"The special educational needs of the great majority of children should be met effectively within mainstream settings through Early Years Action and Early Years Action Plus or School Action and School Action Plus, without the LEA needing to make a statutory assessment. In a very small number of cases the LEA will need to make a statutory assessment of special educational needs and then consider whether or not to issue a statement."
"In deciding whether to make a statutory assessment, the critical question is whether there is convincing evidence that, despite the school, with the help of external specialists, taking relevant and purposeful action to meet the child's learning difficulties, those difficulties remain or have not been remedied sufficiently and may require the LEA to determine the child's special educational provision."
This guidance focuses on the evidence that the Local Education Authority (LEA) will need to consider from schools, settings and parents. It gives an indication of the key questions which the LEA will need to ask when deciding whether to initiate a statutory assessment.
This guidance does not set out hard and fast rules. The decisions made will consider all the circumstances of each individual case and will be made in the closest consultation with parents, schools, settings and other agencies.
The SEN Toolkit includes sections relevant to this area, in particular:
The full Thurrock Council Guidance on Criteria for a Statutory Assessment is available below (please see how to access PDFs):
01375 652652
01375 652359
