Phase Transfer Year 5
Phase Transfer for children with an Education, Health and Care Plan
'Phase Transfer' refers to the statutory process of amending an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) in readiness for a child to move on to the next stage of their education i.e. primary to secondary school. As part of this process, an Annual Review meeting will be held by the primary school, and the Annual Review report and any additional information will be used to make amendments to the EHCP. A Final Amended EHCP must be issued by 15th February in the year that the child will transition to secondary school.
Year 5 Phase Transfer Annual Review
To ensure that the Phase Transfer is completed in good time and that all Year 6 pupils with an EHCP know which school they will be moving to, Westmorland and Furness SEND Team will be starting this process early for those children who are due an Annual Review of their EHCP in the Summer term 2026. The process for this is set out below:
The primary school will arrange a Phase Transfer Annual Review meeting with parents and carers in the summer term 2026. At this meeting, any amendments to the EHCP will be considered and recorded in the Annual Review report as set out below:
Section A: child and parent views
Children will be asked for their views about themselves, their wishes and feelings about their future, aspirations, likes and dislikes etc.
Parent/carer views can be completed at the review meeting.
Section B:
A review of this section will consider whether it continues to accurately describe the child’s special educational needs. Any new special educational needs will be recorded in the Annual Review report.
Section C:
A review of this section will consider if the child has any new diagnoses or health conditions not currently recorded in the EHCP.
Section E:
Whilst the Key Stage 2 Outcomes will remain relevant, Outcomes for Key Stage 3 will be discussed with parents/carers and the child and recorded in the Annual Review report. Outcomes should be linked to aspirations in Section A. Any progress towards meeting the current Outcomes will also be discussed.
Section F:
A review of this section will consider if there is any provision that is no longer required or any new provision that will support the child to achieve their Outcomes.
General
At this stage, parents/carers may already have a clear preference for a particular secondary school which should be recorded in the Annual Review report. However, parents/carers do not have to have a clear preference at this point.
When the Annual Review report and any additional information is received by the SEND Team, parents/carers will receive a letter advising that the EHCP will be amended and issued in the Autumn term 2026 for their consideration, comment and to advise their preference for secondary school. At the same time, the SEND Team will consult the closest/catchment secondary school catchment and the school of parent/carer preference if known.
In September and October, parents/carers will be contacted by the SEND Team to ascertain/confirm their parental preference for secondary school and consultations will be completed.
Parents/carers are encouraged to also apply for a secondary school place via the Admissions process and whilst children with EHCPs are not allocated places via Admissions, this ensures all parental preferences are considered when reviewing school capacity and allocations.
The SEND Team will name the child’s secondary school in Section I of the Final Amended EHCP no later 15th February 2027.
Year 6 Annual Review
Where a Year 5 Phase Transfer Annual Review has taken place in the summer term 2026, the Year 6 Annual Review will be due in the summer of 2027. The primary school should invite the secondary school SENCO to the Annual Review meeting so that transition arrangements can be planned and any further information shared about the child.
Transport
If the parent/carer wishes their child to attend a school not closest to home, both their preferred school and the nearest school will be consulted. If there is a closer school which can meet the child’s special educational needs, parents and carers would need to make any transport arrangements if their preferred school is over the distance criteria as set out in the Westmorland and Furness Transport Policy.