Statutory Assessment

[Mumtoprem]

The Sen panel were due to meet on Tuesday to discuss my daughters statutory assessment. just been told that has been cancelled as they haven't received medical advice. I am absolutely livid but what can I do?

Thanks
Michelle

Have they given you a new date?

What stage are you at? The timescales are:

Stage 1 - they have 6 weeks from receipt of your first request for SA to tell you whether they will be going ahead with it.

Stage 2 - If they decide to go ahead with SA, they have 12 weeks to complete all the assessments, and decide whether to issue a statement or not.

Stage 3 - If they do decide to issue a statement, they have 8 weeks to issue the Final statement (this includes issuing the proposed statement to you, and gives you 15 days to get your comments back).

Sounds like you're at stage 2.

Write to head of SEN dept and remind them of their duty to keep within the timescales. The whole process must take no more than 26 weeks in total.

Not sure what else you can really do at this stage except make a note of the delay, it might be useful to include in future (eg if you go to tribunal, complain to LGO, or Judicial Review etc).

Sadly this probably won't be the first delay and display of incompetence you're likely to encounter

Ring them up and ask tem what they are doing to pursue medical advice?
Ring your Paed or GP and ask for medical advice to be written and couriered over asap.

The original request was submitted on 14 February but they didn't log it till 21 February. The first SEN panel met on 08 March and the result was to carry out Statutory Assessment conveyed by letter on 21 March. They say they will let me know by 30 May whether a statement has been agreed. New date for SEN panel is 15 May but I now have no confidence as how do I know the medical report will even be done by then?

Stage 2 - If they decide to go ahead with SA, they have 10 weeks to complete all the assessments, and decide whether to issue a statement or not.

stage 2a they have 2* weeks to issue a proposed statement
Stage 3 - If they do decide to issue a statement, they have 8 weeks to issue the Final statement and gives you 15 days to get your comments back).

Sorry, am v pedantic. Sure my editing is correct.

Is that 10 weeks from the SEN panel or from the date of the letter they send you?

10 weeks from the decision iirc

also clarify what the missing medical evidence is. as a parent you will have been copied in to the reports - can you provide the latest clinic letters or is it further clarification they have requested?

Yes sorry what I said was a bit misleading - they have 10 weeks to complete all the assessments, then 2 weeks to decide whether to issue a statement, and if they do decide to, to issue a proposed statement. So in effect, if they are going to issue a statement, this whole stage takes 12 weeks.

Going by your dates, they are actually well within the time frame - from receipt of your request on 21 Feb to 30 May is 14 weeks.

But I know it's frustrating anyhow.

You can contact whoever is writing the medical report (GP?) and ask them to confirm they have provided it.

Well spoke to the person in charge of health today and they say they only received the request on Friday. The SEN team have pretty much admitted there has been an administrative mistake. In order to meet statutory deadlines they need to discuss our child at the SEN panel next week (15th). Health haven't committed to when they will be able to write the report and will call us back in a week's time. It looks likely the report will not be written in time and the statutory deadline will be missed.

Do I just have to sit and wait? So stressed about this as its for our daughter who is due to start Primary School in September. As things stand don't know what school she is going to and as we both work really need to arrange childcare.

Any advice on what to do now?

It won't be sorted by September no matter what. Sorry.

Have you applied to a school?

Who in health is supposed to be writing a report. Have you met with them?

We applied for school in the usual admissions round and got our second choice school so as things stand have a place there. However, I am told that we could still be turned down for this school if they say they can't meet her needs if a statement is issued.
Her developmental paedatrician is supposed to be writing the report but she says she needs up to date reports from SALT and OT before she will do anything.OT haven't seen her for a while and we have an appointment next week.