CLICK TO DOWNLOAD: Asking the LA to arrange attendance at an appropriate school following a move to a new LA (template letter 26)

This template letter is for general advice purposes and will need to be tailored to your own individual circumstances. Please read all of the information on this page and, if possible, we recommend you take advice on using these letters. 

How soon should my new local authority arrange attendance at an appropriate school or institution?

The law states that if it is no longer practicable for your child or young person to attend the school or college named in Section I of their EHC plan (perhaps because it is too far away) then your new local authority (LA) must arrange for them to attend another appropriate school or institution as soon as the EHC plan has been transferred.

Transfer of the EHC plan to the new LA

The law sets out when the child or young person’s EHC plan transfers to a new LA: 

If	Then
You give the LA you are moving from at least 15 working days’ notice of your move	it must transfer your child or young person’s EHC plan to your new LA on the day that you move
You give the LA you are moving from less than 15 working days’ notice of your move	it has 15 working days from the day it knew you were moving to transfer the EHC plan to your new LA

If the EHC plan has been transferred and your new LA has not arranged attendance at an appropriate school or institution, you can request it does so using this template letter. 

Who should I write to?

You should write to the most senior person at the LA, usually called the Director of Children’s Services. You can find their contact details on the Association of Directors of Children’s Services website. 

What happens next?

If, despite a request to do so, the LA does not arrange attendance at an appropriate school or other institution, it will be in breach of its legal duties.

While you could make a formal complaint to the LA, because an LA failing to arrange attendance at an appropriate school and failing to secure provision in an EHC plan is a very serious and urgent matter, your LA’s complaints process may take too long and therefore not be appropriate - in which case we recommend you take advice on starting a process called judicial review instead of making a formal complaint. 

You may prefer to complain but first check your LA’s complaints procedure for how long this would take. This can be found in your LA’s Local Offer on its website.  If necessary, after following the LA’s complaints procedure you can escalate the complaint to the Local Government Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO). If a complaint goes through all stages of the LGSCO’s process, it can take many months to resolve. So, when the situation is urgent we recommend you write to the LA and consider judicial review instead of making a formal complaint. 

If you decide to complain, your LA’s Local Offer should clearly set out how a formal complaint can be made in its complaints procedure. This can be found on your LA’s website. If complaining, you should follow the LA’s complaints procedure as well as writing to the Director of Children’s Services. See our page on taking action when things go wrong with a local authority for more information.  

Remember to keep a copy of any letter or email you send.