Section 6 – Specialist Colleges

When making decisions about post-school education options and applying for a place at a specialist college, the Children and Families Act means that by law you can: have your views and wishes listened to; request a place at a specialist college or any college of your choice; get a personalised Education, Health and Care plan and; appeal to a tribunal if you are not happy with the decisions.

You can request a place at a specialist college when this is the best place to meet a young person’s needs. Department for Education guidance on requesting a place includes:

“Parents and young people do not need to apply for and be rejected from a general FE college before requesting that a specialist post-16 institution be named on their EHC plan. The parent’s / young person’s request carries particular statutory weight, so they should request the provider they would like.”

Specialist colleges are generally only available if you are not able to access your local college courses. You can agree the funding with your local authority SEN team and you would need to show that you have considered your local college’s courses.

For information about specialist colleges in our region please click on the links below.

Oakwood Court College

Cambian Lufton

Atkinson Secure Children’s Unit

Devon Hospital Short stay school

Eat That Frog

Exeter Royal Academy for Deaf Education (ERADE)

Infocus Charity

Lifeworks

ROC College

Or search for a specialist college on the Natspec website

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