What is the 15 February phase transfer deadline and why is it important?

Phase transfer refers to when a child or young person moves between different phases of education, such as from primary school to secondary school or secondary school to a post-16 institution.

If a child or young person has an Education, Health, and Care Plan (EHCP), a local authority must review and amend the EHCP if the child or young person is within 12 months of a phase transfer. This is required, at the very least, to name the school that they will be attending when they move to a different phase of their education, but other amendments may also be required. The duty to review applies even if the child or young person will be remaining at the same school post-transfer.

The deadline for phase transfer reviews remains the same every year, which for those moving from early years education to school, infant to junior school, primary to middle school, primary to secondary school, and middle to secondary school is 15 February.

The date is set to allow time for appeal during the summer term.

Complying with the deadline

In order to comply with the deadline, a local authority should be conducting the phase transfer annual review meeting in the autumn term. An annual review meeting should be held following consultations to gather evidence on the child or young person’s progress. The meeting must be held with at least 2 weeks' notice, and parents are invited to attend. Following the meeting, the Head Teacher/Principal or person responsible for a child or young person’s education will compile a report to a local authority.

A local authority must then send proposed amendments and a copy of the draft EHCP (with Section I left blank) to the parent or young person within 4 weeks of the annual review meeting.

Upon receipt of the draft plan, parents and/or young people have at least 15 days in which to make representations on the draft and also to name their choice of school in Section I. A local authority must consult with the school and consider any amendments to the draft plan.

Finalising the plan

Within 8 weeks of the draft plan and before the phase transfer deadlines set out above, a local authority must issue the finalised plan and notify the parents or young person of their right of appeal.

A local authority must comply with its statutory duties and adhere to the strict statutory deadlines. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. We can help force a local authority to comply with the deadline or, if it has passed, provide the final EHCP within 2 weeks by utilising a pre-action protocol letter for Judicial Review. This letter is in a legally prescribed format, and the local authority has 14 days to respond. Equally, if your preferred school or institution is not named, you have the right of appeal. Appeals of this nature should always be dealt with promptly, and we can provide assistance at any stage of an appeal.

If you require any assistance, please get in touch. I can be contacted on 01245 453805 or via email at [email protected]