The Assessment team are part of the whole SEND services with responsibility for the 20 week Education, Health and Care (EHC) needs assessment timeline.  

We work to process all new referrals liaising with families, schools and setting to ensure all information is collated and produced at the Local Authority SEND inclusion forum. Following on from the forum assessment decision we feedback outcomes to families, schools and setting and if appropriate ensure that the assessment timeline continues liaising with a range of health services and other professionals to enable an assessment to proceed.

As part of a co-production meeting we then work with families to produce a draft EHC, ensuring that the outcomes and provision reflect the child / young persons strengths and areas of needs and that it enables them to make progress within their education. We consult with schools and other educational settings, discussing funding needs and other sources of support that may be required to meet a child’s need. We act as a point of contact for families working through an EHC needs assessment process.

As a team we also take responsibility for the Local Authority’s SEND inclusion forum. The forum is made up from a variety of representatives from SEND service, health, schools and settings and allows transparent decision making to take place around assessment processes, funding and placement of children.