Assessments of Special Educational Needs
Expressing a Preference
You have a right to express a preference for the State maintained school that you want your child to go to. This may be the school that your child is already attending. You may also make any representations in respect of seeking a place at an Independent school although the Authority is not obliged to fund a place in an Independent school.
The Local Authority will agree to your preference providing:
- the school you choose is suitable for your child’s age, ability and special educational needs;
- your child’s attendance there will not affect the efficient education of other children already at the school;
- placing your child in the school will be an efficient use of the Local Authority's resources.
Deciding which school you want your child to attend is a very important matter.
You may wish to visit a school or you may be advised to visit a school. You should, whenever possible, do this by making arrangements with the school.
If you are concerned about this contact Pupil Services or Oldham Parent Partnership Service for advice or information. A visit to a school could assist you in making your decision. Overall you have 15 days in which to carry out any visits and to make your preference known before the final Statement is issued.
Usually the Local Authority will send you the Final Statement within 8 weeks of issuing the Proposed Statement. You will be informed of your rights to appeal against the Local Authority's decision to the Special Educational Needs Tribunal if you do not agree with the Final Statement issued by the Authority.
The appeals procedure is there to ensure that your rights as a parent are upheld but there may be other ways of resolving disagreements with either the school or the Local Authority. Oldham Parent Partnership Service is there to help and provide you with sources of Independent Support and may be able to help to bring about a resolution of a difficulty without having to consider the formal procedures of an appeal, (see ‘Disagreement Resolution’).
An Assessment should normally take no longer than 6 months (28 weeks).
There are however exceptions to this time limit, e.g. receipt of late advice, assessments interrupted by school holidays.
If you have any concerns or have any questions to ask, Oldham Parent Partnership is there to help you.
Please call if you have any concerns , or if you wish to talk about anything that you have read on these pages.
You can either call the help-line on 0161 2878 555 or you can email us at parent.partnership@oldham.gov.uk., or fax us on 0161 770 3136.