Applying for an education setting if your child has SEND

Applying for an education setting without an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan

If your child does not have an EHC Plan, you must follow the mainstream process of applying for a school place.

This includes:

View our information on the types of education settings for children with SEND.

What to do if your child has Special Educational Needs or Disabilities (SEND)

A school cannot refuse to accept an application or admit a child because of their SEND.

Every school has a duty to make reasonable adjustments. This is to accommodate every child offered a place at their school.

We advise you to visit local schools. This will help you decide which schools you want to name on your application.

You can contact us if you have a concern about a school:

  • refusing to accept an application
  • persuading you not to apply
  • refusing to admit your child after they have been offered a place there.

Contact us with your concerns by:

Naming your preferred schools

You have a right to request a particular school for your child whether they have SEND or not.

When applying you can:

  • name both Medway and non-Medway schools
  • apply for up to 6 different schools in order of preference
  • change your application at any point until the national closing date for applications.

How applications are processed

Each education setting sets criteria to decide how they prioritise places for children. This is in case they get more applications than they have places for.

You do not have to apply for 6 schools. Naming only 1 school does not improve your chances of being offered a place there.

If a place is not available at your preferred school, we’ll place your child at the nearest available school. This is after we have considered everyone’s applications.

Offer day

National offer day is:

  • 16 April for primary school admissions
  • 1 March for secondary school admissions.

If you applied online, you’ll receive your application outcome and next steps through email.

If you applied by paper form, we’ll send your outcome in the post.

Accepting your offer

You need to accept or refuse your offer.

You must complete the acceptance or refusal form which you’ll receive in your outcome email or letter.

If you want to appeal for a place at a different school, we recommend accepting your offer until you have secured a place at a different school.

Appeals

You have the right to appeal for any school you applied for that did not offer your child a place.

View information for primary school appeals.

View information for secondary school appeals.

Waiting lists

If you're not happy with the school place your child has been offered, you can ask for them to be added to a waiting list.

More about joining a primary school waiting list.

More about joining a secondary school waiting list.

Home to school transport

You can apply for home to school travel assistance.