SEN Panels
Dear Sir/Madam,
Decision-making under the Education Act
I write with the following requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act. The questions relate to your statutory powers of decision-making under the Education Act 1996.
1. 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.
2. Is information about the decision-maker shared with parents?
i. 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?
ii. If it is, please confirm how this is done.
iii. If it is not done, please explain why.
3. Do you have a SEN Panel?
i. If your local authority utilises a SEN Panel system, please confirm its role and its place within the statutory SEN system.
ii. Please confirm who sits on the Panel and how they are appointed.
iii. Please also confirm whether the role of the SEN is communicated to parents and, if so, how this is done.
iv. If this is not done, please explain why.
4. Is your SEN Panel the statutory decision-maker?
i. Does your SEN Panel make statutory decisions about the provision in or the issue of a statement?
ii. If it does, is any oversight exercised in relation to the panel by executive officers of the authority or by elected members?
iii. Please confirm whether parents or parental representatives may attend meetings which make decisions about their child.
iv. 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.
v. Please confirm whether SEN Panel meetings are minuted. 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?
vi. 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.
7. Duty to explain decisions under the Education Act
i. 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.
ii. 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.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours faithfully,
Alison Hood
Alison,
Thank you for your request for information regarding the Statutory
Decision Maker in Education (reference number 18947). Your request was
received on January 4, 2012 and I am dealing with your request for
information under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000
and/or the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.
In some circumstances a fee may be payable and if that is the case, I
will let you know. A fees notice will be issued to you, and you will be
required to pay before we will proceed to deal with your request.
If you have any queries about this request, please contact Jonathan
Pickup on telephone number 01254 585582 or Heather Wolstenholme on 01254
585651. Alternatively, our email address is
[Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council request email].
Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future
communications.
Kind regards,
Heather Wolstenholme
Freedom of Information Officer
Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council
Information Technology Management and Governance
Tel: 01254 585651
Fax: 01254 585286
Post: Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, IT Dept, G Floor, Tower
Block, Town Hall, Blackburn, Lancs. BB1 7DY.
Website: www.blackburn.gov.uk
Email: [email address]
Dear Alison,
Thank you for your request for information regarding the Statutory
Decision Maker in Education (reference number 18947); please find our
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Regards,
[Name of Council employee removed]
Information Governance Officer
Information Technology, Management and Governance
G Floor, Tower Block
Blackburn Town Hall
Blackburn
BB1 7DY
Tel: 01254 58 5852
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