Statementing

Children with educational needs are often first identified and placed on the School Action or School Action Plus level of the Code of Practice. If these levels of support are insufficient to meet the child’s needs, a Statement of Special Educational Needs may need to be produced. The statementing process is carried out by your local education authority and may take several months, involving assessments by local educational psychologists and speech and language therapists. It should automatically be reviewed annually although a parent or school can ask for a review to be brought forward if there is a marked alteration in circumstances (for example, a regression). The statement will set out your child’s current level of ability and highlight the key areas of difficulty (both in terms of abilities and behaviour), recommending what level of support/input is required to optimise their progress. Each school has a nominated special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO) who should then take responsibility for implementing the recommendations. This should include careful planning and drawing up of an individual education plan (IEP), specifying the ways in which your child’s learning will be supported and teaching methods adapted to facilitate them.

NOTE: The way in which provision is delivered will be rather different if your child is being educated within the private system.

A very informative factsheet on Special Educational Needs - England has been produced by the charity 'Contact a Family'. Click on the following link to download the factsheet: http://www.cafamily.org.uk/educatio.html.