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Education and school provision

Local Offer education and school provision

Which setting is right for your child

Many children will have special educational needs at some point during their education. For most, this is a short-term need.

Most children and young people with a special educational need can be taught in their local mainstream school. However, if your child has more complex needs then they may need to go to a special school or an alternative resource provision (ARP) within a mainstream school.

As a parent or a carer, deciding which school you would prefer your child to go to is an important decision. If your child has special educational needs, there are extra things you will want to think about.

Arrange to visit a school

Visiting each nursery, school or college you are considering will help you decide if it is right one for your child. Many schools have open days to give you a chance to visit them and get advice on the admission process, meet with teachers and students, take a tour and ask important questions. You can also contact schools directly to ask to arrange a visit during a typical school day.

After attending an open day. you may want to contact the school again and arrange a meeting with the Special Educational Needs Co-Ordinator (SENCo) to discuss your child's individual needs in detail and find out whether or not the school would be suitable for your child. We recommend you take a copy of your child's EHC Plan (if they have one), any notes you may have taken during the open day as well as any other information you think may be useful.

You should also:

find out who you will be meeting and for how long
decide if your child will be coming with you and whether there is anyone else you would like to join you and help discuss the visit
get a copy of the school’s prospectus
visit the school's website to find out more about the school before your meeting to discuss things such as, settling in procedure, curriculum, learning platforms and other questions you may have.

If your child is allocated a place at your preferred school, it is important that you start planning your child’s transition to this school and how this will be managed.

What you can do before your visit

Take the time to:

read the school’s prospectus
read the SEND Information Report on its website for details of support it provides
read any policies around pupil behaviour and bullying
read the latest Ofsted inspection
prepare a set of questions you want to ask

Reading through this information, before your visit, will give you an idea of what the school is like and help you think of things you want to find out more about.

Things to ask during your visit

Visiting each nursery, school or college you are considering will help you decide if it is right one for your child. It is a good idea to go prepared with some questions you want to ask.

You may consider things like:

How does the school support and assess pupils with SEND?
how do teachers adapt the curriculum and learning environment for pupils with SEND?
how do staff enable pupils with SEND to engage in activities with other pupils who do not have SEND?
how does the school support pupils with SEND to understand a child's needs and improve their emotional and social development?
how do the school consult pupils with SEND and involve them in their education?
Do all children start at the same time or are there children who start on different days at different times?
which adults will be working with and supporting my child and what will that support look like?
how does the school support children who are finding it difficult to settle or to separate from their parents?
what happens if your child becomes ill during school time?
what arrangements are made for children with long-term medical needs? E.g. how medicines are given, toileting support, special diets etc.
who should parents/carers contact if they have worries or concerns?
what parent/carers/family support is available at the school?
how do the school work in partnership with parents/carers of pupils with SEND and involve them in their child’s education?
how do we involve other professionals and organisations in meeting the needs of pupils with SEND and supporting their families?
who is the school's Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) and how can she/he be contacted?

The charity Contact has more advice on finding the right school and suggested questions to ask.

Applying for a school place

How you apply for a school place will depend on whether or not your child has an education, health and care (EHC) plan.

Children without an EHC plan

If your child has SEND and does not have an EHC plan they will go to a mainstream school. All nurseries schools and colleges must make arrangements to support children and young people with SEND.

You apply in the normal way following the same admissions process as children without SEND.

This is also the case if your child is in the process of being considered for an EHC plan.

Children with an EHC plan

If your child has more complex levels of need, and has an Education Health and Care (EHC) plan, they may go to:

a mainstream school
a special school
an alternative resource provision (ARP) based in a mainstream school

You do not make the application yourself. Our Special Educational Needs & Disability 0-25 Team (SEND 0-25 Team) will work with you, and you can express a preference for the school you would like your child to go to.

If the school can meet your child’s needs, it becomes the ‘named school’ in the EHC plan.

The school must then offer your child a place.

How we consider your school preference

To fully accommodate and improve families’ experiences of selecting an appropriate School, Brent SEND Case Officers from the SEND 0-25 Team will endeavour to help families to understand and assess the available options.

When commissioning a school placement, the SEND Case Officer will discuss parental preference at the draft of an initial plan and at an Annual Review if relevant.

We will make sure the school can meet your child's needs and we also have a duty to consider the effective use of their resources.

The only reasons a local authority can refuse the request is if:

the setting is unsuitable for the age, ability, aptitude or special educational needs of the child or young person
the attendance of the child or young person would be incompatible with the provision of efficient education for others
the attendance of the child or young person would be incompatible with the efficient use of resources.

This is set out in section 39(4) CAFA 2014. The Local Authority (LA) has to prove that at least one of these conditions applies in order to not agree to the parent or young person’s preference.

We would advise Parents that they should;

Consider schools that are suitable for their child's age, ability, aptitude and SEN. This can be done by drawing from the school directories – see annex A mainstream in Brent and Annex B specialist provision in Brent.
Visit any schools they have a preference for before putting their list together.
Read school brochures.
Look at school websites to find out school policies, especially the SEND policy and end of key stage results/achievements.
Read the latest Ofsted reports.
Consider how their child would get to and from the school.

Parents will be encouraged and advised to identify up to 5 schools maximum.

Parents are advised that the local authority will consider parental preference in the context of which schools better meet the needs of children and young people, along with the financial costs of a placement.

Brent LA, like all LA’s has a duty for financial sustainability for the future. Therefore, Brent is obligated to ensure that there is the ‘efficient use of resources’ when considering a placement. This is the same for all placements; in borough, out of borough, Independent/Maintained, Mainstream, Special Schools, Education Other Than at School and Residential.

Individual cases will be considered according to the particular needs and circumstances of the child and local schools will be consulted. If it is agreed by the SEND Panel that a child requires a Special School or an ARP then all local Special Schools/ARP’s will be considered.

All special schools have an admissions policy which can be found on their website.

If the Local Authority does not agree with the parent's or young person' choice then they will write to them providing the reasons and details of the school they plan to name on the child's EHC Plan.

If you are not happy with the decision you will have a right to appeal.

The charity Contact has further advice on applying for a school place.

What to expect from a school or early years provider

Schools and early years providers are legally required to support children and young people with SEND.

This support should follow the SEND Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years

If your child has SEND they will either be entitled to:

SEN support - a type of help available within your child’s mainstream school or nursery
an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan - extra support beyond what is available in a mainstream school or nursery

You can read more about this and getting an assessment of your child’s needs.

Schools and nurseries must have a Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) who is responsible for arranging and co-ordinating extra help for pupils with SEND.

Publishing of SEN information

All state-maintained schools and nurseries must publish certain information about the services and support they provide to children with SEND.

This includes an SEN information report which is published on the school or nursery website.

This report must include:

the kinds of SEN the school caters for
how children’s needs are identified and assessed
the support available in the school
who to talk to in the school
teaching approaches
how the curriculum is adapted
staff training
how parents and children are involved

They must also have an accessibility plan.

The accessibility plan must include information about the steps the school is taking to make both the environment and the curriculum more accessible for disabled pupils. This may be included within the SEN information report.

Minimum standards

We have produced guidance for schools and early years providers about the SEND minimum standards expected in Brent.

View our guidance on SEND minimum standards in schools.

View our guidance on SEND minimum standards in early years settings.

Breakfast clubs in Brent

What breakfast clubs offer:

provide a safe, welcoming environment for school-aged children before the start of the school day
serve a healthy breakfast and offer enjoyable, educational activities such as games, arts and crafts, and homework support
are typically run by schools for their own pupils, though some operate from community venues and offer collection from nearby schools
are registered with Ofsted when not directly managed by a school, ensuring high standards of quality and safety.

Parents who wish to enrol their child should contact the school directly to check availability. Fees vary by provider, but using an Ofsted-registered club may enable families to access financial support through schemes like Tax-Free Childcare or Universal Credit.

The government is committed to providing a free breakfast club in every state-funded primary school in England as part of its new offer. Several Brent schools are currently piloting this initiative.

For more information, families can contact the Children and Families Information Service at Brent Council, which offers guidance on wraparound childcare and other support services.

Educational funding for children with SEND

Top-up funding to mainstream schools and colleges

We will provide top-up funding to mainstream schools and colleges for all children and young people with an EHC plan. This is additional to the notional funding already available in all mainstream schools and colleges. This funding comes from our High Needs Block and is paid centrally to the school. The funding is divided up over 12 months and given out on a termly basis.

If a child or young person moves to a different education setting, any allocated funding moves with them. We will, retrospectively, transfer the funding from the original school to the new education setting – these adjustments are made on a monthly basis.

Funding for special schools and additional resourced provisions

Only children or young people who have EHC plans can attend special schools or be placed in an additional resourced provision.

Funding comprises of two main components:

a sum 'per place' – the 'per place' funding (£10,000 per year) is paid at the beginning of the financial year
a 'per pupil' top-up from our High Need Block

Pupils in special schools and additional resourced provisions get top-up funding to meet the needs identified in the EHC plan. If a child or young person moves to a different education setting, any allocated top-up funding moves with them. We will, retrospectively, transfer the funding from the original school to the new education setting – these adjustments are made on a termly basis.

Funding to create extra places

Local authorities must ensure there are sufficient good school places for all pupils, including those with SEND.

Brent has been given £2.89 million of funding from the government between 2018 and 2021 to create new school places and improve existing facilities for children and young people with SEND, in consultation with parents and providers.

This funding can be invested in mainstream schools and academies, special units, special schools, early years settings and further education colleges, or to make other provision for children and young people aged from 0 to 25.

We have published a short Capital Fund Plan setting out how we intend to invest our allocation. The plan will be developed and updated annually as new needs emerge.

Brent's Special Provision Capital Fund Plan

Read additional information about our plan

Disability Access Funding (DAF)

Early-years providers can apply for extra funding to help support any children they have with SEND.

It is a one-off annual payment of £938 for each three or four-year-old that attends their setting, and who also receive Disability Living Allowance.

It is intended to help children access free early-education by supporting providers to make reasonable adjustments to their settings

Early-years providers wanting further details can contact our Children and Families Information Service (CFIS)

Call: 020 8937 3010

Email: cfis@brent.gov.uk

Moving into or out of Brent

If you have a child with an education, health and care (EHC) plan, and you are planning on moving into or out of the borough, you should contact us as soon as possible. Ideally before you move.

Moving into Brent

Contact us as soon as possible if you are moving into Brent from another local authority and your child has an education, health and care (EHC) plan.

This is because we will need to make sure your child’s EHC plan transfers to Brent and will help us plan how to meet your child’s needs before you move.

Our Special Educational Needs Assessment Service (SENAS) will request a copy of your child’s EHC plan and other information such as the most recent annual review report.

We cannot offer your child a school place until you have a permanent address in Brent.

Moving out of Brent

Our SENAS team will organise for your EHC plan to transfer to the local authority you are moving to.

To make sure we can transfer the information in good time, please give us notice of at least 15 working days. You should also contact your new local authority as soon as you know you’re moving so it can start making educational provision for your child.

Advice and information

For impartial advice and information about moving in or out of the area you can also contact Brent SEND information, advice and support service (SENDIASS).