Post-16 support in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland: what is different?

Post-16 support is often described online using the English term EHCP. That can send families in the wrong direction. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own laws, documents and organisations. Even where the practical support looks similar, the route used to arrange it may be different.

Start with two facts: where the young person will study, and whether they are staying at school or moving to further education. Then identify the plan that exists now and who will be responsible after the move.

The three systems at a glance

These descriptions are deliberately short. Ask which organisation has the legal duty to identify, record and provide this young person's support in the setting they will attend. Searching for an "EHCP equivalent" can obscure that responsibility.

Wales: the ALN system continues into further education

Wales uses the Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal system. Its statutory plan is an Individual Development Plan, usually shortened to IDP. From September 2025, the ALN system became the sole statutory framework for children and young people with additional learning needs in Wales ^[2].

An IDP records the young person's additional learning needs and the additional learning provision required to meet them. The system covers young people in further education as well as pupils at school ^[1]. The school document will still need to be considered against the course and college environment rather than passed on unchanged.

Before the move, ask:

• Is the current IDP held by the school or local authority?
• Has the proposed college received and discussed it with the young person?
• Does the provision describe the course and college environment accurately?
• Who will maintain the IDP after enrolment?
• Is any placement, transport, health or social-care arrangement being decided separately?

An FE institution has duties to decide whether an enrolled young person has ALN and, where required, prepare and maintain an IDP. A local authority may remain responsible in specified circumstances, including where it decides that it is necessary to maintain an IDP to meet a young person's reasonable education or training needs ^[1]. Specialist post-16 placements follow additional local-authority processes.

Do not let a discussion about who maintains the plan delay immediate support. Ask the college what it can put in place while any formal transfer or reconsideration is completed.

The young person has their own rights

Post-16 ALN decisions concern the young person directly. They should receive information in a form they can understand and be involved in deciding outcomes and provision. Parents can still help, but should agree with the young person how they will take part.

If the young person disagrees with an FE institution's decision or IDP, they can ask the local authority to reconsider specified matters. The Welsh system also includes disagreement-resolution, advocacy and tribunal routes ^[1]. Which route applies depends on who made the decision and what is disputed, so obtain current nation-specific advice rather than using an English appeal template.

Scotland: plan the handover from school support

Scotland uses the term additional support needs. Support is not limited to pupils with a diagnosis or a formal plan. Some children and young people with complex or multiple needs that require significant coordinated support meet the criteria for a co-ordinated support plan, or CSP.

A CSP sits within the school-education framework. One of its conditions is that the education authority is responsible for the young person's school education. It should not be treated as a statutory college plan that transfers unchanged when school ends.

Scotland instead places duties on education authorities to prepare young people with additional support needs for post-school transition. The 2026 statutory Code calls for early, child-centred planning, collaboration with relevant agencies and a clear handover to the next school, college or post-school provider ^[3]. mygov.scot advises that a school leaver with additional support needs should have a transitions meeting involving teachers and a Skills Development Scotland careers adviser ^[4].

Use that planning period to settle practical arrangements:

• Invite the college or training provider into discussions before the leaving date.
• Ask whether a link course, additional visit or meeting with learning support is available.
• Share the information the young person agrees is relevant.
• Separate education support from health, social work, travel and personal-assistance arrangements.
• Record which organisation has accepted each action.

The education authority may need to request information from agencies expected to support the young person after school. That process helps with the handover, but it does not make the school responsible for delivering college support after the young person leaves.

Support at college

Contact the college's learning support or disability team before enrolment. Ask it to assess the barriers created by the course, timetable, campus, placements and assessment methods. Useful arrangements might include accessible materials, assistive technology, communication support, help with organisation or changes to how teaching and assessment are delivered. What is available depends on need, course and provider.

Keep the discussion concrete. "They had a CSP" gives background; it does not tell a lecturer how to present a multi-step practical task or how the student will request a break. Share the parts of earlier plans and reports that explain current needs and effective provision.

Northern Ireland: school Statements and college support are separate

Northern Ireland currently uses Statements of Special Educational Needs for children whose needs require provision arranged by the Education Authority. A pupil with a Statement should also have transition planning as they approach leaving school. nidirect describes Transition Plans as usually beginning in Year 10 and considering the support needed for adult life.

If the young person remains at school for sixth form, the support in the Statement continues within the school system. If they move to a further-education college, the college arranges learning support through its own process ^[5]. The Statement is valuable evidence, but it is not maintained by the college as though the student were still at school.

Ask the school and Education Authority to provide the college with the transition information the young person agrees can be shared. Then ask the college's Student Support team:

• When and how will it assess support?
• What evidence does it need?
• Which technical or personal support can it arrange?
• How will support work on placements or practical courses?
• Who should the student contact if support is missing?
• Are personal care, medical support or transport arranged by another service?

nidirect says Northern Ireland colleges use the Additional Support Fund to provide technical and personal support for students with a learning difficulty or disability. Examples include specialist equipment, software, interpreters, classroom support and note-taking, with the actual package depending on the person and course ^[5]. Confirm the individual arrangement rather than treating the examples as an entitlement to a named item.

Be careful with information about reform

Northern Ireland has planned changes under the SEND Act and new SEN Regulations, but the intended September 2026 implementation has been delayed. The Department of Education reported in June 2026 that implementation is expected on 1 September 2027 ^[6].

Until changes take legal effect, families should use the current Statement, Transition Plan, Education Authority and college-support routes. Draft regulations or pages describing future rights should not be treated as the process already in force.

What is shared across all three nations

The document names differ, but a good handover needs the same practical information:

• the young person's aims and course choice;
• current barriers to learning and participation;
• support that has proved useful;
• equipment, communication or personal-assistance needs;
• health or safety information the setting needs;
• how the young person asks for help or a break;
• support needed on travel, work placements and unstructured parts of the day; and
• the young person's wishes about family involvement and information sharing.

Arrange a meeting with the next setting before the course starts. Walk through an ordinary day rather than asking only whether the college is "inclusive". The guide to how support at college works provides questions about timetables, staffing, adjustments and review.

Keep parallel decisions separate

An education support decision does not settle transport, benefits, healthcare or social care. A college may agree classroom support while the local authority or health service considers another part. Put each action on its own line:

Use the Evidence and Timeline Log for dates and replies. If the family moves between UK nations, start again with the destination system rather than assuming the existing plan retains the same status.

The guide to education support across the UK covers the wider nation-specific terminology and routes. For course decisions, compare the actual post-16 education and training options. The most useful next step is usually a direct conversation with the proposed setting about this young person's course, barriers and provision.