Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, who can register a child for a school; and what effect a statement of special educational needs has on the rights of the parent.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

Section 86 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998, which covers admission to schools in England, enables the parent of a child to express a preference as to which school(s) they would like their child to attend. It also requires school admission authorities in England to comply with that parental preference subject to certain limited exceptions, for example, where the school is oversubscribed. Young people, as well as their parents, can apply for a place at a school sixth form.

The Children Act 1989 states that anyone who has parental responsibility for a child can exercise ‘all the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority which by law a parent of a child has in relation to the child and his property’. For a looked-after child, the local authority is the corporate parent.

Statements of Special Educational Need (SEN) were phased out in England after the Children and Families Act 2014. There is now a broader system of Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans. Where a child has an EHC plan, the parent can request a place at a state school, or various other education settings. The local authority must then name that requested placement on the EHC plan unless it is unsuitable for the child’s age, ability, aptitude or SEN, or the attendance of the child at the school would be incompatible with the provision of efficient education for others or with the efficient use of resources.