1. Applying for Statutory Assessment
PART 1 – Gathering your thoughts

2. Introduction
The first step is to think about why your child needs a statutory assessment.  It might be obvious to you, but to the people who make the decisions, your child is the sum of what is on the piece of paper in front of them.
This module will help you to think about your child and gather your thoughts. It introduces some of the abbreviations used and explains what is not SEN.
For the activity in this module you will need large sheets of paper and pens.
A quick quiz (for fun…we’re not testing you) is available.

3. Abbreviations Education loves it’s abbreviations… SEN
Special Educational Needs
SENCO
Special Educational Needs Coordinator
SEND
Special Educational Needs and Disabilities
SENDCO
Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Coordinator
ALN
Additional Learning Needs
INCO
Inclusion Coordinator
EHC
Education, Health and Care
EHCA
Education, Health and Care Assessment
EHCP
Education, Health and Care Plan
CAFA
Children and Families Act 2014 LA
Local Authority
CoP
Code of Practice
CCG
Clinical Commissioning Group EP
Educational Psychologist
CYP
Child or Young Person TA
Teaching Assistant

4. What is an EHC Assessment?
The majority of children and young people with Special Educational Needs or disabilities will have their needs met in mainstream settings.
An EHC Assessment will establish whether additional support is required to meet the needs of the child or young person.
Not all EHC Assessments will lead to a full EHC Plan (EHCP).
Many needs can be met without a plan.
Many more will be met without the need for an assessment. Schools are set up to deliver high quality teaching to students and deliver intervention and support without the need for any formal assessment.

5. The needs of the CYP are met in school
School and parents work together. School uses resources to make appropriate assessments and deliver programs suited to needs.
The needs of the CYP are not met, understood or need further information
Application for an EHC Assessment is made by the parent, school, CYP or a relevant professional
The needs of the CYP require special educational provision (Mainstream or special)
An EHC Plan may be needed if the provisions are additional to, or different from, the ones which school might normally provide for students with SEN

6. My Child
You may feel that your child is not getting enough support at school, or that their needs are not completely understood by you or their school.
Speak to the school first. Speak with the class teacher and/or the SENCO.
Ask what support your child needs and whether they are on track or need more help than other CYP to achieve the same goals.
These might be:
cognitive (academic skills in reading, writing, maths etc)
social , emotional and behavioural (friends, interaction with others, moods)
personal (toileting, feeding, movement, hygiene)

7. The SEN Register
The SEND CoP (Code of Practice) requires that school’s deliver high quality teaching designed to meet the needs of the CYP in their classes. Sometimes, CYP need more than this.
If a child accesses a short boost of literacy input it does not mean they have a Special Educational Need.
Some children (especially Summer born babies) may be slightly behind their peers…but they will eventually catch up. They are not SEN.
There is a normal range of ability for everything we do. For example…in a class of 10 year olds it is perfectly ‘normal’ to have children with a reading age of 8 all the way up to 12. When children fall out of the normal variation they are considered to have a Special Educational Need.
If the school does not have your child on their SEN register then you are not likely to be successful with an application for an EHCA (and even if you are successful with an EHCA, it will not result in a plan – EHCP – as the school will not have evidence of provisions in place.)

8. Not SEN English as an Additional Language
Has a short term need for support (e.g catch-up group, broken arm)
English as an Additional Language
Only slightly behind their peers (in normal range)
Needs nothing different from, or additional to, their peers in the classroom/school
Has a common medical need (asthma, diabetes, eczema etc.)
Wears glasses, braces, grommets or has one foot bigger than the other

9. My Child ACTIVITY 1 Find a large sheet of paper and some pens.
Draw your child, a stick figure or stick a photo in the middle of the page.
Around the edge write down all their positive qualities. What is great about your child?
KEEP THIS…If you go down the SEN road you will find yourself constantly focussing on the negative aspects. This is to remind you of everything that is wonderful about your child.
ACTIVITY 2
Repeat activity 1. This time write all the things that concern you. What is their SEN?
Use information from family, friends and others to add to the picture.

10. Who will give a bigger picture?
School
SENCO, Class teacher, TA, Nursery
School reports
Professionals
GP, Paediatrician, Specialist Nurse, Health Visitor
Speech and Language Therapist, Occupational Therapist
Social Worker, Educational Psychologist, Outreach Teams
Family & Friends
Close family, wider family
Friends and neighbours

11. Review your information
Looking back at your two pictures you are faced with a decision. Does you child need an assessment of their Special Educational Needs.
There are many reasons for an assessment (other than getting an EHCP)
You might not fully understand what your CYP can do or is capable of
The school might not have enough information to plan intervention or support
Your CYP may need more support than is (or can) currently be provided
You know our child’s needs will increase and want to look at future options
It is worth bearing in mind that not every EHCA will lead to an EHCP. The information gathered during the assessment may indicate ways in which your CYP’s needs can be met without the need for a plan.

12. Summary We have introduced some of the common abbreviations used
You should now know what an EHC Assessment is (although you do not have information on what happens yet.)
You should have a clear understanding of what is NOT a SEN.
You will have developed a positive picture of your child and started to gather information from a variety of sources about their needs
The next module (Pt 2) looks at SEN Law around EHC Assessments.