Education information and advice

If you have been sent home from your school or college and told that you cannot return, this is known as an exclusion.

There are two types of exclusion:                                   

• 1. Fixed Term exclusion - this is when you are not allowed to return to your school or college for a set number of days.

• 2.Permanent exclusion - this is when you are not allowed to return to your school or college and will now need to get your education from a new setting.

Exclusions can sometimes show that your needs are not being met. This is why it is important that they are formally recorded.

What you can do

• You could ask for a meeting with your school or college to talk about your concerns and ask for more support. You might find our decision making toolkit helpful.

• If you do not have an Education, Health and Care plan (EHCP) you could think about whether an Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment (EHCNA) would be helpful. You can find out more about this on the your education, health and care plan page.

• If you do have an Education, Health and Care plan (EHCP) then it might be helpful to ask for a review of this to see if your needs have changed or if more support can be offered to you. You can find out more about this on the your education, health and care plan page.

• You could think about making a complaint if you think you are being treated unfairly. You can find out more about this on the your rights page. 

If you are struggling to go to your school or college because of anxieties or difficulties that may be related to your special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). This would come under attendance.

Schools have a legal duty under the Children’s and families Act 2014, to work with you to identify and support any special needs that you may have.          

What you can do 

• You could ask for a meeting with your school or college to talk about your concerns and ask for more support. You might find our decision making toolkit helpful or the health and care information and advice page helpful

• If you do not have an Education, Health and Care plan (EHCP) you could think about whether an EHC needs assessment would be helpful. You can find out more about this on the your education, health and care plan page. If you do have an Education, Health and Care plan (EHCP) then it might be helpful to ask for a review of this to see if your needs have changed or if more support can be offered to you. You can find out more about this on the your education, health and care plan page.

• You could speak to your doctor (GP) about your concerns. If the GP agrees that you should not attend school they may provide you with a letter to give to your school or college. If you have a long term medical or mental health condition, you might find the health and care information and advice page helpful.

There are three options for young people with SEND to request (ask for) a change of school or college.

• Through the Leicestershire County Council admissions process. This is for pupils who do not have an Education, Health and Care plan (EHCP) and want to request another mainstream (not specialist) school or college

• Request an Education, Health and Care (EHC) needs assessment. This is for pupils that do not have an EHCP and want to request a specialist school, college or setting. This is because you need an EHCP to be allowed to go to a specialist school or college and then a decision will be made by the Special Educational Needs Assessment and Commissioning Service (SENA) who conduct all EHC needs assessments if a assessment will take place and if they agree and if plan is needed and issued they could name a specialist placement 

• Request an EHCP Review. This is for pupils with an EHCP that want to request a change of school or college. This is because the school or college written in the plan is legally binding so any change must be agreed and recorded

For more information you can contact the Leicestershire County Council school admissions team below and talk to them about moving schools.

Leicestershire County Council Admissions team 
Call: 0116 305 6684 Monday - Thursday 8.30am – 5pm, Friday 8.30am - 4.30pm

Or to you can apply to move school 

• For more information on EHC needs assessments, plans and reviews, please visit the your education, health and care plan page.

• You might also find the your school, college or setting options page helpful.

The Law says that you may be able to get some support with travelling or maybe even free transport if you have SEND.

You do not need to have an Education, Health and Care plan (EHCP) to get this support, and an EHCP does not automatically mean that free transport will be provided for you.

What you can do 

You can visit the Leicestershire County Council School transport page for more information, including how to apply.

The government can provide additional money (funding) to support learners with SEND. This is usually arranged by the school, college or setting.

You do not have to have an Education, Health and Care plan (EHCP) and an EHCP does not guarantee additional funding.

What you can do 

• If you want to know more about funding or how it is being used in your school, college or setting you could speak to them, or look at their website. You might find our  decision making toolkit helpful

• If you have an EHCP and think that you may need some financial help to get the support that you need, you could think about personal budgets and direct payments. You can find more information about this on the local authorities website: Leicestershire County Council direct payments .  Further reading can also be found at IPSEA personal budgets and direct payments.

• You can find out more information about living independently from a dedicate website The National Development Team for Inclusion (NDTi).

• If you have any questions about money or benefits you can visit the Contact website.

Home schooling, also known as Elective Home Education (EHE) is when you are educated at home, rather than a school, college or educational setting. It applies to children and young people aged 5-16 and can continue to age 18 as part of education and training.

Your parent or carer would be responsible for providing you with this education, not the local authority (Leicestershire County Council)

If you have an Education, Health and Care plan (EHCP) then you will also need the agreement of the local authority (Leicestershire County Council) to be home schooled as they will have to make sure that your learning needs will be met.   

What you can do 

• If you are thinking about being home schooled then you should discuss this with your parent or carer.

• You could visit the Leicestershire County Council EHE page for more information.

An alternative to home schooling could be having your SEND and/or medical needs looked at more closely to see if there is any additional support you could have with your education. You might find our support in your school or college  or your education, health and care plan page helpful.