Statutory Assessment

If a child at stage 3 still needs more help, a statutory assessment will happen. There are several ways for a pupil to be referred for a statutory assessment.

• Referral from a mainstream school.
• Referral from another agency (such as health services).
• Formal request from a parent.

Making a formal request to your authority

If the review meeting at stage 3 finds that your child needs more help, the school may decide that he or she should be moved to stage 4. Stage 4 is a statutory assessment carried out by the authority. If you feel your child is not getting enough help at stage 3, you can ask for an assessment independently of the school. You can even ask for a statutory assessment if your child is not at stage 3 of the SEN framework. You may request an assessment as long as you have not asked for one within the last six months. Bear in mind that your request will not necessarily lead to a statutory assessment, and an assessment does not always lead to a statement of special educational needs. The authority may decide that an assessment is not justified, and even if it does carry out an assessment, it may determine that a statement is not necessary.

If you want to make a formal request to your authority, you do not need to list every concern about your child. A simple letter with no more than three reasons why you would like an assessment is enough.

The authority should respond immediately to your request, and may ask you for more information about your child. Before deciding whether to make an assessment, it should also contact the school and find out how they have been supporting your child so far. If the authority decides that an assessment is not necessary, it must write to you and the school principal, explaining why it is not going to assess your child. You can appeal against this decision.

• More information about appeals and the SEN and disability tribunal (SENDIST)

If the authority is going to carry out an assessment, it must explain the process. The authority should give you a named officer who will deal with your case. The officer will ask for more information from you, the school, and any external specialists who work with your child, such as healthcare professionals and therapists. The authority will ask that you send the information within six weeks. The assessment should be finished within 18 weeks of your original request for an assessment.

Parental advice

When the authority asks for your advice as parents, it may give you some guidance on what type of information to give. There are guidance notes on how to write your advice in the SEN Code of Practice, (pages 34-35). Discussions with your named officer may be helpful, and you can also seek advice from someone outside the authority. For example, voluntary organisations specialising in SEN may be able to help: see the directory at the end of this guide for more details.