Birmingham SENDIASS

Step 1:

The Local Authority receives the EHC Needs Assessment Request (in writing / email) from you, young person, their education setting, or they are notified by a health professional.

The Local Authority sends a letter to you or your young person to confirm they have received the EHC Needs Assessment Request and must provide the following information:

• They have six weeks from receiving the EHC Needs Assessment request, to decide whether to agree to start the assessment or not.
• Who they are going to write to for information on your child or young person.
• Where you can get Information, Advice & Support from (this is provided by us – Birmingham SENDIASS)

Step 2:

To help the LA decide, whether to agree to an assessment or not, they must consider the two main points in law. This is set out in, Section 36(8) of the Children and Families Act 2014:

• Whether your child or young person has or may have special educational needs (SEN); and
• Whether they may need special educational provision to be made through an EHC Plan

If the answer to both questions is yes, they must carry out an EHC Needs Assessment.

This means these are the only questions the Local Authority should be asking when considering whether to carry out an EHC Needs Assessment.

To help them make the decision, the Local Authority will consider all the information sent to them with the EHC Needs Assessment Request and other information they have requested from professionals and you and/or young person when they received the EHC Needs Assessment Request, for example,

• Your child’s or young person’s academic achievement and progress at their education setting, or if they are under five how they are meeting their development milestones. This should include their rate of progress too.
• Information about your child’s or young person’s type and level of SEN.
• Evidence of any support that their education setting has put in to meet their SEN.
• Evidence of any progress your child or young person has made with the extra or different type of help given to them by their education setting, which is over and above than what they would normally provide.
• Evidence of your child’s or young person’s physical, emotional, social development and health needs, by looking at relevant evidence from clinicians and other health professionals and what has been done to meet these by other agencies, and,
• Where your young person is aged over 18, the Local Authority must consider whether they require additional time, in comparison to the majority of others of the same age who do not have SEN, to complete their education or training.

Step 3:

The LA will inform you in writing within six weeks of receiving the EHC Needs Assessment Request from you, your young person or the education setting.

That either,

• They agree to start an EHC Needs Assessment and list all the professionals / services they will asking for advice and information from, including your child’s, or young person’s and your views.
• They are not agreeing to the EHC Needs Assessment, their reasons why and that you have a right to appeal this decision to the Special Education Needs and Disability Tribunal (SENDIST). You have two months to appeal from the date you receive the letter informing you of the decision.

The Local Authority will also inform you in this letter about where you can get Information, Advice and Support (which is provided by us – Birmingham SENDIASS)