Yes. If your child has an EHCP, ask the council to change the school named in it, and you can request this at any time, not only at the annual review. Without one, apply for an in-year (mid-year) admission. The route forks on whether your child has an Education, Health and Care plan, not on whether they have a diagnosis, so check that first.
If your child has an EHCP
This is not an ordinary admissions question. The school your child attends is written into Section I of the plan, so a move means changing that named school. You have a legal right to ask for a particular school (a maintained school, an academy, a college, a non-maintained special school, or a Government-approved independent special school) under section 38 of the Children and Families Act 2014. You can ask at any time. If the plan is breaking down now, you do not have to wait for the annual review; you can ask the council for an early review.
Once you name a school, the council must agree to it unless one of three things is true: the school is unsuitable for your child's age, ability, aptitude or needs; your child being there would harm the education of other children; or it would be a poor use of public money (section 39). The council asks the proposed school for its view, and the school has 15 days to respond. If the council refuses your school and names a different one, you can appeal that decision to the SEND Tribunal, the independent panel that hears EHCP disputes.
After a review where the council agrees to amend the plan, it must tell you within 4 weeks of the meeting that it will amend, and issue the final amended plan within 12 weeks of the meeting. You get at least 15 days to comment on the draft and to put forward your preferred school.
If your child does not have an EHCP
This includes children on SEN Support and those still waiting for an assessment. Here it is an ordinary in-year (mid-year) admission. Depending on the school type and your area, you apply either to the council or straight to the school, and your council's website tells you which. The admission authority must give you the outcome in writing within 15 school days. If your place is refused, you have a right of appeal to an independent admission appeals panel.
Start with the SENCO either way
Before you move, talk to the current school's SENCO, the teacher who coordinates support for children with SEND. A placement that is breaking down can sometimes be steadied without a move, and even if it cannot, the conversation builds the written evidence you will need, that the school cannot deliver the support or that your child is not making progress.
Reform watch. The 2026 Schools White Paper and the Education for All Bill propose changes to SEND support over the coming decade, such as a new Individual Support Plan and narrowing EHCPs to the most complex needs. None of this changes the right to request a school or the in-year admissions process now. Current EHCP holders are protected, and no changes are expected before September 2030.
Where the law comes from
Related
This page is general information, not clinical or legal advice.