C Buckley
Our ref:
FOI593-2011-12
Request-95968-
Date:
11th January 2012
xxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
Dear Ms Buckley,
Freedom of Information Request
Further to your request received on 6th December 2011 (attached) please see
our response to your questions below:
Q1.
Who is the statutory decision-maker?
Please confirm who is responsible for exercising statutory decision
making powers on behalf of your authority under the Education Act.
These powers include, but are not limited to, the responsibility for
agreeing to statutory assessments of SEN and for making decisions
on the issue of, or provision in, a statement.
A1.
The Team Leader for the Assessment and Monitoring Team Chairs the
SEN Referral and Provision Panel where decisions are made in relation
to statutory assessments and provision. The Chair is the local authority
officer responsible for the decisions made in relation to statutory
assessments on behalf of the Local Authority.
Q2a. Is information about the decision-maker shared with parents?
Please confirm whether the identity of the person/persons
responsible for decision-making under the Education Act is
explicitly communicated to the parents, i.e. are parents told that a
specific person or body will be responsible for making decisions on
behalf of the authority?
Q2b. If it is, please confirm how this is done. If it is not done, please
explain why.
A2a & A2b.
Parents are provided with leaflets on the process which explain that the
decision is made at the SEN panel. In addition SEN case officers explain
Central Bedfordshire Council
Please reply to:
Telephone 0300 300 8301
Access to Information Team
Email xxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Office of the Chief Executive
www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk
Central Bedfordshire Council
Priory House, Monks Walk, Chicksands,
Shefford, Bedfordshire SG17 5TQ
the process to parents. The identity of the individual panel members is
not communicated to parents.
Q3a. Does your authority have an SEN Panel
A3a.
Yes
Q3b. If your local authority utilises a SEN Panel system, please confirm
its role and its place within the statutory SEN system. Please
confirm who sits on the Panel and how they are appointed. Please
also confirm whether the role of the SEN is communicated to
parents and, if so, how this is done. If this is not done, please
explain why.
A3b.
The role of the panel is to consider all requests for statutory assessment.
In line with guidance from the DfE, the panel consists of:
Assessment & Monitoring Team Leader (or a representative)
Area SEN and Monitoring Officers
Principal Educational Psychologist (or a representative)
Representatives from Children’s Services, such as support
services or social care
Representatives from Central Bedfordshire Mainstream and
Special Schools (usually the Head Teacher or Senco)
The Assessment & Monitoring Team Leader chairs the meeting and
makes the final decision concerning each case, having considered the
evidence and the advice of the panel. Panel representatives offer
guidance and support to the chair of the panel from their professional
perspective. Schools are invited to send representatives.
The Assessment and Monitoring Team works closely with the Parent
Partnership Service whose documentation and officers are available to
explain the process. Within the Assessment and Monitoring Team, the
SEN Officer post was established specifically to be the named officer for
parents/carers and to assist and support the parents/carers through the
process. When a request for statutory assessment is received, SEN
Officers contact parents/carers and talk through the process for
considering requests.
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Q4a. Is your SEN Panel the statutory decision-maker?
Does your SEN Panel make statutory decisions about the provision
in or the issue of a statement?
A4a.
Please refer to A1.
SEN Panel considers provision and placement requests for Special
Schools and specialist provisions
Q4b. If it does, is any oversight exercised in relation to the panel by
executive officers of the authority or by elected members?
A4b.
The Team Leader collects monthly data from the panel’s decision and it
is scrutinised by senior managers.
Q4c. Please confirm whether parents or parental representatives may
attend meetings which make decisions about their child.
A4c.
No, parents or representatives are not invited to attend SEN Panels
where decisions are made about statutory assessments and provision.
Q4d. If your SEN Panel has a decision-making role, please confirm
whether information about the identity of those making the
decisions is shared with parents.
A4d.
Please refer to A2a and A2b
Q4e. Please confirm whether SEN Panel meetings are minuted.
Q4f.
If they are minuted, is the decision-making process or just the
decision recorded? Is this information available to parents?
If so, how is it made available, e.g. does it have to be requested
under the FOI Act?
A4e & A4f.
SEN panel meetings are not minuted but the decision is recorded at the
time by the panel facilitator and shared with the parents. Detailed letters
are sent to parents if the decision is not a positive one. The SEN Officers
will also communicate on the phone with the parents and a meeting will
be offered with the parents usually at the school
Q4g. If your SEN Panel exercises statutory powers of decision-making
under the Education Act but does not minute its meetings or record
its decision-making or share these decisions with parents, please
explain why.
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A4g.
Not applicable
Q5.
Duty to explain decisions under the Education Act
Irrespective of the identity of the statutory decision-maker, please
confirm how decisions on SEN issues under the Education Act (for
example, about the quality or quantity of provision or undertaking a
statutory assessment) are recorded and whether decision-making is
then shared with parents. This question refers not to the fact of the
decision but the reason for it and relates to the guidance set out in
para 8.32 in respect of decision-making. Para 8:32 of SEN COP,
advises local authorities, in the event of an evidential dispute about
the nature or quantity of provision, to resolve and give reasons for
their conclusions on the choice of opinions or evidence. How does
your authority comply with this statutory guidance? If it does not,
please explain why
A5.
If a Statutory Assessment is agreed, the school, parents/carers and
agencies involved will be advised of this and the Local Authority will seek
formal advice. A named officer from the Assessment and Monitoring
Team will contact parents/carers to explain the process and timescales.
Members of this service also attend Parent Partnership Surgeries to meet
with parents/ carers and help explain Statutory Assessment processes.
If the Local Authority decides a statement is not necessary, it will issue a
Note in Lieu which summarises the advice collated and outlines the
provision that should be made to meet the child’s/young person’s needs
from within the school’s resources.
If a Statutory Assessment is not agreed, feedback explaining the reasons
for the decision will be provided verbally and in writing to the school and
parents/carers. The Senior SEN Officer will offer a meeting to explain
why the request was declined and discuss what further actions may be
taken. Schools and/or support services may be invited to these meetings
with the agreement of parents/carers.
The Local Authority will ensure parents/carers are informed in writing of
their right of appeal to the Tribunal Service, Special Educational Needs
and Disability (SEND) where a request for a Statutory Assessment is not
agreed. Parents/carers have two months from the date of the letter to
appeal to SEND.
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Please treat this as a formal response under the Freedom of Information Act
2000 (please see below for our review procedures if required).
Yours sincerely,
Customer Relations & Information Officer
xxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
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your personal use. This information is the property of Central Bedfordshire Council. Should you
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If you wish to request a review of this response please contact Rob Hutton either by email
xxx.xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx or in writing to:
Corporate Information & Records Adviser
Office of the Chief Executive, Central Bedfordshire Council, Priory House, Monks
Walk, Chicksands, SG17 5TQ
If you are not content with the outcome of the review, you may apply direct to the Information
Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the Information Commissioner cannot make a decision
unless you have first exhausted the Council’s internal review procedure. You should contact him
within two months of the outcome of the internal review at the following address:
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Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF
Tel: 01625 545 700
Further information on the Freedom of Information Act 2000 is available through the Information
Commissioner’s Office website at: www.ico.gov.uk/
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