Yes. Once a local authority names a state-funded school in a child's EHC plan, that school must admit them — even if full — and has no right of appeal; only fully independent schools are exempt.
The duty, and which schools it binds
When the council names your school in the section of the EHC plan that sets out placement, the duty to admit is automatic. Section 43 of the Children and Families Act 2014 says that where a maintained school, maintained nursery, academy, further education institution, non- maintained special school, or a section 41-approved independent school is named in a plan, the governing body or proprietor must admit the child. The duty overrides the school being at or over its published admission number, and it overrides the infant class-size rules in the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. It does not remove your power to exclude a pupil later on the usual grounds.
Which settings are bound, and which are exempt
The line that matters for a school reader is the type of setting, not the child's diagnosis. The duty reaches every state-funded and section 41-approved placement; it stops at the door of a wholly independent school.
| Type of school | Can be told to admit when named? |
|---|---|
| Maintained school or maintained nursery | Yes — section 43 duty applies |
| Academy or free school | Yes — section 43 duty applies |
| Non-maintained special school or FE institution | Yes — section 43 duty applies |
| Independent school on the section 41 approved list | Yes — section 43 duty applies |
| Wholly independent school (not section 41-approved) | No — cannot be compelled, even by the Tribunal |
Why ‘we're full’ will not work
Two points that the parent-facing guidance usually glosses over for a school reader bear repeating:
- Being full is not a defence to the naming. Once you are named, you must admit, regardless of your admission number. A wholly independent school that is not on the section 41 list carries no duty and cannot be compelled to take a pupil, not even by the SEND Tribunal, because section 43 simply does not reach it.
- There is no appeal against being named. The council, or the Tribunal on a parent's appeal, decides; the school has no separate right of appeal against the decision to name it.
Your one window: the 15-day consultation
Your chance to object comes before the school is named, not after. Where a parent or young person asks for a particular state-funded school, the council must name it unless it can show one of three things: the school would be unsuitable for the child's age, ability, aptitude or special educational needs; their attendance would be incompatible with the efficient education of other pupils; or it would be incompatible with the efficient use of resources (section 39). Before naming, the council must consult you, send you a copy of the draft plan, and consider your comments carefully. The SEND Code of Practice 2015 (paras 9.78–9.84) sets that response window at 15 days. You cannot simply decline: you must evidence one of the three grounds, and the council, not the school, decides whether it is made out.
What is changing
This is current law under Part 3 of the Children and Families Act 2014. The 2026 Schools White Paper and the planned Education for All Bill propose Individual Support Plans and narrowing EHC plans to the most complex needs, but no changes take effect before September 2030. For the foreseeable term, the admit-when-named duty is unchanged. If you have been named and are unsure how to deliver what the plan requires, that is a delivery question, not an admission one: see what happens if you cannot deliver the provision in a pupil's EHCP.
Where the law comes from
Related
This page is general information, not clinical or legal advice.