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Phase transfer
Published
Helen Bond, Chair of Directors at Gloucestershire Parent Carer Forum and Britt Fox, Manager of SENDIASS bring together their expert knowledge and experience to inform families of their options around phase transfer.
In December's issue of the Families in Partnership newsletter, there was an article explaining phase transfer and what it means for you and your child or young person.
Children and young people with an EHCP
If your child has an EHC Plan you will have received a letter and an updated EHC Plan, by email, naming the new school or setting to which your child or young person will transfer. This information will have included the name of your Casework Officer. Notifications were issued by 15 February 2026 for primary and secondary schools and will be issued by 31March 2026 for Post-16 settings. This letter will include details of your legal rights to mediation and appeal, along with contact details for SENDIASS who offer free impartial advice and support.
Some of you may be disappointed with the outcome of phase transfer decisions. We know how difficult it can be to hear news that you were not expecting or hoping for. If your child has an EHC Plan in the first instance it is important to contact your Casework Officer to discuss how to support your child.
If you want to know more about Mediation and SEND Tribunal, please visit the relevant section on the EHCP pages 'Reviews and appeals' of Gloucestershire's Local Offer website, Support for Families with SEND. SENDIASS, in partnership with Gloucestershire Parent Carer Forum, also ran sessions this month for Parent Carers on Mediation and Tribunal and you can access the slide deck from that training and contact SENDIASS with any queries.
Children and young people with SEND support
If your child doesn’t have an EHC Plan, rather perhaps a My Plan or My Plan Plus, then with all remaining Parent Carers you will receive an email notification naming the next school placement for your child or young person. Secondary school notifications were issued on 2 March and primary school notifications will be issued by 16 April 2026. Appeal rights are explained when those notifications are sent out.
Moving on for all children and young people
Some children will be moving to their nearest school with other children from their pre-school or primary school classmates, while other children might be moving somewhere entirely new. Moving somewhere new is more common for those moving on to the next phase around 16.
The sense of change can feel exciting for some and unsettling for others. There are things that you can do to help prepare for this new stage. Lots of schools have open days and taster sessions for new students. You can contact the school to confirm when these are and ask to speak with them about any support your child might need for these visits. SENDIASS has a really useful list of questions to help you.
Speak to the SENCO
You can also reach out to the SENCO of the new school or setting to see how they plan to support your child or young person when they join. Secondary schools are used to lots of children and young people joining them every year and helping them to settle in. If there are things which you think would really help your child settle in well, the SENCO is the best person to speak to.
But please know that both Gloucestershire Parent Carer Forum and SENDIASS are both here to help support you. For more information on the Forum's Listen to Me events, please see the article with information on dates and times to meet up with other Parent Carers.