1 Reviewing the draft plan
Once you receive it, you should review the child or young person’s draft Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) and the supporting advice. The EHCP only contains information that was part of the assessment.
We cannot add a provision to the EHCP if it has not been recommended within the supporting advice.
If you are concerned that something is missing, or you want to discuss the EHCP, talk to your planning coordinator to request a meeting. They will work with you to agree the plan.
If you would like impartial support to review the draft EHCP you can speak to the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information Advice and Support Service (SENDIAS).
2 Expressing a preference for a school
When you receive your draft EHCP you can express a preference for a school. If you want your child to stay at their current school, write or email your planning coordinator to let them know.
If you want your child to go to a different school, we can consider it. To request this, complete the preference form and return it to your planning coordinator.
If you are unsure and need help, talk to your planning coordinator or SENDIAS.
3 Discussing your school preferences with you
The Special Educational Needs Assessment Team (SENAT) will discuss your school preferences with you. How we do this depends on the type of school you request under the Section 41 of the Children and Families Act.
Maintained school or academy, a non-maintained school or a school registered under Section 41
We must consult with that setting to find out whether they feel able to meet your child’s needs. This consultation asks the setting to consider the EHCP and the supporting reports (appendices) and whether they feel able to meet the child or young person’s needs. If the setting is concerned about meeting their needs, it asks them to consider what reasonable adjustments they might need to make to enable them to meet them.
Independent school that is not registered under Section 41
We must consider your request but we are not under any duty to consult with the school.
There is a range of provision in West Sussex and we have developed the admissions guidance documents below to help you understand the process that is followed when a request is made for one of these settings.
Supporting documents
4 Descriptions of provision
To help you understand the provision and support offered by our special support centres and special schools we have developed description documents for each. These are called provision descriptors and can be found on the Local Offer website: