Primary to secondary school transition for SEND children: a 12-month parent plan

Why this starts in Year 5, not Year 6

Because the council has a legal deadline they can't miss: 15 February of Year 6. By that date, your child's EHCP has to be updated and the secondary school named in it.

To hit that deadline, the council has to do a few things first. They have to hold a special version of your child's annual review, which is a meeting at school where you, the SENDCO (the teacher in charge of special needs at your child's school) and others go through the plan and agree what needs to change for secondary. They have to write to any school you want named, asking if it can take your child. Then they have to send you a draft of the updated plan, give you a chance to push back, and finalise it.

All of that has to fit between January of Year 5 and February of Year 6. The meeting that kicks it off is the Year 5 annual review, usually held between January and March of Year 5. (The 15 February deadline is set by Regulation 18 of the SEND Regulations 2014. See References.)

The 12-month timeline

Here's the calendar laid out month by month, from open evenings in autumn of Year 5 to the named placement on the final plan by 15 February of Year 6.

Print this. Stick it on the fridge. The whole calendar fits on one page.

What to do in autumn of Year 5

Two things, in order: visit, and document.

Most secondary schools run an open evening in late September or October. Go, but go with a SEND-specific list. Ask the school's SENDCO directly:

• How many children with EHCPs do you currently support?
• What's your ratio of teaching assistants to children with plans?
• Can I see your SEN Information Report? (Every school has one. A public document setting out what they actually do for SEND.)
• What does Year 7 look like for a child who needs a sensory break, has demand-avoidance, or needs less homework as a reasonable adjustment?

You're not being difficult. You're doing the SENDCO's annual-review homework for them.

The second job is the paperwork audit. Pull the most recent reports you have, from the educational psychologist (EP), occupational therapist (OT), speech and language therapist (SaLT), and the school itself. If anything is more than 12 months old, ask in writing (politely) for an updated one. The Year 5 annual review can only consider evidence that exists in January. Anything you want on the table has to be there by then.

The Year 5 annual review

On the surface, it's an annual review like any other. The difference is the agenda. This one is specifically about getting your child ready to move up.

The SENDCO chairs the meeting. You should expect: your child's class teacher, you, ideally an educational psychologist or another specialist if they've been recently involved, and (in theory) a representative from the council. In practice the council often doesn't send anyone in person.

The two questions that actually matter at this meeting:

1. Which secondary school do you want named on your child's plan?
2. What changes do you want in the plan to fit the new setting?

Write both answers down in advance and bring them. If you want a school outside your catchment, say so now. If you want a special school, the evidence to support it (and the cost case the council will push back with) has to be visible in the meeting notes.

The SENDCO has to send a summary of the meeting to the council within two weeks. (This is in the SEND Code of Practice (the official guidance the council has to follow), paragraph 9.176. See References.) Ask for a copy of what they send.

When the council writes to schools

Between the Year 5 review (around March) and the draft updated plan (around September of Year 6), the council writes to the schools that have been named, by you and by them, asking if they can take your child.

Each school has 15 working days to reply. They'll say one of three things: yes we can meet need, no we can't, or yes, but only with extra support or conditions. The council collects the replies and uses them to decide which school to name on the updated plan.

What disappoints parents in practice: a “no” from a school doesn't always mean the council gives up on naming it. A “yes” doesn't always mean the council names it either. The council can still refuse to name your preferred school on one of two grounds (see below). And the replies often drift past the 15-day deadline without anything happening.

What 15 February of Year 6 really means

It means the council must have sent you a final, signed plan with the secondary school named on it, by that date. Not a draft. Not “we're still consulting.” A finished plan.

If the council misses 15 February, you have a real, specific problem you can do something about. Three routes:

1. Make a formal complaint through the council's own SEND complaints process.
2. Take it to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. An independent body that investigates how councils handle cases.
3. Most importantly: appeal to the SEND Tribunal. An independent panel that hears your side and the council's side and decides. If the council hasn't named a school, or has named one you don't accept, this is the route that matters.

That right of appeal is written into the law (Children and Families Act 2014, section 51. See References.) and the two-month clock to file the appeal starts the day the final plan is issued. So 15 February isn't just a date in a diary. It's the date your right to challenge becomes live.

Mainstream or special school: when to decide

The honest answer: it gets decided twice. The first time, in autumn of Year 5, is your decision, about what kind of setting you think your child will do well in. The second time, in the consultation period, is the council's, about what they're willing to fund.

The gap between the two is where most placement disputes live.

What the law says: a child with an EHCP has the right to a place in a mainstream school unless the parent doesn't want mainstream, or their being there would seriously disrupt other children's education. The council cannot force your child into a special school if you want mainstream. (Children and Families Act 2014, section 33. See References.)

The reverse is harder. The council can refuse your request for a special school place on the grounds that it costs too much. But you can appeal that, and the SEND Tribunal looks at whether the extra cost is reasonable given what your child actually needs.

If you're considering a special school, the evidence work matters more than the visit. You want:

• An EP report that names the kind of setting your child needs, not just their diagnosis.
• An OT report that names the sensory environment they need.
• A speech and language therapist's input that names the communication environment they need.

Without that evidence on file, the council's default is the cheapest school that can plausibly meet need. With it, you have a case.

Can you ask for any school you like?

The law is firm. You can ask for any mainstream school, academy, free school, or non-maintained special school (the last one means an independent special school officially approved for SEND placements) to be named on your child's plan. The council has to put your choice on the plan unless one of two things is true.

1. The school genuinely can't meet your child's needs. They don't have the right staff, the right setup, or the right expertise.
2. Sending your child there would damage other children's education, or would cost the council too much. And “too much” has a real legal test, not just “the other school is cheaper.”

The second ground (cost) is what councils most often use to refuse a non-catchment mainstream or a special school. The test the SEND Tribunal applies is whether the extra cost to the council is out of proportion. The council has to show the cost difference is significant and that the cheaper option can actually meet your child's needs. (Children and Families Act 2014, section 39. The leading cases are Hampshire CC v R & SENDIST [2009] and Oxfordshire CC v GB [2002]. See References.)

This is the part of any plan dispute where the law gets technical. If you're here, get free advice from one of:

• IPSEA, the UK's main free SEND legal advice charity.
• SOSSEN, another free SEND legal advice line.
• Your local SENDIASS (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information, Advice and Support Service). Every council area has one. Free and confidential.

What if the council names the wrong school?

You have 15 days from getting the draft plan to reply. Use them.

Write back setting out, in plain terms:

1. Which school you want named.
2. Why the named school can't meet your child's needs. Point to specific things in the school's setup or in what they've said.
3. What evidence supports your preference. Reports, observations, the school you want's positive response.

Name the legal grounds the council is using to refuse, and push back on each one.

If the final plan still names a school you can't accept, your next stop is the SEND Tribunal. You have two months from the date of the final plan to lodge an appeal. (Or one month from the end of mediation, whichever is later. You have to at least consider mediation before tribunal in most cases.) Mediation is a free meeting where someone independent tries to help you and the council reach agreement without going to tribunal.

At the tribunal, the panel hears your side and the council's side from scratch. It's not a review of how the council made its decision. It's a fresh look at which school should be named.

What to do this week

If your child is in Year 5 right now, this week:

1. Book two secondary open evenings if you haven't already. Your local mainstream plus one alternative is the minimum.
2. Email your child's SENDCO asking when the Year 5 annual review is provisionally scheduled, and asking for it to be flagged as a phase-transfer review: the version specifically about getting your child ready for secondary.
3. Audit your evidence file. If your child's EP, OT or speech and language therapist's report is more than 12 months old, ask in writing for an updated one now. Reports asked for in spring usually arrive in autumn. The clock is already on.
4. If your child doesn't have an EHCP yet and you think they'll need one for secondary, ask the council to assess them now, in writing, by email. You're allowed to ask the council directly. You don't need the school's permission, despite what some schools imply. The council has up to 20 weeks to do the assessment. To have a plan ready in time to name a secondary school by 15 February of Year 6, you need the request lodged by April of Year 5.

If your child is already in Year 6, the timeline is tighter but the steps are the same. The single most useful thing you can do this week is find out where you are in the consultation: what schools the council has written to, what they've replied. Email your case officer; ask in writing.