Choosing an education provider
What to do in exceptional situations
It may be that you find yourself in an exceptional situation, such as the ones we have detailed here.
Placement in an Additionally Resourced Provision (ARP) will require an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan.
Additionally Resourced Provision within mainstream settings is dealt with in the same way as mainstream schools unless they are a separate legal entity. In Buckinghamshire, none of the ARPs are separate legal entities.
Your rights are the same for a mainstream school with an ARP as they are for a mainstream school without an ARP.
The help your child will receive from the Additionally Resourced Provision must be detailed in section F of their EHC plan. The mainstream school will be named in section I.
If your child is about to start school or perhaps even attends school, you may feel they would do better in a different year group than the one they should be in relating to their age. For example, perhaps their birthday is in August, so they are very young in their year, and perhaps they have a learning difficulty.
It is sometimes possible for children to have a delayed start to school or to change year group later on, once they have started school. You will need to think about requesting delaying or changing year group carefully because there are disadvantages as well as possible advantages to take into account.
The processes are different depending on if your child does not have an EHC plan, does have an EHC plan or is going through an EHC needs assessment.
My child does not have an EHC plan
These links are useful for you if your child does not have an EHC plan:
Admission of children below compulsory school age and deferred entry to school - admission information about deferred entry and outside the chronological age group.
When your child can start school - a guide to when your child can start school.
Delay your child's school start date - includes what your options are, things to consider and how to request a delay to your child’s start date.
Beyond the reception year - requesting a change of year group - above or below their chronological age, things to consider, how it is requested.
My child has an EHC plan
If your child has an EHC plan, you can make a request to delay school start or change year group as part of the annual review process in consultation with your EHCO. The annual review can be brought forward if necessary – please see Asking for an early review of an EHC plan - IPSEA
If the local authority agrees to your request, a draft amended EHC plan should be issued, noting the decision to educate out of year group in section F of the plan.
It is particularly difficult to get agreement to change year group if your child attends a special school - the curriculum is especially flexible so children of a very wide range of needs can be accommodated in the year group relevant to their age.
My child is going through an EHC needs assessment
The process is different for you if your child is going through an EHC needs assessment – you should discuss your request to delay school start or change year group with your EHC Co-ordinator. If there is agreement to issue an EHC plan and agreement to delay or change year group, the EHC plan will be issued, noting the decision to educate out of year group in section F of the plan.
If you don’t think that your child or young person can attend a school or further education provider you may wish to look at further information about alternative provision and education otherwise than at school.
Alternative provision is education outside of school, arranged by local authorities or schools for children who, because of exclusion, illness or other reasons, would not otherwise receive suitable education. See our page here on Alternative Provision.
Education otherwise than at school is education provision to meet specific needs of children and young people who, for whatever reason, cannot attend a mainstream or special school. This is a formal special education package made under an EHC plan, for which the local authority, in this case Buckinghamshire Council, remains legally responsible for. See our page here on Education Otherwise Than at School.
If you receive a final EHC plan and the education provider or type of education provider named in Section I is not your preferred one and/or you are not in agreement with it, there are options available to you.
- You can speak with your EHC Co-ordinator about the decision.
- You can look into the appeals process; specifically the sections titled:
- I want to challenge an appealable decision, and
- Refusal to change what’s in a child or young person’s EHC plan
- You can contact SENDIAS for further advice using our contact form.