Special Education Needs and Disabilities service and the processes used when arranging placements for children with Education, Health and Care Plans

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I request the following information relating to your Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) service and the processes used when arranging placements for children with Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs)

1. Policies relating to placement in new or pre-registration special schools.

Please provide any internal policy, protocol, guidance, or operating procedure that covers placement decision-making involving new or pre-registration special schools.

This includes any documents that specify when the Council will or will not:

consult with a new special school prior to Ofsted registration,

accept a placement 'in principle' before Ofsted registration,

issue or prioritise consultations during the pre-registration period.

2. Policies relating to acceptance or refusal of 'in-principle' placements.

Please provide any policy, protocol, or internal guidance used by the SEND service that covers the acceptance, refusal, or handling of 'in-principle' placements offered by special schools.

This includes any restrictions on accepting such placements prior to Ofsted registration

3. Policies governing consultation categorisation and prioritisation Please provide the policy or protocol that guides SEND officers on how consultations with special schools are categorised or prioritised, including when a consultation should be marked:

urgent,

standard,

parental preference,

or requiring delay pending additional information.

4. Policies on placement in new, uninspected, or NRN special schools Please provide any guidance or criteria relating to the use, restriction, or prioritisation of placements in:

new special schools,

schools awaiting Ofsted inspection (NRN or equivalent),

schools rated Requires Improvement,

or any policies restricting placement to Good or Outstanding schools.

5. Specialist placement operating protocols Please provide the most recent version of the SEND service's:

'Specialist Placements Operating Protocol',

'SEND Placement Commissioning Policy',

or any equivalent internal document used to guide SEND officers in making placement decisions or commissioning specialist provision.

If the document exists under another title, please provide the current applicable version.

1. Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) do not have a specific policy or protocol governing this. The Local Authority (LA) do not place at schools that have not been pre-registered or are still going through the registration process. For newly registered schools, the Law will seek their OFSTED registration before placing there.

2. LCC do not have a specific policy or protocol governing this. However, we will not consult schools who have not been OFSTED registered nor place any child there if they have not been registered.

3. There is no policy governing this. Following issuing of a draft Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan or Amendment notice, the SEND team will request the school of preference from the parent or carer of the child or young person. The LA will then consult with that school and specifying it is parental preference. No other consultations are classified save for exceptional circumstances and this will then be shared at time of consultation.

4. The LA always looks to place in OFSTED registered schools. For Children who are in Care we will prioritise schools who have an ‘Outstanding’ or ‘Good’ Ofsted grading but will consider schools that are ‘Requires Improvement’, should this be their preference and close to their home.

5. The SEND team do not have specific operating protocols. However, the Commissioning team’s Market position statement can be found at https://professionals.lincolnshire.gov.uk/children%E2%80%99s-commissioning