Section I of an EHCP names the specific school or type of school your child will attend. It is the only legally enforceable placement section, and the school named in it has a duty to admit your child.
What Section I sets out
An EHCP — an Education, Health and Care Plan — is split into lettered sections, and Section I is the one that fixes where your child goes to school. It names either a particular setting (a named primary or secondary, a special school, a college) or, less often, just a type of setting. The SEND Code of Practice (para 9.69) sets out what each section must contain. Section I is short — often a single line — but it carries more legal weight than any other part of the plan.
Two things parents miss
Most guides stop at “Section I names the school”. Two further points are the ones that actually matter when you have a plan in front of you.
- In the draft plan, Section I is left blank. That blank is deliberate, and it is your window. When the council sends you a draft EHCP, you have 15 days to tell them which school you want named in Section I. Use it — this is the moment you express a preference for a particular school.
- Section I is uniquely enforceable. Once a state-funded school is named, it has a legal duty to admit your child, even if it is full (section 43 of the Children and Families Act 2014). That enforceability is exactly why placement is the section parents most often contest at the SEND Tribunal — the independent panel that hears appeals against council decisions on EHCPs.
What happens if you ask for a school
Where you request a particular school in Section I, the council must name it unless one of three things is true: the school would be unsuitable for your child's age, ability, aptitude or special educational needs; their attendance would be incompatible with the efficient education of other children; or it would be incompatible with the efficient use of resources (section 39 of the Children and Families Act 2014). If the council refuses your choice, it must instead name a school it considers suitable, or specify a type of school. You can appeal that decision — see appealing if the council names the wrong school.
Is Section I changing?
Section I is current law under Part 3 of the Children and Families Act 2014. The February 2026 Schools White Paper and the Education for All Bill propose narrowing EHCPs to children with the most complex needs from 2035, but no changes take effect before September 2030, and existing plans are protected to the child's next phase of education or age 16. For any plan being drafted or finalised now, Section I works exactly as set out above.
Where the law comes from
Related
This page is general information, not clinical or legal advice.