Southend-on-Sea City Council wish to apologise for a letter recently sent by the SEND Team concerning post-16 transition arrangements.
Southend-on-Sea City Council wish to apologise for a letter recently sent by the SEND Team concerning post-16 transition arrangements requesting details of children's preferred educational setting for September 2027.
Unfortunately, this letter was sent to some families in error. We also identified that an attachment included with the correspondence contained information relating to college open evenings from the previous year and should not have been enclosed. We sincerely apologise for any confusion or concern this may have caused.
For children who are in Year 11 and expected to transition to a new setting for September 2027, the Southend-on-Sea City Council Preparing for Adulthood Team will work with parent carers and their child's current setting to arrange an Annual Review of their Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) before the end of the autumn term. During this review, there will be an opportunity to discuss and formally express preferred post-16 placement options.
Parent Carers are assured that if their child is not currently in Year 11 and involved in post-16 transition planning, they do not need to take any action in response to the letter.
We are reviewing our processes to understand how this error occurred and to help prevent similar incidents in the future.
If parent carers have any questions or concerns regarding their child's educational provision or future planning arrangements, please do not hesitate to contact the SEND Team at SENTeam@southend.gov.uk