EHCP phase transfer deadlines: 15 February and 31 March
Last updated 7 August 2026. Checked against the SEND Regulations 2014 as in force.
For a move between school phases, the council must review and amend your child's EHC plan, naming the next school, before 15 February in the year of transfer. For secondary to post-16 the date is 31 March. Regulation 18 carries no exemptions, so a missed date is a breach with no lawful excuse.
What are the EHCP phase transfer deadlines?
Where a child or young person with an EHC plan is within 12 months of moving between phases of education, the council must review the plan and, where necessary, amend it so that it names the school or institution they will move to. It must do that before a fixed calendar date. The rule is regulation 18 of the SEND Regulations 2014.
| Deadline | Applies to | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| 15 February in the calendar year of transfer | All phase transfers other than the move to post-16 | Reg 18(1)(b); CoP 9.179 |
| 31 March in the calendar year of transfer | Secondary school to a post-16 institution | Reg 18(1)(a); CoP 9.180 |
| At least 5 months before the move | A move between post-16 institutions at any other time | Reg 18(2); CoP 9.181 |
These are hard calendar dates, not periods counted from something you have to prove. That makes them the easiest deadlines in the whole EHCP process to enforce. Either the amended final plan naming the setting was issued before 15 February, or it was not.
Why a missed phase transfer date has no lawful excuse
Because regulation 18 contains no exemptions. The four narrow grounds that can lawfully extend other EHCP deadlines are applied to those deadlines by specific words in specific regulations. Regulation 18 has no equivalent provision, so nothing extends 15 February or 31 March.
Zero
The number of lawful exceptions to the phase transfer deadlines.Regulation 13(3) borrows the four grounds in regulation 10(4)(a) to (d) to excuse a late 20 week plan. Regulation 5(4) borrows them for the 6 week decision. Regulation 27(3) borrows them for re-assessment. Regulation 18 borrows nothing. On 16 February, an un-amended plan in a transfer year is simply a breach.
This matters when you write to the council, because the usual answers do not work here. There is no summer closure ground to point at, no argument about exceptional circumstances, and no version of "the deadline was extended". The council can explain why it happened. It cannot say it was lawful.
Source: SEND Regulations 2014, reg 18; compare reg 13(3), reg 5(4) and reg 27(3), which each expressly apply the reg 10(4)(a) to (d) grounds.
Which moves count as a phase transfer?
A phase transfer is a move between phases of education, not any change of school. The Code of Practice at 9.179 lists them, and the distinction decides which deadline you are holding the council to.
| The move | Phase transfer? | Your deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Early years provider to school (reception) | Yes | 15 February |
| Infant school to junior school | Yes | 15 February |
| Primary to middle school | Yes | 15 February |
| Primary to secondary school | Yes | 15 February |
| Middle school to secondary school | Yes | 15 February |
| Secondary school to college, sixth form or other post-16 institution | Yes | 31 March |
| One post-16 institution to another, outside the normal transfer point | Treated separately | Review at least 5 months before the move |
| Changing school mid-phase, for example a Year 4 move | No | Handled through review and the amendment process, not reg 18 |
| Moving to a different council area | No | Transfer rules in reg 15 apply instead |
What is at stake if 15 February passes
A September place. The amended final plan is what names the school, and a school named in Section I of a plan must admit the child, under section 43(2) of the Children and Families Act 2014. Until the plan is amended, nothing binds any setting to take your child in September.
The February date is also what protects your right to argue. An amended final plan carries a fresh right of appeal on its content, including the school named, and you have two months from the date the notice was sent. Appeals take months to reach a hearing. A plan issued on 15 February leaves room to appeal and still have an answer before term starts. A plan issued in June does not.
So a missed 15 February is not a paperwork problem that catches up later. It compresses the only window you have, and every week of drift makes a September start in the right setting less likely.
How the council is meant to hit the date
Working backwards from 15 February shows why a council that has not started by the autumn term is already in trouble. The transfer review runs through the normal annual review machinery, and that machinery has its own deadlines.
- The review meeting is arranged with at least two weeks' notice, and the advice and information are circulated at least two weeks before it (regs 20(3) and 20(4)).
- The written review report goes to everyone invited within two weeks of the meeting (reg 20(9)).
- The council notifies its decision to maintain, amend or cease within four weeks of the meeting (reg 20(10)).
- If amending, it sends you the plan plus a notice of the proposed amendments, and must allow you at least 15 days to respond and to request a particular school (reg 22(2)).
- The amended final plan must be issued within eight weeks of that amendment notice (reg 22(3)), and for a phase transfer it must also land before 15 February.
Both clocks apply. The eight weeks in regulation 22(3) does not buy the council extra time past 15 February. If the amendment notice goes out in January, the council has created its own problem, not a lawful extension.
What to do the day after a missed deadline
Write on 16 February, or on 1 April for a post-16 transfer. Speed matters here in a way it does not with other deadlines, because the school year is the constraint. Keep it short and factual.
- Cite the regulation and the date. "The amended final plan naming my child's setting for September was due before 15 February 2027 under regulation 18(1)(b). It has not been issued."
- Close off the excuse. Say that regulation 18 contains no exemptions, unlike regulation 13(3), so you are not expecting an explanation based on the four exception grounds.
- Ask for one specific thing with a date. The amended final plan, naming the setting, by a date you state. Ten to fourteen days is reasonable and defensible.
- Ask where the consultation stands. The council must consult the school you asked for, and it must name it unless it is unsuitable or attendance would be incompatible with the efficient education of others or the efficient use of resources.
- Start the ladder if the date passes. Formal complaint, then the Ombudsman, and a judicial review pre-action letter where a September place is genuinely at risk.
The full sequence, including what each rung can get you, is inthe escalation ladder guide. To see the transfer dates alongside every other deadline running in your case, use the transfer path in the free deadline checker, which prints the regulation next to each date so you can quote it straight into your email.
If you are reading this in the autumn. You are early, which is the best position to be in. Ask the council in writing, now, for the date of the phase transfer review meeting and confirmation that the amended final plan will be issued before 15 February. A council that has to answer that in October usually meets the date.
Common questions
What happens if the council misses the 15 February deadline?
On 16 February an un-amended plan is a breach of regulation 18(1)(b), and there is no exemption the council can rely on. Nothing happens automatically, so you escalate: a written chase citing regulation 18(1)(b), then a formal complaint, then the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.
Does moving from infant school to junior school count as a phase transfer?
Yes. Code of Practice 9.179 lists the transfers covered by the 15 February date: early years provider to school, infant to junior, primary to middle, primary to secondary, and middle to secondary. All of them are governed by regulation 18(1)(b).
Is there any lawful excuse for missing a phase transfer deadline?
No. The four grounds in regulation 10(4)(a) to (d) that can extend the 6, 16 and 20 week deadlines are applied to those deadlines by specific provisions such as regulation 13(3). Regulation 18 contains no equivalent, so the 15 February and 31 March dates stand whatever has happened.
My child moves to college next year. Is my date 15 February or 31 March?
For a move from a secondary school to a post-16 institution, the date is 31 March in the calendar year of transfer, under regulation 18(1)(a). The 15 February date applies to all the other phase transfers. A move between two post-16 institutions at any other time needs the plan reviewed at least five months before the move.
Can I appeal the school named in the amended plan?
Yes. An amended final plan carries a fresh right of appeal on its content, including the school or institution named in Section I. You have two months from the date the decision notice was sent. That fresh appeal right is the reason the deadline sits in February rather than the summer.
Not sure where your case stands? The free deadline checker turns your dates into every legal deadline that applies, with the regulation cited on each one.
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