Make an appointment with the SENCO at the school who have been named to, it can be helpful to ask your child’s existing school SENCO to attend this meeting to:

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• Go through the support in section F of the plan and discuss any concerns the named school/you have about the school’s ability to provide the support. As well as learning interventions, this may include environmental provisions like quiet spaces and sensory rooms, class sizes, or attributes of the peer group if these things are specified in the plan. If there is any query about how this will be funded then the school can liaise with the SEN Service directly about this.
   

• Ask about whether the school have an appropriate social or peer group for your child e.g. children working at a similar academic level.
   

• Ask whether the school have experience and training in supporting children with similar needs to your child and if not then what can they do to ensure this is in place.
   

If you decide that the named school could be right for your child then you should work with your existing school SENCO and the new school SENCO to make an individual transition plan. Depending on needs, this may include extra visits, orientation, teacher introductions, a timetable showing when specific interventions will take place, a phased start or any other adaptations that may help your child to have a positive transition.

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If you are not satisfied that the school could provide the support specified in section F:

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• Contact your SEN Case Officer in the SEN Service to provide feedback from your meeting.
  Special Educational Needs (SEN) Service | Children and Families | Hampshire County Council (hants.gov.uk)
   

• Consider seeking a mediated conversation with the SEN Service. Free mediation is provided by Global Mediation. You can contact them for more information on 0800 064 4488 or email info@globalmediation.co.uk.
   

• You can lodge an appeal and ask the SEND tribunal to name a different school of your choosing. Please note that the tribunal will decide based on evidence so you will need to be able to highlight specific support or environmental requirements in the EHCP that the named setting cannot provide.

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The following links explain the appeal process:

Guidance about appealing the placement in an EHCP

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Specific guidance on how to lodge your appeal

 

Video version of how to lodge your appeal

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If you, after looking at these resources, you have any further questions, please feel free to contact our helpline on 08081645504 or information@hampshiresendiass.co.uk.