School assessed my daughter without my consent re SEN

[Melonjuice]

Hi I’m very confused
for years my child has been on “SEN” register in primary school since age 5- soley because of maths ( apparently she is in the lowest percentile for maths after a recent assessment) she’s now 10 and still on it
issue is - I’ve been recently told by various people that you need to be diagnosed with something in order to be registered as having SEN? She is not autistic neither does she have ADHD or any other diagnosis

School arranged for an educational psychologist to assess my 10-year-old daughter without my consent ; and they had even ticked the form that I had provided consent when I knew nothing about it- then apologised to me when I confronted them about it as I was given an appointment by the school to meet with the educational psychologist to “discuss my daughter report”-bemused me went there to be told she was assessed ( without either of us knowing ) and it was found she had a “ memory problem” which accounted for the maths SEN and psychologist suggested I look into ADHD as a working memory issue often goes hand in hand with ADHD

i queried with the council educational department the next day regarding the assessment and I received an email from the educational psychologist who said that she apologises that she assessed my child without my consent she didn’t know about it and that’s my daughter’s SEN file is “empty” and she doesn’t think she even needed to be on it - except she still has an issue with maths but does not think it’s bad enough for discalculia . Sadly she had two years out of school because of Covid not allowing children in the classroom and I’ve tried private maths tutoring the school are offering extra help but nothing is working
I’m angry that they assessed my daughter without my consent , and I’m angry at myself for not understanding SEN register properly- do kids need to be on it just for maths? I don’t want to complain too much because I still want her to have the extra help at school.
im also trying to find a secondary school for her, but I’m afraid to tick that she is SEN in case it prejudices our application. ( sorry if am I wrong ) sorry about the essay ! I just want to understand what the SEN process is about and i’m angry at myself. I’m not querying this before because this is my only child and I’m stupid enough to never have questioned it before.

My understanding is that children don’t need to have a diagnosis to be on a SEN register, it is just to identify that they have Special Educational Needs/how best to aid their learning (which it sounds like your DD needs with maths?). Respectfully, all the children in her class will be in the same position reference having 2 years away from the classroom due to covid so whilst it definitely won’t have helped, it’s unlikely to be the reason.

It sounds like the school have been proactive in getting access to assessments, with their failing to inform you & gain consent being a mistake. They may have initially taken your acceptance of the SEN register as implied consent although this isn’t what they should have done. Other than apologising to you I am not sure what additional action you’d want?

I think a lot of parents are fighting to get access to assessments so it’s great you had the access. Wouldn’t you have wanted her to have the assessment if you’d been made aware prior?

In terms of declaring it for senior school, they aren’t legally allowed to discriminate based on ‘SEN’ alone. All children should have access to education. It doesn’t sound like you plan to do an EHCP? To be honest, if she needs help it’s better to declare that earlier to save her arriving at secondary school, potentially struggling and them having to start this process again as though it’s new info.

Id recommend watching educating Yorkshire on channel 4. There’s a new series where a lad has arrived at secondary school quite behind with reading and writing and is really struggling to engage. You can see how it spirals without the right support in place.

The legal definition of SEN is set out in Children and Families Act 2014 and does not require a diagnosis. It sounds like DD does meet the definition of having SEN. And she is receiving SEN support at school. That isn’t something you should be ashamed about.

The school should have sought consent for an ed psych assessment. I would raise that. Some schools ask for consent at the beginning, do you remember if you did - best practice would to still mention it though?

An EP assessment can help to understand DD’s needs and the support she requires. Many people fight tooth and nail to get an EP assessment. There are various reasons for working memory difficulties. Not just ADHD. Although if the EP is suggesting an assessment, I would listen.

State school places are allocated in accordance with the school’s oversubscription criteria. DD having SEN will not prejudice your application. Many independent schools ask parents to disclose SEN. If you do not and they later find out, they may rescind their offer. Plus, I would want an open discussion to find out what support they can/will offer.

Flawless flipper is completely correct. Just to clarify further on your key questions:

• Having extra help at school is all the SEN register is based on, so she should be on it. No diagnosis is required.
• they should have obtained consent before the assessment
• SEN will not affect entry to high school

While they have messed up re. consent, turning down an EP assessment would be like throwing away a winning lottery ticket. Have you been given the assessment report?

Thank you for your replies , this has been helpful . No of course I am happy for the assessment and support she has in place I was just a bit taken aback by it taking place without me knowing. Thanks for the info regarding secondary school this helps , I have learning difficulties so sometimes it’s hard to get my point across x

You've expressed yourself really clearly here.

Perhaps write to say you are concerned that process was not followed correctly on requiring consent for EP observation? They should not have done it. The EP also should have seen written. Consent - locally, ours insist on this.

If you would like any support understanding the report, I am happy to give advice. Otherwise, it might be an idea to reach out to your local SENDIASS group, who are a charity to support parents of children with SEND.

It might help you to ask for a meeting with the SENCO.

@ThesebeautifulthingsthatIvegot winning the lottery would be more likely in some LAs outwith of the EHCNA process, wouldn’t it?

Be careful with SENDIASS. Some are good but too many repeat the LA’s unlawful policies.