Hi countydurhamlass
The first thing I would say is that you can apply for a statutory assessment yourself, and I would do. Tonight. The reason I say that is that it puts you in the driving seat.
Basically the process has a strict timeline that must be adhered to (with some caveats).
Day 1: You/school apply for Statutory Assessment. This is a simple case of writing a letter with some details of why you think the school cannot manage your DS's educational needs on their own. Obviously, you can state that your DS is now 1 year behind despite their input. IPSEA has a great template letter you can use.
The LA will send you some forms to fill in, which include asking for your opinion on your DS. The best thing to do is to write your response separately from the form they give you, because the form has really small boxes, which gives the impression that you have to only write a sentence or two. THis isn't so, you can write as much as you need to.
Then there is a 6 week evidence-gathering period, where anyone you have said is involved with your child such as the SENCO, may be asked for an opinion.
Week 6 - The LA must make a decision whether to carry out a statutory assessment or not. If they are going to do so, they will write and tell you, and ask you to complete a further detailed report of your advice to them as the Parent of the child.
If they decide not to, they will write and tell you why. The process stops there, but you can appeal to the SEND Tribunal.
If they decide to assess, then you move on to a 10 week assessment period. Reports will be sought from anyone who currently works with your DS, an Educational Psychologist, a Medical Officer (who may well be your current Paed), the SENCO of the school, etc.
Week 16 - The LA must decide whether to issue a statement.
Week 18 - The LA must either:
a) inform you that they are issuing a statement, and provide you with a proposed statement of special educational needs
or
b) inform you that they are not issuing a statement at this time. They must then send you a 'note in leiu', which details why they aren't issuing a statement, and what the school can do to help your child further. You can appeal to the SEND Tribunal in this case.
If they issue a statement, then there is an 8 week 'negotiation period', where you can ask for ammendments to the proposed statement, ask for discussion with the Named Officer, or agree with the statement contents. You will also be asked what school you would like your child to attend. Generally speaking, the LA has to agree, unless it has very good reasons not to.
Week 26 In any case, you will have to eventually agree to finalise the statement. Once you agree to finalise the statement, if the LA haven't made changes that you feel are vital, you can take the final statement to the SEND tribunal and ask for those changes to be made. Obviously, the LA will represent themselves and argue that the changes should not be made.