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Approved list of SEN independent schools and special post 16 institutions

Section 41 of the Children and Families Act 2014 allows the Secretary of State by order to publish a list of approved independent educational institutions, independent special schools and post-16 institutions for the purposes of enabling the institution to be the subject of a request for it to be named in an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). Institutions can only be included on the list with their consent.

The list can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-special-schools-and-colleges

If the parents of a child or young person show a preference for an independent special school then the Local Authority have a duty to name it in their EHCP, unless the Local Authority can show that the school would not meet the child or young person’s special educational needs or that it would be incompatible with the efficient education of others or the efficient use of resources (as outlined in the Children and Families Act 2014)

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