Top Tips

Here are some of the questions we get asked more often in our practice.

“How do I get a referral to CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) for my child?”

Despite the long waiting lists, CAMHS really does provide essential support for children and young people with mental health difficulties who need assessment or treatment. There are two main routes in the service:

  1. A referral from your child’s school

  2. A referral from their GP

If your child’s difficulties are affecting them at school, it’s worth speaking to their teacher, head of year or SENCO first. The school should be implementing adjustments and support as soon as they are aware of the difficulties, not just after an assessment, so it’s worth asking what they are able to do in addition to making the referral. If your child’s difficulties are predominantly affecting them outside school, make an appointment to speak with your GP. Explain what your concerns are and what impact the difficulties are having on your child’s life. If you’re struggling, some (but not all) CAMHS teams do accept self-referrals directly from parents. You can find their contact details online by searching for CAMHS in your borough of residence. 

“I think my child needs an EHCP but the school won’t support it. Can I apply for one on my own?”

Yes, you can absolutely apply for an EHCP yourself. It’s very common for parents to make the application and, legally, it is just as valid as the school submitting the application.

Regardless of whether the request is made by parents or the school, there is a standard two-part legal test set out in the Children and Families Act 2014 that determines whether or not a local authority must carry out an EHC needs assessment:

  1. Whether the child or young person has or may have special educational needs; and

  2. Whether the child or young person may need special educational provision to be made for them through an EHC plan.

If the answer to both these questions is yes, then the local authority has a legal duty to carry out the EHC needs assessment.

Unfortunately, due to funding constraints (among other factors), many local authorities are pushing the boundaries of what meets these criteria and more applications than ever are being turned down on minor details and technicalities. This means that in some areas of the country it can be extremely difficult for the initial application to be successful without the school’s involvement, as they can provide key evidence to support the application, such as support plans, costing provision maps and individualised timetables.

If your application is unsuccessful but you feel that you have presented clear evidence that the application meets the two-part legal test, you can make an appeal to the SEND First-Tier Tribunal. In the year 2021-22, 96.3% of Tribunal cases were decided in favour of the parents, so it’s absolutely worth making an appeal!

“Can I withdraw my child from SATs?”

The short answer to this is no, the decision to withdraw a child from SATs can only be made by the school’s headteacher. However, the real answer and the way to solve the problem will depend on the type of school your child is in and what attainment level they are working at, among other things.

First of all, it’s important to note that Key Stage 2 SATs are a statutory requirement whereas Key Stage 1 SATs are not. It’s up to each individual school to decide whether to administer SATS at the end of Key Stage 1. If you have concerns about a child in Year 2 then the best thing is to speak to their class teacher or ask to speak to the headteacher. Additionally, SATS are only compulsory for maintained schools (i.e. those that are managed by the local authority).

For Key Stage 2 SATS, the arrangements for assessing pupils are covered by the Education (National Curriculum) (Key Stage 2 Assessment Arrangements) (England) Order 2003. This legislation states that it is the duty of the headteacher to make arrangements for every child who should take the tests to take them. As a result, it has been interpreted that it is for the headteacher to decide whether or not a pupil ‘should’ take the test.

There are a number of reasons why your child may be exempt from the SATs. The main reason would be that they’re not able to access the curriculum for Year 6 and, as a result, would not be able to access the tests. If your child has completely different work to their peers in a core subject because they are working at a much lower attainment level, this would suggest they shouldn’t be taking the test.

Whilst the Education Order doesn’t cover exemptions for social, emotional and mental health needs, there is a legal requirement for schools to make reasonable adjustments for children with disabilities under the Equality Act 2010. Autism, anxiety disorders and other neurodivergent conditions are considered to be disabilities under this act. As a result, if taking the assessments would have a seriously negative impact on your child’s mental health, this should be taken into consideration by the headteacher when determining whether they should be taking SATs or not. If you are concerned, speak to the school and raising this point with them directly.