Special educational needs (SEN) - statement
What is a statement of special educational needs?
The statement is a legally binding document that describes your child’s educational needs and the help they need in order to make progress at school.
The statement is in six parts:
Introduction (part one)
This part gives your name and your child’s name and address together with other personal details.
Special Educational Needs (part two)
This part gives details of all your child’s special educational needs (SEN) that were identified during the assessment.
Special Educational Provision (part three)
This part describes:
- the special help your child should get to meet his/her needs
- the long term educational aims for your child
- the arrangements for setting short-term goals, reviewing your child’s progress towards those goals and how your child’s progress is to be monitored.
Placement (part four)
This part tells you about the school your child will attend and any other arrangements for education other than in school.
Non-Educational Needs (part five)
This part describes any relevant non-educational needs your child has such as medical needs.
Non-Educational Provision (part six)
This part gives details of how your child will get the help outlined in part five.
Parts five and six are not legally binding.
You will be sent copies of all the reports that we obtain as part of the assessment process.
What happens once a statement has been prepared for my child?
A proposed statement, a draft, is sent to you with full details of how you can give your views on the proposed statement before it is finalised. Your views are welcome, and you will also be asked to express a preference for the school you wish to be named on the statement.
All parts of the statement will be filled in, except part four which will be left blank.
Usually the final statement will be issued within eight weeks of the draft statement. This will have part four filled in with the name of a school your child will attend. This will be sent to you, the school and professionals working with your child.
We are happy to arrange meetings to discuss the proposed statement, we will also give you information about who you can contact if you disagree with the contents of your child’s statement, including support from the Parent Partnership Service. There is an appeals procedure available via the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal.
If you would like to arrange a meeting, please contact the SEN Performance Team using the contact details on the left.
What happens if after a statutory assessment a statement is not issued for my child?
We will contact you in writing and send you copies of all the assessment papers and a ‘Note in Lieu of a statement’. This is a document that describes your child’s needs and the reasons for not making a statement. There is support from the Parent Partnership Service and the SEN Performance Team and there is an appeals procedure available via the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal.
For further information about SEN statements please refer to the statements of spectial needs explained that can be found on the Parent Partnership information guides page.
Children, young people and families
Email this pageLast modified by: Lauren Burbidge on 27/09/2010