SENDIASS supported a family to identify options for mainstream post 16 pathway for their daughter with an EHCP.

Names have been changed to protect the identity of child and parent

Bella is a 16-year-old with an EHCP, she has a recent diagnosis of Autistic spectrum condition (ASC). When her family contacted SENDIASS in September 2023, she was starting a year 12 further education/post 16 course after being on roll at a mainstream high school.



Bella was not able to attend her first-choice college to study A-Levels because during the college consultation process, the college did not offer her a conditional place. They stated they could not meet her needs and her predicted grades at that time were not sufficient to meet the college entry criteria.

Bella had been going through a difficult time in high school prior to the college application process. She had missed substantial school time as a result; hence her predicted grades were not reflective of her academic abilities. Bella worked hard in the run up to exams and achieved 7 GCSEs and her grades exceeded the preferred college’s entrance criteria: including one 9 and four 6s.

However, as she was not offered a conditional place, this college was not an option. As a result, Bella was not able to study A-levels and she and her family were disappointed and concerned about the impact this would have on her ability to move forward to higher education.

Bella’s mother, Kate, contacted the SENDIASS inbox, initially with a separate query but in conversation with the SENDIASS advisor, Kate mentioned their disappointment regarding the post 16 outcomes. Bella had worked hard to pass and excel at her exams, but they felt the EHCP process, which includes early consultations, worked against her. They also felt there was no way back to A-levels.

This raised the question - does the process of transition to post 16 work for pupils who are taking GCSEs and looking to access mainstream college placements? And in these cases, is the local authority able to follow the statutory guidance relating to transition to post 16?

Moving to a new phase of Education – What does the law say?

What is a new phase of education?

This is defined in regulation 2 of the SEN and Disability Regulations 2014 (the “SEN Regs”) as a transfer from:

(a) early years education to school;

(b) infant school to junior school;

(c) primary school to middle school;

(d) primary school to secondary school;

(e) middle school to secondary school; or

(f) secondary school to a post-16 institution. This is the focus of this case study.

What happens to the EHC Plan during a phase transfer?

Regulation 18 of the SEN Regs requires that the EHC plan must be reviewed and amended before -

(a) 31 March if the transfer is from secondary school to a post-16 institution

In practice this means that an annual review should take place in Autumn term or at the latest, early in spring term of year 11.

As part of that process, a discussion takes place on what college placements/post 16 placements will be suitable.

The EHC plan must be amended following the annual review, and afterwards the draft plan will be issued for parents to check and make representation about their proposed amendments. At the same time, parents and young people will propose their preferred college placement to the Local authority.

The Local authority consults with colleges and then issues a final amended plan by the statutory deadline of 31^st March as per Regulation 18 of the SEN Regs. The finalised EHC plan includes the college/post 16 provision, to which the pupil will be transferring, in section I of the plan.

The reasoning behind the development of the above process is clear. It is to ensure there is adequate time for planning to prepare for the transfer to the post-16 provision. This is to benefit both the pupil and the college.

The pupil may require transition visits to familiarise themselves with their new educational placement. This is a tremendous change after 5 years of high school. The family may need to re-apply for home to school transport which also takes time.

Early identification of college placements allows colleges/post 16 provisions to prepare for their new intake of pupils. Preparation will include getting to know the new pupils by transition visits, conversations with parents and exchange of information with the high school. It might also require staffing changes, e.g., increase in staff levels, or ensuring staff have accessed specific training – all of which takes time to arrange. It allows colleges to plan their classrooms, pupil groups and resources.

Specialist post 16 provisions

The learning from this case study is that yes, the statutory process as described can take place, but for specialist post 16/college phase transfers.

When a young person is moving from a specialist high school to a specialist post 16 provision, the local authority will consult with specialist colleges (much in the same way as they consult when finding a school placement). Because exam results are not part of the equation and the process is focussed on the young person’s needs, the consultation process can result in the Local authority making a decision on a suitable post 16 provision. If the process is completed in time, the Local authority will be able to issue the final transition plan, naming the college (as it is a definite placement) by the statutory deadline date of 31^st March of the transition year.

The same is also the case for specialist courses within mainstream colleges. Examples of this would be the Routes to learning courses at Manchester College or the Pathways course at Loreto college, Manchester.

But if the pupil with an EHC plan is not going to a specialist setting, and instead they are looking to attend a mainstream college course, whether that be A-levels or other further education study, then the process is not straightforward.

What are some of the issues?

1.

If acceptance into a college or onto a specific course of study is dependent on GCSE results, then it is impossible to guarantee placement by 31^st of March of the transition year. Instead, the pupils will have to wait until GCSE results are received at the end of August, and then enrol with their chosen college. [Problem: The danger here is that if the results are not sufficient for the courses they wish to take, this could leave students in a position of a last-minute scramble to get on another course.]

2.

The pupils apply for their own college courses. For pupils with EHC plans going to mainstream colleges, they must apply directly to the college, this is usually completed by January of year 11. [Problem: It may not be clear that the EHCP team does not secure college placements (if mainstream) – families may not be aware of this as they are used to the local authority securing school placements.]

3.

Consultations are not straightforward. Once the college applications have been made by the students, the local authority can then take part in a consultation process with the colleges, sharing the EHC plan to find out if the colleges can meet need. However, when this concerns mainstream college placements this is not straightforward because of the following issues:

a.  the local authority may not be aware of exactly what colleges the young person has applied to (the young person may not be aware they should inform the EHCP team etc) and therefore a consultation is not sent.

b.  sometimes the EHCP team is told to consult with a particular college, and then the college replies they have not received an application for that student.

c.   EHCP team can consult with colleges and not receive a response – it is common for students to apply to colleges outside of the local authority area and this can affect communication.

d.  if the colleges do return a consultation response or an offer of a conditional place (dependent on GCSE results), that college still cannot be named on the EHC plan as the place is not guaranteed.

So, in the above circumstances, the local authority is not able to abide by the statutory deadline of 31^st March because the process does not fit in with the realities of a phase transfer to a mainstream college.

The EHCP team has explained to SENDIASS that, in these circumstances, if parents request an updated section I, the most that can be written is “mainstream further education” – they cannot identify a setting. The post 16 setting can only be identified after enrolment takes place in September (at the same time as the other post 16 students). The EHCP team stated that the naming of the setting in an updated plan takes place around October when the placement is officially confirmed.

The above learning is useful to SENDIASS - it allows the service to properly understand the differences between the specialist and mainstream post-16 phase transfers and this will allow the service to provide families and young people with the correct advice and guidance.

For those looking to attend mainstream colleges, the main advice points are:

1.   

Apply for your own college courses in the usual way – the high schools should assist with this as they do for all their other year 11 pupils.

2.

On the application forms you can usually state if you have an EHC plan and/or state any disabilities or additional needs.

3.

You do not lose anything by applying, feel free to apply to as many colleges as you are interested in – these can be outside of the local authority area.

4.

After application, inform the EHCP case coordinator of the list of college courses to which you have applied – it will be a good idea to keep them informed if you receive any letters of conditional offers. The EHCP team and the colleges can then be in contact regarding consultation / sharing the EHC plan (this will usually happen in spring/summer term once the plan has been amended following the year 11 review).

5.

Following enrolment in September, inform the EHCP team of the college you have decided to attend (students may have had conditional offers from quite a few colleges), the plan will then be updated to name the college in section I.

In Bella’s case, she did not receive an offer from her first-choice college due to the predicted grades on her college application. In addition, there was special educational provision in her EHC plan which the college felt they could not provide.

Bella’s case was unique because 1) the special educational provision in question was around the need of off site working / small group sizes. However, this need was specific to the high school (due to a specific incident at that school) and would not be relevant at the college (she would be able to access regular sized classrooms at the college).

But as section F of her plan still described this provision at the point of consultation, the college stated they could not meet need. 2) the previously mentioned point that Bella’s predicated grades did not meet the entry criteria for the college and although her final GCSE results were enough –as there was not a place on offer, her results were not considered.

SENDIASS supported the family by contacting the A-Level college admissions team, explaining the circumstances and requesting a reconsideration based on the new information.

The college responded that, bearing in mind the GCSE results and the changes in the special educational provision required, they may be able to offer her a place on A-levels courses. However, they would only do so if the EHC plan was formally amended by the EHCP team to reflect the changes. They were also open to discussing with the family on courses (they would need to look at pupil numbers / availability as at this point it was mid-September and enrolment was completed).

As Bella had already started a different college course that week and was settling in, Kate was not sure whether to raise the possibility of further change with Bella. Bella is autistic and Kate was mindful that she did not want to disrupt her and cause uncertainty. She also was not sure whether Bella would want to start a course later than other pupils.

SENDIASS then consulted with college admissions to request whether Bella could have the option to start a 2-year A-level course the following September. The college confirmed that as she had an EHC plan the funding would be in place and she could follow that option if she wished. They recommended that if she wanted, she could re-apply and should fill out a new college application form direct to the college. As she would be applying with her confirmed GCSE grades this time, this process could result in a guaranteed offer of a place. Technically, in these circumstances it would allow the transition EHC plan to be issued by the deadline date of March 31^st with a confirmed college placement in part I (as per regulation 18) – this would then allow for transition planning.

SENDIASS informed Kate about this option:  that Bella could continue with her current course, where she was already settled, but still not lose out on the option of studying A-levels, as per her initial wish. The family were informed about the process to follow and the deadlines, and in addition, it was also confirmed with the EHCP team that this option of 2 more years of A-level study would also be available at other A -level colleges, not just the one which Bella had preferred.

With support from SENDIASS Bella was now in a different position. Where previously there had been disappointment at not being able to take A-levels, there was now the option to do so – just 1 year later. At the time of the case being closed to SENDIASS, Kate and Bella were looking to consider the options and then make an informed decision which best suited Bella’s needs and aspirations.

This is useful learning for SENDIASS when advising young people with EHC plans going through the process of applying to mainstream college courses. Whilst the transition from year 11 to post 16 could be a bit rushed and might result in pupils not being on the courses they wanted, the fact that a new application can be made for the following year, may well give them the option of a post 16 phase transfer to mainstream college which is more planned and within the timescales originally envisioned by the Children and Families Act and the SEN Regs.

You may wish to read our factsheet number 17 “SEN Support in Further Education."

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Fact sheet 17 - SEN Support in Further Education

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