Phase Transfer Deadline is Looming
If you have a child that is approaching a phase transfer, you will hopefully be aware of the importance of this Wednesday – 15th February.
A phase transfer is where a student moves from one phase of education to another. This might be:
going into reception
between years 2 and 3 if they attend an infant school
between years 5 and 6 if they are moving to a middle school
between years 6 and 7 if they attend a junior or primary school
between years 9 and 10 if they attend a middle school
between years 11 and 12
Where a child has an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP), the Local Authority must issue a new final plan by 15th February that states in section I the name of the school that will be attended after September. The one exception to this is between years 11 and 12 post-16 the deadline is 31st March.
As I write this blog, we are waiting for ours. It’s 2 days to go and although we’ve seen a draft amendment notice, we are still waiting to hear which school the LA is going to name.
What might be going on in the background?
Local Authorities have a duty to protect the public purse. So at a phase transfer, the LA will take the opportunity to review the current placement to see if it remains appropriate and will consider whether an alternative (less expensive option) might now be appropriate. This means if your child is attending a specialist provision and/or an independent school they are likely to consult with one or more maintained schools during this time.
Most LAs have their equivalent of an Independent Placement Panel which will need to approve a placement at a provision that is not a maintained school or college.
So, if you are still waiting to hear about your child’s phase transfer what might you do?
Ask the LA which placements they are consulting. There’s still time to help those schools/colleges to understand your child’s needs properly. Admittedly there’s not long, however, if they haven’t received consultation responses they may end up issuing the EHCP late, so it’s worth contacting the relevant schools/colleges for a conversation. It’s also worth asking your current school to reach out to the schools being consulted, to provide them with some colour about your child in their provision.
Ask your case officer if they expect to be able to issue the EHCP on time – and if not escalate to a manager or the head of the service. In the event that they name a placement with which you are not happy, any delay frustrates your right of appeal, as well as being a breach of the statutory process.
And what can you do if you’ve received an EHCP already or receive one later this week that names a placement you don’t think is appropriate?
It is most likely you’ll need to follow the appeal process. This may involve mediation which can often be successful. The Tribunal has a huge backlog of appeals, however, they do prioritise phase transfers so if you read headlines about a 5+ month wait, that should hopefully not be the case. You will need to act promptly in order to lodge and complete a hearing before the schools break up for the summer.
My very best wishes to you if you, like me are waiting to hear which placement the LA will name for your child in September.
And if you end up disappointed, please get in touch.