Our SEN Statutory Team has recently written to parents who have a child moving from primary school to secondary school in September, 2025. They have also written to parents whose child is moving from an early years setting, such as a nursery to a primary school, or infant to junior school.
In most cases, parents of children moving from primary to secondary school have already informed us of their preferred school choice through their year five or six Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) review meeting.
But if your child is due to move to secondary school next September, and you haven’t yet chosen a preferred mainstream school, please visit our ‘applying for secondary school’ page on our website, where you will also find a link to our admissions portal.
The deadline for applications for secondary school places is Thursday 31 October 2024.
Any other non-mainstream school choices can be returned via the form on the letter that you received, or you can discuss it with your child’s case officer.
If your child is due to move from an early years setting to a primary or infant school, or from an infant to a junior school next September, the admission portal to choose a preferred mainstream school opens on Friday 15 November and closes on Wednesday 15 January, 2025.
However, if your child has an EHCP, we’d like to hear about your choices as early as possible please.
You can find more information on our ‘applying for primary school’ page on our website.
If your child has an EHCP and is moving to a new primary or secondary school next September, you will receive confirmation of the school place by Saturday 15 February, 2025. The school named will be found in Section 1 of your child’s amended EHCP.
Changing schools is one of the major things most of us do before we reach 18 years old.
Children and young people change schools for lots of different reasons. Whatever the circumstances, moving schools – it’s often called ‘transition’ – can be exciting, but it can also be a worrying time for some children and their families, and particularly for those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).
Children and their parents may be concerned about getting to know a new place with new people, so getting the right help and support can really help your child settle in.
The Devon SEND Local Offer website has information about what to consider when your child changes school.
Devon Information Advice and Support (DiAS) also has lots of useful information and resources about talking to your school and arranging what’s best for your child.
You can also contact DiAS to get advice by phone or email to talk through your options around choosing a school and moving school.