Children with additional needs

Education Health and Care Plans (EHCP)

If your child has an EHCP, use the same application process as everyone else. But our SEND Service will coordinate your child’s school offer rather than our School Admissions Service.

If your child is still being assessed, use the same application process as everyone else. Our SEND Service will tell our School Admissions Service if your child is going to be issued with an EHCP and take over the coordination if your child’s school offer rather than our School Admissions Service.

Find out more about choosing and getting to school if your child has SEND

Medical and social care needs

If your child has medical or social care needs, you should be aware that:

  • in most cases, mainstream schools can meet medical and social care needs
  • we apply strict criteria when classifying a child as needing chronic medical and social care. This helps us make sure that the children and families most in need, benefit from being given priority over others
  • a child is only awarded priority admission under exceptional circumstances
  • where the need relates to a member of the family, they must both live at the same address
  • we only consider a request for a place in a school's Designated Specialist Provision (DSP) if it's supported by our Special Educational Needs Service

We do not classify the following as chronic medical or social care needs:

  • moderate learning difficulties such as dyslexia or delayed speech
  • work commitments and childcare arrangements

If you feel there’s a specific reason we should offer your child a particular school, you need to:

  • state in your application the reasons your child should attend a particular school and the consequences if they have to attend an alternative school
  • submit evidence of the chronic or acute medical condition or social care need, such as a professional medical diagnosis or a statement
  • provide evidence from a relevant health or social care professional to support your request for a specific school on the grounds of medical or social care needs

Find out more about medical and social care criterion:

School admission arrangements: guidance on the medical and social care criterion
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