Can someone please help re SA

[Skylar123]

Hello again,

My Ds is going through Statutory Assessment.

LA EP is using old indi EP report to base her assessment on dated last year. Deadline for decision is approx 6th June.

I have arranged for a great indi EP to assess Ds this will happen next week.

I originally booked this EP in anticipation that Ds would have been refused SA. However this was not the case.

I haven't told LA that I have indi EP booked coz I'm worried they would get Ds assessed by them meaning I couldn't then get my EP in.

My indi EP wants to come to school and see senco, etc. How do I play this with school and LA?

Do I leave it until the morning the indi EP is due before I let school know, this risks the chance of him not being able to talk to senco. He is travelling from a distance.

Do I need to tell the LA? They haven't asked me if I plan to get Ds assessed.

Tbh I want the assessment so I can get a fair judgement on where my Ds is now but obvs it would possibly help me with appealing the Nil or draft statement if need be.

Please can you knowledgable people explain it to me.

You don't need to tell the LA, but you do need to ask permission in writing of the school asap.

Just say it as a fact.

I have booked an Indie EP for this day. He would like to come into school. I hope this is okay. He is CRB checked but if you would like to talk to him here are his contact details. Best wishes......

If you leave it until the last minute the school will be able to say not convenient.

Agreeing not to leave it to the last minute. It's courteous, if nothing else, to give a little notice. If it was my boys' primary, they would need notice to check that one of the small rooms that they use for meetings and therapy is free, at the very least.

Ok thanks star. What if they tell the LA as they will, what if the LA then whip in an assessment before the indi EP comes in, am I being over cautious ? I know I should be informed beforehand if the LA plan to assess but what if they don't tell me and the indi assessment becomes null and void from a tribunal/statement point of view

Thanks ouryve too. I know it's basic manners to tell them but I don't trust them one bit. I will tell them tomorrow.

To be fair when this happened to me the indi lady merely used the LA standardised cognitive assessment to make her own points - deadly weapon that proved to be at Tribunal!

If the deadline for decision is early June the deadline for collecting evidence will have already passed. But they could submit a late report/delay finalising. It is very unlikely that anyone could get in before your EP. The LA may be planning to submit an LA EP report to be the most current at appeal. In any case the LA EP will assess at some point.

You can't really stop the LA EP going in, but it is unlikely the will do.

There are enough EP assessments to ensure he is fully assessed regardless of what the LA EP does.

Independent (if relevant) will explain why their assessment was the more appropriate.

Ok thanks all.
Deadline for info to be in at LA is 23 rd may then 2 weeks from that is 6th June. I will let the school know tomorrow