The move from primary to secondary school should be exciting. A fresh start, new opportunities, growing up.
But if your child has an EHCP, secondary transfer becomes a legal battleground. And the council has home advantage.
This is their moment. The time when they can push your child from specialist to mainstream, reduce provision, or delay decisions until you're too panicked to fight back.
Let me show you what to expect and how to protect your child's rights.
Why Secondary Transfer Matters So Much
When your child moves to secondary school, their EHCP doesn't just come along for the ride. The whole thing gets reviewed and rewritten.
This means:
• The school name must change (obviously…they're moving schools)
• Needs and provision get questioned - "Are these still necessary now they're older?"
• Provision can go up or down - this is the LA's chance to cut costs
• Placement type gets reconsidered - "Could mainstream work now?"
If your child is in a specialist primary, this is when the council pushes hard for mainstream secondary. If you've been fighting for specialist provision, this is your window to make it happen.
Get this wrong and your child could be stuck in the wrong place for five years.
What Should Happen (vs What Actually Happens)
The Law:
Regulation 18 of the SEND Regulations 2014 sets out clear rules. By 15 February in the year your child transfers (so 15 February 2026 for September 2026 transfer), the council must send you:
• The amended EHCP (with the new secondary school named), OR
• The maintained EHCP (if nothing's changing), OR
• Notice they're ceasing the EHCP
This deadline isn't flexible. It's the law.
Why does it matter? Because you get 2 months from receiving the final EHCP to appeal to tribunal. If they miss the February deadline and send it in July, you're trying to appeal while your child has nowhere to go in September.
What Actually Happens:
The council drags everything out. The review happens late. Consultations take forever. Suddenly it's July, you've got the final plan, and your child starts secondary in 6 weeks.
Now you're stuck: accept the unsuitable placement or appeal and leave your child with no school place.
That time pressure? Completely deliberate.
Tactic 1: The Delay Game
What they do:
Everything happens late. The annual review doesn't get scheduled until February. School consultations take weeks. Draft plans arrive in May. The final EHCP lands in July or August.
By the time you can appeal, September is breathing down your neck.
Why it works:
Fighting a tribunal appeal when your child has no school place in 6 weeks feels impossible. So you accept the unsuitable school just to get them somewhere.
The council knows this. The delay is the strategy.
How to fight back:
Start early and be relentless about deadlines.
In autumn term of Year 6, write to the council:
"My child transfers to secondary in September 2026. Under Regulation 18, you must issue the final EHCP by 15 February 2026. Please confirm: a) The date of the annual review meeting b) Your timeline for meeting this deadline"
If they're slow, chase them every week:
"The annual review has not been scheduled. Given the 15 February deadline, this meeting must happen by [December date]. Please confirm immediately."
If they blow the 15 February deadline, that's unlawful. Write the next day:
"You have breached Regulation 18. The deadline was 15 February and you have failed to issue the final EHCP. This is unlawful. Please issue it within 7 days or I will pursue formal legal action."
The earlier you start pushing, the less room they have to mess you around.
A Final Thought
Secondary school is a big deal. These are the years that shape GCSEs, friendships, confidence, life chances.
Your child deserves the right placement…not the cheapest one, not the most convenient one for the council, not the one with space.
The right one.
Don't let the council's tactics pressure you into accepting less. Know the law, hold them to the deadlines, challenge every dodgy consultation and vague promise.
And remember: the 15 February deadline is the law. Everything else the council tells you is just noise.
If you're heading into secondary transfer and need help holding the council to their duties, please reach out. This is too important to get wrong, and you don't have to navigate it alone.