Has anybody experienced this (statutory assessment)?

[JJXM]

Our son has ASD and starts school next September. We had made a request for SA which was turned down. When I inquired as to the reasons - we were told that the panel want us to re-submit in the new year as they want to see how DS responds to nursery.

Has anyone been asked to do this?

I've spoken to the LA and they say the reason for delay is they have no evidence of DS in his pre-school setting - because the nursery did not send back the paperwork. Nursery say no letter was sent. Somebody is lying.

Even more reason to appeal then.

Also, being pedantic, if they are inviting you to reapply then they must at least suspect he has SENs and if so they should assess.

They have said he needs a statement as his needs are so complex. But they won't request SA because they have no evidence of how he copes in an education setting.

This is from the Government's own website (bold is my addition) "A statutory assessment is only necessary if the school or early education setting cannot provide all the help that your child needs."

The test is if the child probably has Special Educational Needs. The test isn't that they need evidence first.

Ignore their quoting of the SEN Code of Practice. In one of my appeals, the LA's lawyer reeled off a whole barrage of them conforming to clauses in the SEN Code, but conveniently left out all the clauses that they had actually directly and illegally ignored.

Appeal their refusal to assess. You will have long enough during the appeal timelines to collect your own evidence.

Yes it is common.

Their reasons for delay are not legal reasons.

There is plenty of time before the end of the assessment to gather any additional evidence. Many many children get statements before starting school. Mine did without half the list of professionals involved your did.

The 'educational setting' is anywhere your child receives the majority of the birth-five education, even if that is your home.

They have already said he will need a statement. If you get that in writing you have already won any appeal.

We had someone from the council come and do an assessment at home - two years behind on everything. They have decided to disregard this evidence as only evidence from nursery will do.

DS is severely affected and he can't get a SA - this makes me dread how it is going to affect other children who still need a statement but are not as severely affected. I'm not going to give up - not just for DS but for every child.

To those who have gone to tribunal - how much did you write under the grounds for appeal under section 6 of the SENDIST form?

If you can get that in writing (evidence that THEY believe a statement is needed) then that really should be all you need for a successful appeal.

You might want to list the reports you have including the one you mention is key, but I think it is highly unlikely they won't back down pretty quickly. I cannot imagine for a minute your case actually going to tribunal.

Use the code of practice and write key phrases under the relevant sections.

Words like 'complex needs' and a requirement for an 'adequate' and 'appropriate' education are excellent words to litter it throughout, but honestly, I think your case is so strong that you don't need to go to town.

I was just browsing IPSEA's website, and found this useful PDF about pre-school assessments. It's a PDF so will download if you click the link below

The Local Authority say they won't assess our child until he starts school

Thanks TOWIELA - that is one of the core components of our argument.

And thanks to everyone else too - appeal went in the post today

We received a letter from the head of children's services and it states this:

I confirm that we are aware of DS's diagnosis and acknowledge that DS will require additional support in his educational setting.

They then go on to say they want to wait til he is older. I thought that they have to assess if they think he will probably need a statement?

Bump?

It's just LAs' standard way of illegally weeding out requests for SA. Include the LAs letter with your appeal.

We've just had our FOI request back about statutory assessment in our are. It seems that only 1 out of every 4 parental requests for statutory assessment are granted compared to over 80% for school requests. It seems my LEA are routinely turning down requests from parents.

This is the response I got from my LA for DS6

“It was felt that the school, with advice from support services, needs a sustained period of time where interventions can be continued, assessed and evaluated. Consequently, members of the Panel noted that the expected graduated process leading to the collection of appropriate evidence was not yet complete.