Advice on the assessment process
Decisions to place a child at Woodcroft are made as part of a statutory assessment process in partnership with the child's local authority. It is the local authority who take responsibility for arranging the placement and paying for the assessment and school fees. There is a wide range of advice, help and information for parents, and we have tried to summarise this below. This information is regularly updated.
We believe that addressing a child's needs in good time can have a significant positive impact on later schooling. A working knowledge of the process of assessing and providing for those needs will help you to get the best for your child when he or she needs it - whether in your local mainstream school, or in more specialised provision like Woodcroft.
Pupils attending Woodcroft School will either have a statement of special educational needs (see below) or be going through a statutory assessment process prior to a statement being issued if appropriate.
If you feel your child's needs cannot be provided for in their current school or early education setting, a statutory assessment may be necessary. This is a detailed investigation carried out by the local authority to determine exactly what your child's needs are and what special help they need. This may result in a statement of special educational needs - usually called a 'statement'. This describes all the child's needs and all the special help that he or she requires to meet those needs. The final statement when issued will also name the school considered to best meet those needs.
In the first instance you would need to approach your child's current school or early education setting in order to request an assessment. They may agree that it would be appropriate for them to ask the local authority to do this. If not, you may approach the local authority directly and request an assessment. If the assessment goes ahead, your views will be sought along with those of all the professionals involved with your child.
If you have already considered the range of provision available, you can express this preference of a specific school as part of your contribution. If the local authority decides to issue a proposed statement following the assessment process, they should send you details of state mainstream and special schools in your area as well as a list of all non-maintained special schools and government approved independent special schools. You will have another opportunity at this stage to express your preference.
The authority must consider your wishes carefully before making a final decision. You have the right to appeal against the decision through the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (SENDIST).