You cannot apply for a specialist educational setting place through the normal school application process.
If you are requesting a place at a special schools , Additional Resourced Provisions, alternative provision or independent specialist setting then this has to be discussed at an EHCP review. Please see this Local Offer page about Special Educational Settings (opens new page) for more information about the specialist settings available to young people in Kirklees.
SENDACT will then discuss this case with a specialist SEN Decision Making Group (DMG) who will either agree or disagree to this request.
If SENDACT agree they will then write to the school or schools that you have said you would like a place at. This is called a consultation.
There are a finite number of places at specialist settings in Kirklees and these places are prioritised for those with the highest level of need. If SENDACT do not agree to a specialist placement then they will look at what additional support and advice can be offered to the current setting to allow the setting to continue to support your child. This may mean include outreach support from specialist provisions and training for staff.
The school then has 15 days to let the council know if they can offer a place for your child/young person.
SENDACT will speak to you about the responses from the schools when you have asked for a few different schools.
It is important to know that SENDACT will consider which schools are your preference, but if it is decided that this is unsuitable then they may choose the school for your child.
The reasons they would not agree with the schools you have chosen is because they feel that the school is not suitable for the special needs of your child or if sending your child to that school would be consider to not be an efficient use of resources.
If a school says that they cannot offer your child a school place because they feel they cannot meet their needs, then SENDACT will consider this response and if they feel that the school CAN meet your child's needs with the right level of support then they can instruct them to offer the child a place.
SENDACT have the authority to override a schools response and direct the school to take the child, however they would only do this if they feel this would be in the best interests of the child, and there was a way to address and meet the concerns raised by the school.
If SENDACT agree with the school response (if the school has said no) then they will speak with you about considering an alternative preference. If no other preference is given by a parent or carer, then SENDACT would normally chose the nearest mainstream school as the preference.
You can appeal against any decision that the council make, information about how to do this will be sent to you when the council makes a decision. More information can be found on the Local Offer complaints and disagreements page.