A list of schools is also available in our:

SEND Local Offer directory

Visit the UK Government website for a list of approved independent special schools

Guide to what to look for in a school    

Read the Special Educational Needs and Disability Information Advice and Support Service (SENDIASS) guide to what to look for in a school.

Find out more

You can read our Naming a school, college or learning placement in an Education, Health, and Care Plan (PDF document)  to find out about our policy and practice in securing an education setting for a child or young person with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

Go to the IPSEA website for information on what the Children and Families Act 2014 says regarding special educational needs support in relation to independent schools.