Is a statement reviewed regularly?

The information below has been taken from the leaflet produced by the Parent Partnership.

More help and advice regarding annual reviews can be found at the Parent Partnership. The Partnership can be E-mailed at parent.partnership@rbwm.gov.uk . Alternatively, you can telephone: 01628 683182.

Checklist of the Annual Review

Information for parents or carers of children with Statements of Special Educational Needs

This information explains what will happen before, during and after an Annual Review meeting so that you can help the school meet the needs of your child.

Why an Annual Review?

• To check your child has made progress and that any support has been successful in meeting their needs over the last year - or over the last six months if your child is under five years of age.
• To see if there has been any change in your child's circumstances.
• To think about and plan for the next year - or next six months if your child in under five years of age.
• To set new aims and targets.
• To see if the statement is still appropriate for your child's needs.

When?

• A year after your child's statement was made or a year since the last annual review - or six months if your child is under five years of age.
• Annual reviews can be held earlier if there are important new issues to discuss.
• If your child is due to move to a new school in the next year, then the review is usually held in the autumn term before the move.
• Changes of school should be discussed at the review held during the penultimate year of your child's present placement.

Where?

• The meeting will usually be held at school during the school day so that more of the professionals who need to be there can come.
• The meeting will usually take about an hour.

This is an important meeting. Your attendance will contribute greatly to the proceedings.

Who will be there?

The headteacher of your child's school will invite all the people involved in your child's education to come to the meeting. If they are not all able to attend they will be asked to send in written reports.

The headteacher will invite to the meeting:

• You, the parent or carer
• A relevant teacher
• An LEA representative, this may be your child's educational psychologist
• Any person the LEA considers appropriate
• Any person the headteacher considers appropriate

There are other people who could be invited by you or the school such as:

• Your child if he or she wishes to attend. If your child does not wish to attend, their views should be recorded and submitted with other reports
• Health professionals involved with your child such as physiotherapists, occupational therapists or speech therapists
• A supporter or friend. A supporter can help you to prepare for the meeting by making a list of points you want to raise.They can help remind you of these during a meeting and can take notes of what is agreed during the meeting.

Year 9 Reviews

The Year 9 review is sometimes called the transition review and will involve more people including:

• social services
• Connexions

A transition plan will be written which brings together information from everyone so that plans can be made for your child to move into adult life. This plan will be considered and adjusted at each annual review from then on. The Connexions advisor (PA) should attend each subsequent review.

Before the Review Meeting

About a month before the review the headteacher will invite you to the review meeting and must request written advice from:

• You, the parent or carer
• Anyone specified by the LEA
• Anyone else the headteacher considered appropriate

You will be asked for your opinion about your child's progress. It can be helpful to write down your concerns on the form provided rather than just raise them at the meeting. You can contact Parent Partnership or the school if you need help to complete the form. You may wish to include any reports you have from private tutors or therapists.

Two weeks before the meeting the headteacher must send out copies of all the reports and/or advice about your child's progress. You may contact the school if you have not received the reports before the meeting. Make notes on anything you are unsure of in these reports so that you can raise your concerns about them at the meeting.

At the meeting

The meeting will be chaired by the headteacher or a representative from the school.

You will be asked for your views. Using the list you have made, be confident about sharing your ideas.

The professionals for the school: teachers, nursery staff or SENCO, will talk about the past year, the successes or difficulties and the way forward.

Professionals from outside the school will be invited to contribute. This could be an educational psychologist or someone from another service such as a speech therapist.

It is unlikely that all outside professionals will be able to attend all reviews.

You are allowed to ask questions at the review. If you don't understand something that has been said, do not be afraid to ask for a more clearer explanation.

The discussions that take place during a review will lead to new plans or strategies for the future.

What next?

After the meeting the Headteacher must prepare a report and submit it to the LEA no later than 10 days after the meeting or before the end of term, whichever is the earlier.

The report will contain a summary of the outcome of the review including recommendations for targets for the coming year and whether any amendments to the statement are necessary. A copy of the report should be sent to all those involved in the review including parents and any relevant professions.

The LEA will consider the report and decide whether to make amendments to the statement. Once this decision is make the LEA will send a copy of its decision to the headteacher, the parents and anyone else they consider appropriate.

Normally the annual review report will be considered alongside your child's statement as a record of progress but where the decision is to amend the statement, the process of amendment should start without delay.

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