Succeeding with SEN

20/10/2026

The Phase Transfer Flowchart

If your child or young person is entering a new phase of education (primary school, secondary school, a different post-16 setting) and has an EHCP, the process should be well under way by now.

Ideally, you’ll have visited settings and be firming up your choices, the annual review will have been held - where you’ll have given your list of preferred settings for the Local Authority to consult, and you’ll be waiting to hear the outcome of those consultations.

It may feel early, but with a system that is desperately over stretched, being first in line is a huge advantage.

If these things haven’t happened, speak to your setting and ask for help in getting things moving ASAP ⏰

06/10/2026

For Reading families 👀

As part of our Peer Support work, we have funding to invite Parenting Special Children to deliver these upcoming (in person) Anxiety workshops for parent/carers of autistic and/or ADHD children pre and post assessment.

The sessions will be held at the Family Hubs, please see poster for further information.

27/09/2026

If your child is entering a new phase of education in September 2027 (Year R, Year 7, Year 12 etc.) and has an EHCP, they should have had a phase transfer annual review and if they haven’t had one yet - it should be arranged for ASAP!

As we know, Local Authorities do not move quickly. So don’t assume they’ll tell you what to do or when, instead it’s far better to be ahead of the curve and the top of the pile.

The annual review process itself is a minimum of 12 weeks, and settings need 2 weeks to respond to consultations, so you can see how quickly time can disappear.

For Year R and Year 7, the setting must be named by 15th February 2027. For Year 12 onwards, the setting must be named by 31st March 2027. But in reality - the earlier the better!

Earlier means: school spaces haven’t been snapped up, there’s plenty of time to challenge the decision if you aren’t happy and lots of time to plan a very thorough transition.

The early 🦅 catches the 🪱!

10/09/2026

What a brilliant idea for Reading fathers / granddads / carers! 👀 👏

Whether you're a dad-to-be, a new father, a stepdad, grandfather or experienced parent, you'll find a supportive environment with no pressure, no judgement, just real conversations.

Please share widely with families, fathers, male caregivers. If your keen to get involved or would like to find out more, please contact Peter directly (see poster)

10/09/2026

We’ve come back with a 💥 this week:

👏 2x EOTIS appeals settled before hearing

👏 1x Appeal for state special school settled before hearing

👏 1x Appeal for independent special school settled before hearing

Feeling quite pleased with ourselves and looking forward to seeing how each of these lovely young people gets on with their future education 🥰

08/09/2026

Some lovely feedback from a client who had an incredibly difficult journey before coming to us. But she trusted her gut that her children needed specialist education. Just 1 week into the new term at their specialist settings, and their lives are already transformed. After years of difficult mornings, absences, and lots of tears, the girls are happy and thriving.

Thank you for trusting us to help you get there 🙏

01/09/2026

See you all there tonight! 👀

If you've registered for our joint SNJ /SOS SEN webinar TUES 1 SEPT 7:30PM, WE HAVE AN URGENT UPDATE!
Due to unexpected technical issues, we've had to change the join link.
Please ensure you CHECK YOUR EMAIL for an updated join link-please share this with others you know have registered.
There are 1000 places, so there are still spaces. If you want to join this important webinar on the impact the Government's SEND proposals will have on EHCPs & EOTAS, Find the post here: https://www.specialneedsjungle.com/register-now-webinar-plans-cut-ehcp-eotas-rights/
SENsational Tutors

01/09/2026

IPSEA is a fantastic source of information on what to do in different situations as a SEND parent/carer.

Not having a school named on your child’s EHCP is a horrible, scary position to be in. If you want to understand what to do next, get in touch with us and we’ll give some pointers 🤞

Is your child without a school place?

At the start of a new school year, far too many children with SEND are without a school to attend. This is a worrying situation to be in, so we’ve produced guidance to help families who are in this position.

🔗 Read here: https://www.ipsea.org.uk/children-who-do-not-have-a-school-place

For further support, you can also visit our 'Back to school hub', where we've pulled together lots of useful resources and information to help you as your child starts a new school year.

Visit the hub here: https://www.ipsea.org.uk/listing/category/back-to-school-hub

26/08/2026

We rely heavily on the Tribunal to do our job. Time and again, Local Authorities ignore and disregard evidence and make decisions in direct dispute with what the evidence shows. Almost every tribunal case ends up ruling in the parent/carer’s favour - showing a deep abuse of power by Local Authorities to make decisions they know are not lawful. Taking away the Tribunal’s ability to reconsider and change these decisions would leave us in a very scary and uncharted territory.

Please consider writing to your MP and signing the petition to ask the government to reconsider.

Proposed SEND reforms would remove the SEND Tribunal's power to order educational settings in Section I of an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan.

What does this mean?

✔️ Today, families can appeal to the SEND Tribunal if they disagree with the setting named in Section I of an EHC plan.

❌ Under the proposals, the Tribunal would no longer have the authority to order a placement in Section I. Instead, it could only ask the local authority to reconsider the placement decision.

That means families could lose access to an independent decision-maker when they need one most.

Every child and young person with SEND needs to retain their legally enforceable rights, not rely on discretion and aspiration.

Read more: https://www.ipsea.org.uk/news/ipsea-manifesto-for-send-reform

How you can help ⬇️

🔷 Write to your MP: https://www.ipsea.org.uk/write-to-your-mp-protect-the-legal-rights-of-children-and-young-people-with-send

🔶 Sign the petition: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/764268

25/08/2026

Feeling worried about the return to school? Here are some top tips on advocating for your child at the start of a new school year.

Got further questions? Get in touch and we’ll do our best to help!