Category: Information & advice

On 3 March, parent carers across England and Wales – who care for a child without an Education, Health and Care plan (EHC) plan or Independent Development Plan (IDP) – learnt what secondary school their child will go to in September. (In Northern Ireland, post-primary school places will be sent out on 10 May and in Scotland no offers are made as councils decide where pupils are placed.)

Moving to secondary school is a big step for any child, but if your child has additional or special needs, it is particularly daunting. While there will undoubtedly be challenges along the way, careful preparation and support can make a world of difference.

Here, Caroline Klage from our friends at law firm Bolt Burdon Kemp explores some of the challenges your child might face during the move from primary to secondary school and provides some practical tips to help from her unique perspective both as a parent of neurodivergent children who have already made this transition and also as a specialist brain injury lawyer with over 25 years’ experience supporting seriously injured children and their families through this journey.

In this article

Understanding the challenges

The transition to secondary school is huge. Your child will have to find their way around a busy, noisy, unfamiliar building, adapt to multiple teachers – all with different teaching styles – and may take on a demanding curriculum with multiple subjects. A more physically demanding day adds to fatigue, while any mobility issues or medical needs become more difficult to manage in a larger school. Navigating timetables, keeping track of belongings, understanding and noting down what homework is being set and managing classroom changes as well as trying to find time to have a snack, lunch and to go to the toilet are tricky for any child. Secondary school is a constant set of transitions, from the moment your child steps foot into the building.

Change for humans can cause anxiety, especially if it’s unexpected. For children with additional needs, particularly those with Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) or a brain condition, who struggle with memory, concentration, organisation and/or processing new information, the anxiety is magnified. They may not be able to remove themselves from a situation, causing overwhelm and they may not be able to fully communicate what they’re experiencing, compounding their difficulties.

A child in this situation may go into ‘fight or flight’ mode. In fight mode, they could kick, scream, hit out, spit, throw, punch, yell or use mean words. In flight mode they could run off, hide or become fidgety or restless. Or they may go into freeze mode, shutting down and being uncommunicative and unresponsive.

How to help your child

As soon as your child knows what school they are going to they will want to know more about it. This is the time for both the school and you to be proactive in terms of information gathering and communication. It helps for the new school to find out as much as possible about the child from their primary school and from you, their parents. The school can also invite your child in and allow them to take photographs or even create a video. They can introduce them to key members of staff and, where possible, offer opportunities to meet other students they’ll be working with. While many secondary schools offer a transition day, this is usually in the summer term, but for some young people even waiting that long can be really anxiety provoking. So, the sooner you can get in touch with the school, ideally through the Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) in England or Additional Learning Needs co-ordinator in Wales, the better. This is also the time to think about changes to morning and afternoon routines at home. Your child will need to gather and pack the items they need for each day. They may need to leave home and set out for their new school earlier, and travel further, using a different mode of transport, possibly travelling independently for the first time.

Children with ASC or a brain condition often struggle with planning and organising themselves, making decisions, regulating their emotions and controlling their behaviour. If they can’t figure out what they need to do in the morning, or they’re worrying about which books they need to pack, or they can’t find their PE kit, they’ll have an anxiety driven morning, which will play out during the rest of the day and in the worst-case scenario, could result in school refusal.

So, a calm start to the day is essential. And parents can really help with that. Involve your child in creating a visual step-by-step schedule for the morning routine to support their independence. They may not need this all the way through school, but having this ready at the beginning of secondary school will help them get into school feeling calm and ready to learn. A similar schedule for the after-school routine can help your child keep up to date with homework assignments, get ready for the following day, as well as time to rest, relax and recharge after a full day of school.

What to do when things don’t go as planned

Sometimes, even with the best preparation, your child may be so overwhelmed by anxiety or by something that’s happened during the day, their fight, flight or freeze behaviour becomes hard for you to manage. In these situations, even if the behaviour can feel threatening at times, it can be helpful to remember that behaviour is just your child’s way of communicating emotions they aren’t able to articulate verbally. Try to take a step back, take a breath, and disengage your own emotional reaction to what’s going on so you can try to figure out what’s going on for your young person. What could have triggered that response? Getting angry or upset is only like to escalate an already challenging situation. If your child is in fight or flight mode, having a safe space they can retreat to, like their bedroom if they’re at home, or a quiet room if at school, can help calm things down.

Communicating with a child in freeze mode is not easy but side by side conversations, say during a car journey or a walk, can help a child feel able to explain what’s going on. Sometimes taking all verbal communication out of the equation and relying on texts, Whatsapp messages and so on works well for young people.

Caroline’s top tips for moving schools

Each child is unique and there is no one size fits all but, to sum up, here are some strategies that have helped me, my children, and my clients with serious brain injuries, manage this important milestone:

Build a relationship with the school early

Meeting with the school’s Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO)/Additional Learning Co-ordinator or inclusion team early. Share your child’s diagnosis and evidence confirming this with the SENCO /Additional Learning Co-ordinator, inclusion team. This will help you to get them to take you and your child seriously. And share information about your child’s condition and needs, their strengths and challenges before the start of the new school year.

Create a transition plan

Work with your child’s school to develop a clear plan outlining the support your child will need, including classroom adjustments, rest breaks and additional resources. Any information which will help teachers to understand and support your child could be included in a “passport” which the SENCO/Additional Learning Coordinator can prepare with you and circulate to your child’s teachers.

Get to know the school environment and the journey to and from school

Arrange school visits and meet key staff, practice navigating the layout of the building. Also rehearse the journey to and from school.

Prepare your child for the social side

Connect your child with other pupils starting at the school by setting up playdates if possible and attend induction events. ole-play social scenarios with your child such as introducing themselves or asking for help.

Equip your child with practical tools

Provide organisational systems like a colour-coded timetable or labelled folders for each subject and teach them to use a planner to manage homework and deadlines.

Establish a consistent routine

Help your child create a predictable routine, with time for rest and preparation, including packing bags and laying out clothes the night before to avoid any last-minute wobbles the next morning.

Monitor your child’s wellbeing

Regularly check on your child’s emotional, social, and physical wellbeing. Look out for signs of overwhelm, such as increased anxiety or reluctance to go to school and address these early.

Communicate with the school

Stay in touch with teachers and learning support staff to ensure your child’s needs are being met. Request additional support or adjustments if necessary. Also, celebrate small wins and focus on positive reinforcement and acknowledge your child’s achievements, no matter how small, to build their confidence and resilience, focussing on their progress rather than perfection and use positive reinforcement.

Encourage independence gradually

Teach your child strategies for self-advocacy like encouraging them to ask for help or explain their needs to teachers. Gradually increase their daily responsibilities, such as packing their bag or managing their timetable, with your guidance.

More support for you as a parent

Supporting a child with ASC or a brain condition can be emotionally and physically taxing. Don’t forget to:
• Seek professional advice: Engage with specialists such as occupational therapists or educational psychologists who can offer tailored guidance.
• Connect with other parents: Join support groups or forums for families of children with additional needs to share experiences and advice like Contact’s Facebook group.
• Be kind to yourself: Give yourself permission to take breaks and ask for help when you need it.
• Remember: take a step back and take a breath. If you can tag team with a partner, then do so.
• Get advice, from Contact’s helpline, if your child is struggling, or the school are not providing the additional support your child needs. Ultimately, if your child’s needs cannot be met through the school’s existing resources, consider making an application for an EHC Plan assessment. An EHC Plan is for children and young people aged up to 25 who need more support than is available through special educational needs support.

If you think your child’s ASC or brain condition is due to medical negligence or an accident and you need further advice or support, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me at Bolt Burdon Kemp (BBK). As someone who works closely with families of children with brain injuries, I understand the unique challenges you face and am here to help.

Listen to our podcast about how to help your child make the move to secondary school

Listen to our podcast where Caroline talks to us about her tips for a smooth transition from primary to secondary school.

Additional information

Bolt Burdon Kemp (BBK) is a long term supporter of Contact providing funding for our By Your Side hospitals programme and BBK staff also kindly volunteer for Contact and take part in fundraising events.

Read BBK’s step by step guide to making a medical compensation claim.


There has been a media report that the government is due to publish its proposals for major changes to the special educational needs system in England.


The Guardian newspaper article says that the Government will be publishing a White Paper in the Spring to help reduce the deficits that local authorities have.


Contact is concerned that this is before ministers and officials have had a chance to speak to parents, young people and charities.


Imogen Steele, Contact’s Policy lead for Education, said: “Contact would strongly oppose proposals which reduce the rights of children with disabilities and additional needs.


“We know that short term cost cutting, leads to greater need and higher costs in the future.


“We want to see standardised SEN support readily available across mainstream schools. This would include small group support, adult support during break time, visual cues such as pictures and task boards and access to emotional support including a class exit card. We also must see education, health and social care working together to ensure needs are met at the earliest stage and a well-trained workforce, with the ability for schools to call in expertise as needed.”

This news story is for parents in England only. See our education advice if you live in Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales.

If your child has an Education, Health and Care plan, there is a different admissions process that applies to your child.

Parents whose child is leaving primary school will have completed their preferences for secondary school last October.

Today, on National Offer Day, parents will receive a single offer of a school place for the child for September.

What happens on National Offer Day?

The schools you listed in your application will have each decided whether they can offer your child a place.

The local authority will have considered these offers against your preferences, along with everyone else’s.

And on National Offer Day, you’ll get a single offer of a school.

Your offer will be the highest preference school on your list that can give your child a place. If none of your preferences can offer your child a place – because too many other children are higher up on the oversubscription criteria – you’ll be offered another school.

This is likely to be the nearest school with places still available. Usually there will be a form to complete with a deadline to confirm that you accept the school offered.

What if I’m not happy with the school offered?

If you are not happy with the school you have been offered, don’t panic. There are a number of things you can do:

We advise that you accept the school place offered if you can, even if was not your first child and you are not happy with the offer. This will ensure that your child at least has a guaranteed school place if your appeal or waiting list options fail.

Where can I find out more about this?

Visit our page on applying for a school place, where we go into more detail about your options if you’re not happy with the offer.

Contact’s very own Ellie and Lisa would love to see you on 13 March at the FREE Kidz to Adultz Exhibition at the Coventry Building Society Arena.

Kidz to Adultz events are totally dedicated to children and young adults (up to 25 years old) with disabilities and additional needs, their parents, carers and the professionals who support them.

Contact has teamed up with Kidz to Adultz to create a welcoming and fun space at all their events so parents, carers and children and young people with disabilities or additional needs can come together, share experiences and learn from each other.

Book your FREE tickets for the Kidz to Adultz exhibition in Coventry on 13 March. You can find Ellie and Lisa from Contact at the ‘Connection Hub’.

This year, Contact will be offering free one-to-one support sessions with their family support consultants, covering topics like Disability Living Allowance (DLA) & Personal Independence Payment (PIP); Education, Health & Care Plans (EHCPs); Transitions to school or adulthood; wellbeing support or simply a listening ear!

Ellie Goff from Contact says: “We were at one of Kidz to Adultz events last autumn and it was wonderful to meet so many parents who also enjoyed dedicated exhibitors, specialist seminars, information about support services, interactive gaming, guest appearances, and many fun activities throughout the day.

“Families visiting us in the exhibition’s Connection Hub can find out more about the support Contact offers as well as meet other parents – while their children and young people join in some fun activities and play with sensory toys and other products from our Fledglings shop.”

Come and say hello in Coventry on 13 March!

All Kidz to Adultz exhibitions happening this year are completely free for families to attend.

Ellie continues: “We’re looking forward to meeting parents, children and young people in Coventry on 13 March. Come along, say hello, try out our Fledglings equipment and products, join in the fun and participate in the activities taking place throughout the day. If you are in the area, why not book your free ticket and drop by – we’d love to see you there!”

Find other events Kidz to Adutz have coming up and register your free place.


Many families with disabled children need adaptations to their home, whether they live in private rented, social housing or they own their property.

Contact’s Counting the Costs research found that almost a third of families with a disabled child live in a home that does not meet the needs of their child. Of those, 43% say it needs adaptations.

If you need to adapt your home to make it easier for you or your child to manage, you may be entitled to a Disabled Facilities Grant (or Home Improvement Grant if you live in Scotland). This can cover adaptations including building works, ramps, hoists, grab rails.

But according to our survey, 27% of families with a disabled child are not aware of the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG). Of the families who did apply 43% found the process poor or very poor. And over half said the grant did not cover the full cost of the adaptations needed with the average shortfall being £7,391. There are also lengthy delays in the process.

Currently the maximum grant is £30,000 in England and £36,000 in Wales. The government did agree to review the upper limit of the grant following a court case involving a family with a disabled child. We are currently awaiting the outcome of the review.

Anna Bird, Chief Executive at Contact, said: “Poor housing has a devastating impact on disabled children and their families both physically and mentally. The Disabled Facilities Grant can ensure families are able to care for their child at home safely, and stops them spiralling into crisis. Our survey findings show that this system of support needs urgent attention.

“The upper limit has not risen since 2008, despite the cost of materials and building work rising dramatically in that time. This has led to families having to crowdfund or give up on their projects entirely. Delays to adaptations can worsen a child’s condition which will lead to more costly interventions in the long term.”

Claire Pemberton, mum to Emilia, who has a rare genetic condition called PTEN hamartoma tumour syndrome, has been waiting two and a half years for a downstairs bedroom and bathroom. Emilia cannot climb the stairs alone without falling. And Claire has a spinal injury which means she cannot get Emilia into a stair lift. Despite this they have been waiting since 2022 for the necessary adaptations.

Through Contact’s Change Makers programme, Claire, who lives in Staffordshire, spoke to the BBC about their situation. She is hopeful that after a long wait, work is due to start in March. She said: “It will be life changing once the work is completed.”

This advice applies in England only.

Does your child have an Education Health Care (EHC) plan? Are they transferring to another school later this year?

If so, this coming 15 February is an important deadline. By this date, local authorities must have reviewed, amended (if necessary), and finalised the EHC plans for children transferring between different phases of education.

This includes transfers between:

15 February is a legal deadline, which means the local authority must comply with it. The deadline is set out in Regulation 18 of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014.

What must the local authority do to finalise an EHC plan?

Before the local authority issue the final plan, they must send you a draft EHC plan and ask for your views. The local authority must also ask you to say which school you would like your child to go to. To meet the deadline, your local authority should already have done these steps.

If the local authority misses the 15 February deadline for finalising an EHC plan, contact the local authority to remind them of their legal obligation and request immediate action.

Where can I find more information?

See our admissions webpage for more information about this process. If you are worried about your situation, contact our helpline for advice.

If your local authority does not name the school you want in the EHC plan, you have the right to appeal to the First Tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability). Contact our helpline for further advice and information.


Today Contact’s Policy lead for Schools, Imogen Steele, gave evidence to the Education Select Committee’s inquiry into Solving the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) crisis in England.


Imogen has been working with other charities and organisations including Special Needs Jungle and Ipsea to come up with solutions to improve the education system for children with additional needs.

Solutions


At an evidence hearing in parliament today, she was quizzed by MPs about Contact’s call for SEN support to be put on a statutory footing. This would mean that extra help would be available to those children with suspected additional needs, without the need for an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). That support could be small group sessions, access to emotional and social help or access to a speech and language therapist. The committee heard that funding for SEN support has not increased in 15 years, and could be one of the factors driving the increase in demand for EHCPs.

Action is urgent


Imogen said: “We are confident that with the right action, meaningful and sustainable change is possible for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). Early support is key, as well as good advice and information. Parents knowing that schools will provide a certain level of extra support for children without the need for an Education Health and Care Plan. This could all make a huge difference.


“It’s good the government is genuinely listening to help shape their plans for solving the crisis. But action is urgent. We hear on our helpline everyday of children and families being let down.”


Imogen also made the case for joint accountability for special educational needs provision.

Imogen added: “There should be consequences for local authorities which are routinely not complying with the law.”

She also spoke about the importance of home to school transport for many families and our campaign to close the loophole which means many 16 year olds suddenly lose their transport entitlement despite the law saying that they need to be in school or college until the age of 18.


We have submitted written evidence to the Education select committee, which will now speak to local authorities and schools as part of the next stage of their inquiry.


The Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP, is backing calls for automatic payments of unclaimed Child Trust Funds (CTFs) if they haven’t been claimed by the account holder’s 21st birthday.  

Contact supports the goal of ensuring that savings held in CTFs reach their rightful owners – this must include savers without the mental capacity to manage their own finances. 

Continued injustice

Maria Scholey, Contact’s Policy lead on Child Trust Funds, said: “We welcome Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP shining a spotlight on the issue of unclaimed Child Trust Funds. There is a lot of work to be done in making young people aware they have money sitting in these funds that could be of great benefit. 

“Sadly for young disabled people who lack mental capacity they are not only faced with this barrier. They are also required to apply through an overly complicated process to access their money. The previous government failed to take the action needed to bring an end to this continued injustice. We are now urging Labour to look at the solutions that we have presented (for example extending the appointee scheme or adopting the industry process already in use by several providers) and to resolve this issue once and for all. The future of young disabled people matters. Their savings must too.”

Parent led campaign

Over 80,000 disabled young people are currently at risk of being locked out of £210million of their own savings, due to the difficult and often costly, process required to access them. Contact are proud supporters of a parent led campaign run by Andrew Turner, which is asking the government to resolve this. 

Child Trust Funds were designed to help incentivise parents to save for their child’s future. Unfortunately, in what has since been described as a ‘mistake’, no provision was made for if the child did not have capacity to manage their own money at 18.  

Andrew Turner has campaigned with Contact’s full support for many years to find a solution that protects the rights of disabled young people, whilst not placing unnecessary extra burden on their loving and caring families.  


Today the Public Accounts Committee has published its report into the SEND emergency together with recommendations for addressing it.


Angie Fenn, Contact’s Head of Information and Advice, said: “Today’s report from the Public Accounts Committee highlights what families with disabled children have been telling us for many years. There is overwhelming evidence of the SEND system in crisis. What we need now are urgent solutions and the committee’s recommendations and deadlines are welcome. Better data about the growing need and future planning of support services is essential. We have long called for education, health and social care to work more closely to provide support to disabled children so they are helped both in and out of school. We are hopeful that a clearer idea of what inclusion looks like and how it will be resourced will come from the Education Select Committee’s much needed SEND inquiry.”


Contact’s SEN policy lead Imogen Steele will give evidence to the Education Select Committee’s SEND Crisis inquiry later this month. We will ensure parents views are represented, reporting information and experiences we receive on our helpline and other frontline services.


Contact’s three asks to improve the SEND system offer solutions to the SEND crisis. We’d like to see duties placed on schools to provide a certain level of special educational support to ensure more children have their needs met without the need for an EHC plan. We need greater accountability in the system. And investment in schools’ special education workforce is also urgent. The recent moves to train and recruit more educational psychologists are welcome.


The Public Accounts Committee also published data on Education Health and Care Plans, which shows huge discrepancies between each local authority area. For example in Portsmouth just 1.6% of EHCPs are issued in the 20 week timeframe, but in neighbouring Southampton it is 100%. In Derbyshire 17.8% are done in the timeframe, with neighbouring Nottinghamshire on 32.3%.


The account committee rightly says that “rates of even 80 and 90% should be considered inadequate given the uncertainty and anxiety the delays can create for families.”


Today in parliament, MPs will discuss the government’s new Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill for England.

Much of the media interest in the Bill is about proposals to protect children at risk of abuse. This includes plans to introduce new registers to identify children who are not in school. But the Bill is wide ranging. It also includes measures on breakfast clubs and branded school uniform; attendance of children at school; inspections of schools and colleges; and school admissions.

Contact has been looking at the detail of the Bill. And we have been briefing MPs about some of our concerns and those that parent carers have raised with us. In particular, we are urging the government to ensure the bill doesn’t discriminate against disabled children home schooled due to a lack of suitable school places available.

We urge the government to consider the Bill’s impact on disabled children

Una Summerson, Head of Policy at disability charity Contact, says: “We welcome the government’s focus on improving children’s lives in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill or England. There is much to applaud in it. As it progresses through parliament, we would urge the government to pay particular attention to how it will impact disabled children. Getting it right for disabled children, greatly benefits all children.

“The government must ensure equal access to breakfast clubs for disabled children. Any exemptions must be carefully considered so as not to cause discrimination. We would also urge the government to look again at its proposals on home education, as there may be unintended consequences for disabled children. It doesn’t seem fair that parents forced to home school a disabled child, because a school can’t meet need, must then seek local authority permission in line with children at risk of harm. This could lead to children forced to stay in an unsafe environment.

“The bill provides a welcome opportunity to end the use of seclusion rooms in schools. The harm caused to children put in seclusion is great. And research shows those with additional needs are disproportionately subjected to the measure. The changes proposed for academies to bring them in line with other state schools are also positive. Research shows that academies have not always been beneficial to children with additional needs, as the school can act outside the rules and duties of the local authority. The changes should ensure academies are more welcoming to children with special educational needs.”

School transport can be the glue that helps hold things together for families with disabled children but we’re hearing from more and more families with teens over the age of 16 that transport has been taken away and it’s having a damaging impact on the whole family.

And recent media coverage has helped highlight increasing numbers of young people who, without council transport, just aren’t getting to college at all and are missing out on vital education – like this family who spoke to the BBC this week about how this has impacted them, Son ‘never leaves house’ after Birmingham special needs transport cuts.

Young people over 16 do not have the same rights to free transport as children of compulsory school age, instead transport for 16-19 year olds is discretionary, and local authorities may ask parents for a contribution. Many areas are changing their transport policies for 16-19 year olds and will offer parents a personal travel budget in the first instance, rather than a seat in a school bus, minibus or taxi.

Parents tell us that this is putting them under financial pressure – that costs are unaffordable and that many have to give up work just to get their young person to college.

Help us change this

We think this is unfair and are campaigning for change. Our School transport campaign, will work alongside families to scope out the picture of home to school transport for all ages of disabled children across England and use this to influence policy, raise awareness in the media and campaign to improve school transport for disabled children and young people.

Your experience and views are important to us. If there is something you would like to say about school or college transport, please email [email protected].

If you need advice or information about transport to education have a look at our online transport information. You can also get in touch with our helpline.

We wanted to say Happy New Year to all our families and to thank you for being an essential part of what we achieved throughout 2024.

We had the privilege of supporting over 400,000 families across the UK last year, offering advice and information that helped transform lives.

Our Family Finances team helped eligible families increase their household incomes by an average of just under £6,000 a year and the parent advisors on our helpline responded to nearly 10,000 enquiries from parent carers.

More than 2,700 children and parent carers attended one of our family events to connect, learn and share their experiences.  At the same time, our By Your Side team reached over 1,700 families with seriously sick and disabled children in hospitals across the UK, providing crucial advice to navigate our complex systems of health, social care and education support. Through this support, families were empowered to get the benefits they are entitled to at a time when they needed it most. 

Making a difference together

In a year of huge political change, we’re proud to say that with your help we successfully influenced some key government decisions in 2024 like increasing the earnings limit on Carers Allowance so carers can earn more without losing this essential benefit. We also supported a parent carer’s fight to change England’s free school meals guidance ensuring that schools must now provide an alternative to disabled children who can’t access their free school meal in the usual way.  

More recently, over 4000 shared your experiences with us by taking part in our Counting the Costs research, shedding a light on the devastating impact of delayed assessments for children with additional needs, reduced access to therapies, dwindling health and social care services and lack of suitable school places.

We are hugely grateful to the thousands of you who made your voices heard and worked with us to make positive change for families across the UK – whether through writing to your MP, participating in our surveys or speaking out in the media.

Help us be there for families when they need us in 2025

The need for Contact’s support has never been greater. Families with seriously ill and disabled children face increasingly difficult challenges, and we’re committed to being there for them every step of the way.

But as a charity, we rely on the generosity of our supporters to continue offering life-changing help.

This winter, if you’re able, please consider donating to our Lifeline Appeal. Your gift will help us provide essential advice and emotional support to families, preventing financial crises and easing the turmoil they face daily.

Alternatively, why not kick off your new year with a resolution to make a difference in 2025? You could join our DinoDay Facebook Challenge in June or sign up to Contact’s Weekly Lottery at any time of the year for the chance to win up to £10,000 every Friday!

Together, we can make 2025 a year of transformation for families with disabled children who need us most. Thank you for being an essential part of this journey.

Wishing you all a happy New Year!

From all of us here at Contact, we want to wish all our families a very Happy Christmas!

We hope you’re enjoying the holidays. But remember, if you’re looking for help while our helpline is closed until 9:30am on 2 January 2025, you’ll find lots of advice and support on our website.

Until then, Chatbot Charlie can help guide you through our online information and advice so you find the support you need quickly and easily, whenever you need it – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Look out for Charlie at the bottom of our website on the right hand side.

Happy Christmas everyone!

Our helpline will be closed from 2pm on Tuesday 24 December, and will re-open on Thursday 2 January 2025 from 9:30am.

If you need to speak to someone when our helpline is closed over Christmas, the following support organisations may be helpful:

Sending emails, web forms and asking questions on our social media pages and private Facebook group

Many parents choose to send us helpline emails, submit a website enquiry or post on our Facebook and Twitter pages. These pages and email accounts will be unmoderated during the same period as our helpline closure.

If you ask a query during this period, we’ll respond as soon as we can after our office reopens on 2 January 2025. Whilst the helpline is closed, you can find lots of advice and support on our website. You can use Charlie the Chatbot, who lives on the bottom right-hand side of our website. Charlie can guide you through our information and advice quickly and easily, whenever you need it – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Our Live Chat option on our website is not available from Monday 23 December to Sunday 5 January 2025 inclusive.

On Thursday 21 November, we held a comments-based Q&A in our closed Facebook group for parent carers all about education, health and care (EHC) plans in England. In particular, we invited questions about the EHC process including naming a placement/provider, assessments, drafts and annual reviews.

Below we’ve put together a summary of some common questions you asked. The answers are provided by our team of expert parent advisers.

How do I choose a new school or setting?

This will happen at the (annual) review of the EHC plan. You’ll be able to express your preference for the setting/school. The local authority, not the education setting, will decide what setting to name in section I of the EHC plan.

Following the annual review meeting, your child’s current educational setting should send the annual review paperwork to the local authority within two weeks of the meeting taking place. Based on the information received, the local authority will then make a decision. They must send you the letter notifying you of their decision, which is one of three: leave the plan unchanged; amend the plan; or cease it.

If the decision is to amend the plan, the local authority will send you a proposed amended draft EHC plan. You’ll have 15 days to not only make any amendments, but also to share your preference for a setting named in section I.

You will have another opportunity to reiterate your preference if the local authority decides to amend the plan.

What happens to my child’s EHC plan when they move settings?

Local authorities have a legal duty to review and amend an EHC plan when a child transfers from one phase of education to another.

The EHC plans of children moving from primary school to secondary school must be reviewed and amended by 15 March in the year of transfer.

Regulation 18 of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014 sets this out.

Will my child’s EHC plan stop if they leave education?

An EHC plan will cease if a young person is not in education or training. However, this education or training does not have to be classroom-based learning in a college. Voluntary work, traineeships and apprenticeships are all possible.

If you want to find out more about EHC plans and how they work, you can find a wealth of information on our website.

School transport can be the difference between coping and crisis for families with disabled children. More and more families with teens over the age of 16 tell us that transport to school or college has been taken away just because of their age. 

Take our Transport Matters Survey to tell us about your experiences.  

Transport rights for over 16s

A young person over 16 does not have the same rights to free transport as children of compulsory school age, even though 16 and 17 year olds must stay in education or training.

Instead, transport for 16-19 year olds is discretionary, and local authorities may ask parents for a contribution. Young people’s transport needs may be reassessed at this age and travel arrangements may change, even when learners stay on at the same school.

Young adults aged 19 and over may be entitled to free transport in some circumstances, and parents cannot be made to provide transport for this age group

Why should age matter?

Contact trustee, Ramandeep’s son has been on a school bus since he was young – it always worked well and meant he arrived at school happy and ready to learn.  But this has all changed just because of his age.   

My son always had transport provided to get to school, but now that he has turned 17 transport has been stopped – despite there being no change to his needs or where he goes to school. This leaves us in the difficult situation of trying to cover a 20-mile round trip every day, just to get him to the education he is entitled to.” 

I support the Transport Matters campaign that will raise awareness of the issues around transport and campaign for change for people like my son.  

Tell us how transport affects you

When transport is not provided for disabled youngsters it can have a huge impact on the whole family; with parents having to give up work, paying high costs for taxis, siblings missing out on school hours and some disabled students not being able to get to school or college at all.  

We can’t let austerity erode another vital service for disabled young people . Our Transport Matters campaign, funded by the Motability Foundation, will find out how transport is affecting families and campaign for change. 

If you need advice or information about transport to education have a look at our online transport information. You can also get in touch with our helpline. 

This story is for families in England only.

If your child has special educational needs (SEN), they might need more help than a mainstream school, college or nursery would normally provide at the level of SEN support.

They may need an education health and care (EHC) needs assessment to decide what help they need. This is an education led exploration of a child or young person’s education, health and social care needs. It is a legal process carried out by the local authority where a child lives.

If your child does need more support, this might come in the form of an EHC plan. This is a legal document outlining all the support a child needs in education.

Want to know more? We’re running a Facebook Q&A

More and more families contact our helpline as their child is struggling with the level of support they’re getting. That’s why we’re holding a Facebook Q&A over in our closed (private) Facebook group on 21 November, when you can ask our education experts any questions you have about EHC assessments and plans for your child. It’s a great opportunity for anyone worried about their child’s education to get expert advice and help.

Join us on Thursday 21 November 10 – 11.30am

To take part in the Q&A, you will have to be a member of our Facebook Group for parent carers. Simply request to join, answer the three membership questions when prompted, and one of our moderators will let you in!

The session will take place in writing (not a video livestream). This means you can stop by our group anytime between 10am and 11.30am on the day to ask your question in the comments under our Q&A post. Then, simply come back later at a time that suits you to read our team’s reply.

Can’t make Thursday 21 November?

Once the session on Thursday 21 November has finished, you’ll be able to read through all the answers at a time that suits you.

And you can also take a look at our EHC plans & assessments pages, which explain your rights and entitlements, including:


The National Audit Office has today published a report into the Special Educational Needs (SEN) system in England. The report says the system is not delivering better outcomes for children, is financially unsustainable and should be reformed.

It comes after a number of other reports highlighting the crisis in the SEN system.

Anna Bird, Chief Executive of Contact, said: “The National Audit Office report’s findings will come as no surprise to families with disabled children who are living this reality every day, with their children being failed and prevented from reaching their full potential. It is what we hear from many of you each week on our helpline. This failure has come at a cost because delays in support lead to very expensive crisis interventions.

“We welcome the NAO’s suggestion of cross department working, which was always the intention of the Children and Families Act 2014. And we agree that investment in mainstream schools will help make them more inclusive and reduce costly interventions. We would caution that if reform does take place, it must be done in consultation with parents and it is imperative children don’t lose important legal rights.”

The new government has promised to reform the SEND system but has said it will take time. They say it is skewed towards specialist and over reliance on EHCPs. They want to invest in mainstream to increase inclusivity in different ways including encouraging them to set up SEN units.  

Contact has developed 3 asks to improve the SEN system, which we are promoting with MPs and government ministers.

Need advice?

We have a wealth of information for parents to help get support for your child in school.