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Specialist colleges and training providers

You may be able to attend a post 16 or post 19 specialist college and training provider if you are over the age of 16 or 19 and have complex special educational needs (SEN) and have an education, health and care (EHC) plan.

There are a variety of options available to you post 16. You could choose to:

If you are not sure, you should speak to your education setting to find out more, or visit the CXK website.

If you have an education, health and care (EHC) plan, you will receive support from a careers advisor before your phase transfer meeting. A review will also take place when you're in year 10, where your EHC plan will be looked at.

Your options

Stay at your current education setting

As you are familiar with the teaching staff, the school or college and you may be happy in your current education setting.

You should check with your school or college to find out if they offer courses after year 11. Courses could include vocational subjects or employability skills.

Vocational subjects allow you to learn skills to help you in a future job. These skills can help with, cooking, mechanics, hairdressing and customer service.

Employability skills help you to develop skills you will need to have a job in the future. The skills you develop can help you with adapting to a new work environment. Where you can learn new communication skills and how to work with different people.

Further education setting

You can attend a further education (FE) setting. The college could be local or out of Kent.

A FE education provider can be a mainstream sixth form or college, or a specialist education and training provider. Courses can vary and are often for those wanting to gain skills to help with future jobs.

For more information you should contact them directly.

Post 16 to 25

Specialist support

For those who currently attend a mainstream school with specialist resource provision (SRP) the support you will receive for your post 16 education will be discussed at your phase transfer meeting.

For those who currently attend a special school, your post 16 education will be discussed at your phase transfer meeting.

Depending on the support you receive now, you could:

  • stay at your current education setting
  • move to attend a different special school
  • attend another mainstream school and receive SRP support.

Study programme

A study programme is like college but is often a smaller informal setting in a class of 5 to 10 students. They help you to develop skills you need for work, such as time keeping and communication. The programmes allow you to work on your individual needs to help you progress for the future.

Advice and support

Chris, who works for CXK (an organisation dedicated to transforming the lives of young adults across Kent), has created a short video with lots of useful tips to support you in choosing whether post 16 specialist education or training is right for you.

Apply to a specialist education or training provider

To apply you must have an EHC plan.

Your current education provider will hold a phase transfer review (annual review) with you. The review will take place when you are in year 10 and will look at your EHC plan.

As part of the review, it is important that you include your choice of specialist education or training provider. Once the review is submitted, we will speak with them and others to see if they can support your needs. We will name and issue an amended final EHC plan by 31 March before you start in September.