Statutory Assessment of Special Educational Needs (SEN)
For a few children the support provided by Action and Action Plus may not be enough to meet their more complex and long term learning needs.
If your child needs more support the school will meet with you and any support services already involved with your child, to discuss whether a statutory assessment should be carried out.
What is a statutory assessment?
It is a detailed investigation by the Children's Services Authority to find out exactly what your child's needs are and what special help would benefit your child.
A statutory assessment can be requested by:
. A child's school.
. A special educational needs professional working with the child, for example an educational psychologist .
. Parents or carers, if they feel that the child is not making sufficient progress. They will need to contact the Special Educational Needs & Disability Team by letter.
What is involved in a statutory assessment?
Firstly, detailed consideration is given to whether an assessment is needed. We will tell you within six weeks of receiving the application whether we are going to carry out a statutory assessment.
If we decide to carry out an assessment we have a further 10 weeks to complete it. During this time we collect together detailed information about your child in order to get a clear picture of his/her needs. We will ask you for additional information and we will contact a number of professionals including:
- Your child's school.
- An educational psychologist.
- A doctor.
- Children's Services.
We will also include anyone else whose views you consider would be helpful.
You will be contacted if any assessments or examinations are arranged for your child. You have the right to be present at any medical, test or interview. However, in certain circumstances it is helpful for your child to be seen without you - for example where classroom observation is being carried out.
Once we have received all the information about your child's needs we will consider whether to issue a statement of special educational needs. We will normally write and tell you whether we are going to issue a statement within 12 weeks of starting the assessment
What happens next?
If we have decided to issue a statement we will send you a 'proposed statement'. This is a draft of the statement and you will be able to comment on it if you wish.
We will usually send you the final statement, which will name the school your child will attend, within eight weeks of issuing the 'proposed statement'.
The statement comes into force on the day that it is issued. It is reviewed annually.
If we have decided not to issue a statement we will write to you and explain the reasons for this decision and we will tell you how we think your child's needs can be met in school.
We may ask the school to arrange a meeting.
We will also give you information about who you can contact if you disagree with our decision.
What is a statement of special educational needs?
The statement describes your child's educational needs and the help they need in order to make progress at school.
The statement is in six parts:
Part 1
This part gives your own and your child's name and address together with other personal details.
Part 2
This part gives details of all your child's special educational needs that were identified during the assessment.
Part 3
This part sets out the special educational provision. It describes:
- The special help your child should get to meet his/her needs.
- The long term educational aims for your child.
- The arrangements for setting short-term goals, reviewing your child's progress towards those goals and how your child's progress is to be monitored.
Part 4
This part tells you about the school your child will attend and any other arrangements for education other than in school.
Part 5
This part describes any relevant non-educational needs your child has such as medical needs.
Part 6
This part gives details of how your child will get the help outlined in part 5.
You will be sent copies of all the reports that we obtain as part of the assessment process.
Further information and contact details of who can talk to for advice are contained within the Parent Partnership page.