Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether parents with young people with SEND have applied to the Fair Access Protocol.

The Department does not hold information on which children are referred to local Fair Access Protocols.

Parents do not apply for a school place via the Fair Access Protocol directly. Parents are referred to the Protocol when they are having difficulty in securing a school place in-year, and it can be demonstrated that reasonable measures have been taken to secure a place through the usual in-year admission procedures.

Children with special educational needs, disabilities or medical conditions but without an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan are eligible for the Fair Access Protocol. Paragraph 3.17 of the Schools Admissions Code outlines the groups of children who are eligible for a place via the Fair Access Protocol.

All children whose EHC plan names a school must be admitted to the school.