Do statement go with you if you move house?

[Give me a clue]

Hi,

 

After a 2 year battle, we have finally just got a statement for Callum. My husband has recently been made reundant and due to the lack of work within his field near to us, it looks likely that we will have to move house to a new area for him to get a job.

 

Does anyone know if the statement will go with Callum to a new LEA/school or do we have to go through this battle all over again?

 

Thanks

Mich

[annie]

Hi Mich,

 

This is taken from the SEN code of practice.

 

Hope it helps.

 

Annie

xx

 

 

8.16 Keeping, disclosure and transfer of statement

 

A statement should not be disclosed without the consent of the child's parents except for statutory purposes or in the interests of the child. Statutory purposes include disclosure to the SEN Tribunal when parents appeal, and to the Secretary of State if parents make a complaint to him under the 1996 Act; disclosure on the order of any court or for the purpose of any criminal proceedings; disclosure for the purposes of investigations of maladministration under the Local Government Act 1974; disclosure to enable any authority to perform duties resulting from the Disabled Persons (Services, Consultation and Representation) Act 1986, or from the Children Act 1989 relating to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children; and disclosure to OFSTED inspection teams as part of their inspections of schools and LEAs.

 

The interests of the child include the provision of information to the child's school and teachers. It is important that teachers working closely with the child should have full knowledge of the child's statement, as should Connexions Service advisers. LEAs may also give access to the statement to persons engaged in research on special educational needs on the condition that the researchers do not publish anything derived from or contained in the statement which would identify the child or parents concerned. School governing bodies should have access to a child's statement commensurate with their duties towards pupils with special educational needs and should always bear in mind the need to maintain confidentiality about the child in question. Disclosure in the interests of the child also includes disclosure to any agencies other than the LEA who may be referred to in the statement as making educational or non-educational provision.

 

When the responsibility for a child with special needs changes from the LEA maintaining the statement (the old authority) to another LEA (the new authority), the old authority must transfer the statement to the new authority. They may also transfer any opinion they have received under the Disabled Persons (Services, Consultation and Representation) Act 1986 that the child is disabled. Upon the transfer of the statement, the new authority becomes responsible for maintaining the statement, and for providing the special educational provision specified in the statement.

 

The duty to maintain the child at the school specified in Part 4 of the statement therefore also transfers to the new authority. The new authority may place the child temporarily at a school other than that specified in Part 4 where appropriate and sensible to do so - for example, where the distance between the child's new home and the school would be too great - prior to the statement being amended in accordance with the statutory procedures. Otherwise, the new LEA may not decline to pay the fees or otherwise maintain the child at, an independent or non-maintained special school or a boarding school named in a statement, unless and until they have formally amended the statement.

 

The new authority may, on the transfer of the statement, bring forward the arrangements for the review of the statement, and may conduct a new assessment regardless of when the previous assessment took place. The new authority must tell the parents, within six weeks of the date of transfer, when they will review the statement and whether they propose to make an assessment under section 323. The old authority and the child's school should alert parents to the educational implications of their proposed move and both the old authority and the new authority should be ready to discuss those implications with parents. Where a child with a statement moves to Northern Ireland, Wales or Scotland, the LEA should send a copy of the child's statement to the new authority or board.

[Give me a clue]

Hi,

 

Thanks for the info, that has put my mind at rest. I don't think I could go through all that again.

 

Regards

Mich

[Bard]

Schools are supposed to liase with each other over paperwork, but it can be slow.

If you've got copies of his IEP and statement, I'd let the school have copies, and if possible, have a meeting to talk about how to make the transition as easy as possible with his new class teacher and the SENCO.

That way, if paperwork is delayed, it's not so bad.

[mumble_rocks]

Be careful. The old primary school I was at did not except there was a prob but they new there was. Due to this I moved schools but my records got 'Lost in the post" There was only a mile difference between schools! Basically, it meant that there was badly kept records or something simular!

[Bard]

Exactly so Grasshopper.

So beat them at their own game by keeping copies of paperwork, hard copies of emails, a log of daily incidents at school,and my own personal favourite, a copy of the DfES Guidance on Exclusions Part 2 with paragraphs 45 and 46 highlighted.

In a lever arch file.

With dividers.