Frequently Asked Questions

What is a SENDIASS and what does it do?

SENDIASS stands for Special Education and Disability Information, Advice and Support Service.

Each council has its own SENDIASS and we call ours Information, Advice and Support Kent or IASK. Our service operates at arm’s length from the Local Authority which means we have: a steering management group who oversee how we work; a separate budget; and we work out of a building separate to the local authority special educational needs teams. IASK offers free, impartial and confidential advice to parents, carers and young people, and we can also support SEN Practitioners. For further information, please view our 'About Us' page on this website under the 'About' tab.

Is the service confidential?

We offer an impartial and confidential service. This means we do not share information about you and do not speak to schools or the local authority without your consent, unless we feel that you or someone else is in danger. We may alert the appropriate service in order to keep people safe.

For further information please see our confidentiality, impartiality and privacy policies under the 'About' tab on this website.

What is a Special Educational Need?

The Children and Families Act (2014) paragraph 20 states that:

“A child or young person has special educational needs if he or she has a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her.

A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if he or she:

Has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age or
Has a disability which prevents or hinders him or her from making use of the facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 institutions

A child under compulsory school age has a learning difficulty or disability if he or she is likely to be within subsection (2) when of compulsory school age (or would be likely, if no special educational provision were made).

A child or young person does not have a learning difficulty or disability solely because the language (or form of language) in which he or she is or will be taught is different from a language (or form of language) which is or has been spoken at home”.

What happens when my child is identified as having special educational needs?

When your child is identified as having a special educational need, the setting, school or post 16 provider should give extra help in the classroom and make any reasonable adjustments necessary to meet your child's needs. The setting or school should use a graduated approach based on a four part cycle of Assess, Plan, Do and Review, this will help the school to put in the right support and review progress.

If your child is not making expected progress, the school can seek advice and support from outside professionals through the Local Inclusion Forum Team (known as LIFT).

Keeping in touch with the Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO), will help you understand what support is being given to your child.

See our leaflet about SEN Support

I have concerns about a child / my child’s progress – what do I do?

If your child is at school then you should speak to a member of staff, for example the class teacher or Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO). If your child is not of school age, then it’s a good idea to speak with your GP and/or Health Visitor so they can advise you of the next steps to take.

What is an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Needs Assessment ?

An Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment - sometimes called a statutory assessment, is when the local authority gathers information and advice from: you, your child's setting, school or post 16 provider; education psychologist; health practitioners; social services; and anyone else involved with your child. The purpose is to find out what extra support your child needs and whether they need an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan. An EHC needs assessment may be needed if the setting, school or post 16 provider cannot give all the help your child needs from within the resources available to them.

You can speak to your child's setting, school or post 16 provider about whether a statutory assessment would be helpful. The setting, school or post 16 provider can ask the Local Authority to carry out an EHC needs assessment, but you (and your child if they age 16 and over compulsory school age) can make the request. The Local Authority has six weeks to decide whether to carry out an assessment. The Local Authority will consider very carefully the child’s progress, the support already in place and how that is helping.

You and your child will be asked for your views and wishes, so that everyone involved knows what you really need and want from the support available to you. There are lots of different questions and you should make sure you fill in the form for the right age group. Always try to answer the questions as best you can because the information you provide will help others to understand the help you might need.

How long does it take to make a decision?

There is a statutory time period for completing an Education, Health and Care needs assessment and producing an Education Health Care (EHC) plan (if appropriate). A decision about whether to issue an EHC plan or not, must be made within 16 weeks of the date that the Local Authority received the request for an assessment. If a plan is going to be issued, this should be finalised within the 20 week time frame.

See our leaflet about Needs Assessments

How to contact the Local Authority about your assessment or your caseworker if you or your child have an EHC plan:

Please telephone the SEND Enquiry Hub:

03000 41 99 94 (Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm)

or email using the following link:

Contact SEND - Kent County Council

What can I do if I disagree with a decision?

You will be informed in writing of the Local Authority decision and when you have the right to appeal. As a first step you should contact your SEN Team to discuss the way forward. You can contact IASK at any time to ask for support if you are not happy with the decisions made.

What is an Education, Health and Care plan (EHC plan)?

An Education, Health and Care Plan is a legal document that outlines all the child’s special educational needs and the objectives and provision to meet those needs. Schools and other providers will have a copy of the EHCP and will use it to inform their provision for your child/young person.

See our leaflet about EHC Plans

Can changes be made to an EHC plan once it is in place?

The EHC plan must be reviewed yearly. The statutory Annual Review is a formal meeting to discuss the provision and outcomes laid out in the EHC plan and how effective this has been.

What happens at an Annual Review?

This is a formal meeting so there should be at least you and a member of staff from the setting, school or post 16 provider. The education provider may invite other practitioners who are working with your child and you can also make a request for someone you would like to be invited. You should be told who is going to attend and you can take someone with you to support you. If you are worried about going or not happy with the way things are working then you can contact IASK for advice and ask if someone from the service can attend (this may be possible with advanced notice and is dependent on availability).

Before the Annual Review meeting you will be asked for your views. All information, including any updated reports must be circulated 2 weeks before the Annual Review meeting, your child's views should also be provided.

Within 2 weeks of the meeting, paperwork recording the outcome of the Annual Review, must be sent to the Local Authority SEN team. The Local Authority have a further 2 weeks (4 weeks from the meeting) to decide if they will amend the EHC plan, leave it as it is or cease to maintain it.

See our leaflet about Annual Reviews