Key Stage Transfers 2025
For children with an Education, Health, and Care Plan (EHCP), the mainstream admissions process does not apply. Instead the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Service, with SEND Admissions, start the Key Stage Transfer Process and allocate your child a school or post 16 placement for September 2025.
By now, following your child's EHCP Transition review, you should have received either a draft amended EHCP or final EHCP. If you haven't already received either a revised draft or final EHCP, it will be issued to you over the next few weeks. If you are reviewing and responding to a draft EHCP please ensure you are happy with the content and any proposed changes. If you wish to request any further changes to the EHCP wording, please do inform your SEND Case Officer in writing setting out what you would like to adjust.
School or placement preference
When children and young people move between phases of education, parents, carers or young people have to think about the next school or college and what their preferred choice is. For children with an EHCP, the law states that you have the right to express a preference for the school or setting your child will attend. This means that you have an option to inform us of your preferred school or education setting. This can include:
- Maintained schools
- Maintained nurseries
- Academies
- An institution within the further education sector in England
- Non maintained special schools
- An institution approved by the Secretary of State under Section 41
As we prepare for the Key Stage Transfer (KST) process, we request that you confirm your preferred school or setting (also known as placement) as soon as you can. Your input is crucial in ensuring that we make informed decisions regarding the best educational setting to meet your child's needs, and we will consider the preference you advise us of.
When we would like to hear your preference
If possible, we would like you to let us know your preferred provider by the following dates:
- School age children: Thursday 12 September 2024
- Children moving to Post 16 provision: Monday 30 September 2024
Why we would like to hear your preference by these dates
Asking at this stage gives us enough time to understand demand and plan placements effectively. Consultations with providers will begin in mid-October, and to consult with your preferred provider, we need to receive your preference in good time. This assists us in consulting with your preference before allocations start later in the autumn term.
Further helpful information
Choosing a new school can be a difficult decision. Visit the School admission guidance for children with an EHCP webpage for advice.
If your preference is for a mainstream school (rather than a specialist school), Surrey County Council has to agree to the placement unless it is "incompatible with the provision of efficient education for other children".
We will consult with one parental preference. You are welcome to share any additional settings you have in mind. However, please note that we cannot guarantee that all preferences beyond the initial choice will be considered or consulted with.
It is important that you express your preference either in writing or by email so that the details of your preferred school can be recorded and acted on as appropriate. At your child's Transition Review, or on other occasions, there may have been a discussion in relation to which school or setting would be appropriate for your child. These discussions are not taken as confirmation of your preference, and you must formally notify us of this preference in writing or by email.
If you do not send notification of a preference to us, we will identify the nearest appropriate school or setting for you child based on their circumstances. We will then allocate them a place accordingly. If you do not have a school or setting preference and are happy for us to complete the process, please inform your SEND Case Officer .
For further information regarding the KST process please visit the Guidance for admissions for children with and EHCP webpage.
At this stage, when considering a school or setting, it is also important to consider the arrangements for getting to and from the setting. In most cases parents and carers will be able to make these arrangements without additional support, however in some cases, families may wish to request travel assistance.
- If an EHCP is issued before 15 February 2025 with a placement named, you will be encouraged to submit a request for travel assistance by 15 March 2025. Deadlines for submitting a request for travel assistance will be adhered to as closely as possible to allow Surrey School Travel and Assessment Team enough time to carry out the work needed to assess applications and make appropriate arrangements where agreed.
- A request submitted after 15 March 2025 will mean that it may not be possible to put in place transport, where agreed, by September 2025. In this situation, where transport is agreed but not arranged by September, an allowance may be offered for the autumn term, unless there are mitigating circumstances as to why you will be unable to transport your child to school.
- Please note that if your preferred school or setting is not the nearest that is appropriate for your child, we may not be able to agree travel assistance, as when deciding whether to agree travel assistance, there is a requirement that we consider whether we can find a nearer school or setting that meets the needs of your child.
If your child is below the age of 5, there is no legal requirement for us to make special arrangements for travel between home and school. We expect that children under the age of 5 will be taken to their educational provision by a parent or guardian. However, we will consider exceptional circumstances and if these can be demonstrated, we may use our discretionary powers to provide Travel Assistance for children who are aged 4 and entering reception year. Find out more on the Home to School Travel Assistance Policy for under 16 year olds web page.
All-through schools combine at least two stages of a child's education -usually infant and junior, or junior and secondary – in one establishment.
If your child is currently in year 2 in an all-through primary mainstream or maintained specialist school, then the process outlined above does not apply. Your child will remain at their current school unless a change of placement has been agreed following their transition review.
If your child is in year 6 and in an all-through maintained specialist school, your child will remain at their current school unless a change of placement has been agreed at their transition review.