The purpose of the SEND Panel is to ensure consistent and appropriate decisions are made and the needs of children and young people is identified in a timely manner, in accordance with the 20 week statutory guidelines. These decisions are regulated by:
- The Children and Families Act 2014
- Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) and
- The SEND Code of Practice 2015.
The Children and Families Act 2014 introduced requirements for education services, health services and social care services to work more closely together. As a result an EHCP was produced and is used when assessing the special education needs of children and young people. An EHCP is a legal document which has statutory powers similar to a statement of special educational needs and can be issued between the ages of 0-25.
The SEND Panel also deals with requests for additional hours, change of placements or provision; pupils at risk of exclusion or out of school; and other requests from either the local authority or an external authority.
The panel is chaired by either the Head of SEND (Service lead, Vikram Hansrani); SEND Manager (Marina Perianez) or SEND Senior Officer (Emma Kinrade). The meeting consists of LA representatives, primary and secondary school representatives, social care representative and a SENDCo.
If you would like to observe a SEND Panel, please email the SEND Team, where a Business Support Officer should be able to assist.
The panel meets every Tuesdays (9.30am – 12:00pm) at St Martins Place, Slough Borough Council.