Get information and support Free legal guides and template letters EHC plans, EHC needs assessments and appeals Appealing to the SEND Tribunal Appealing against the school or other setting named in your EHC plan Appealing against a school or setting FAQs If the SEND Tribunal orders a school be named in an EHC plan, can that setting refuse to admit my child? For most types of schools or institutions, if they are named in an EHC plan they have a legal duty to admit your child or young person under section 43 Children and Families Act 2014. This duty applies to: a maintained school or nursery (mainstream or special) an Academy (mainstream or special) an institution in the Further Education sector a non-maintained special school, and a section 41 school. Even if the setting disagrees about being named in an EHC plan (including if it is pursuing a challenge against the LA through the courts or via the Secretary of State) unless and until the EHC plan is amended, the duty to admit applies (see, for example, N v Governors of a School [2014] EWHC 1238 (Admin)). Any setting that refuses to admit a child or young person whose EHC plan names that setting, will be acting unlawfully and could be challenged by judicial review. The only time a setting does not have a legal duty to admit your child or young person is if the school is an independent one. The SEND Tribunal cannot order an independent setting to be named without an offer of a place from the school. Manage Cookie Preferences