Q:
Should parents get ALL reports before an annual review meeting? (We have been told about parents attending annual reviews and only seeing reports for ...
Should parents get ALL reports before an annual review meeting? (We have been told about parents attending annual reviews and only seeing reports for the first time, during the meeting.)
SEND Kids
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01 Sep 2022
A: SenseCheck
- 2 Yes
- 0 No
- 0 Other
- 02 Sep 2022
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Yes
Simple
Yes - unquestionably. The legal basis for this is: Reg 20(4) The Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014/1530/regulation/20/made
(4) The person arranging the review meeting must obtain advice and information about the child or young person from the persons referred to in paragraph (2) and must circulate it to those persons at least two weeks in advance of the review meeting.
Reg 21 address the situation when a child or young person is not in school, but the above two week timescale also applies.
The above is (clearly) a statutory requirement and it has not unknown for parents to ask for review meetings to be rescheduled if the two week deadline has not been complied with.
Sean Kennedy
Talem Law - 01 Sep 2022
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Yes
Simple
Yes they should.
Paragraph 9.176 of the SEND Code of Practice says so: "The school (or, for children and young people attending another institution, the LA) must seek advice and information about the child or young person prior to the meeting from all parties invited, and send any advice and information gathered to all those invited at least two weeks before the meeting."
This doesn't always happen. There can be legitimate reasons. For example, if it's an emergency Annual Review, an Educational Psychologist might have only had a weeks' notice. With their diaries already filled with work at other schools, there might not have been time to get it written until the morning of the meeting. This can also be the case for Advisory Teachers, Social Workers etc.
Or, if the child has only recently been referred to an agency, it could be that the professional hadn't even met the child before the week of the review. In such a case, it's better that they meet the child before writing about them.
If the reason feels like it's not legit, it's fine to politely ask that you have the reports two weeks before any future annual review. It's in the Code of Practice after all.
Aaron King
9000 Lives SEND Consultancy
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