SEN checklist and statement organiser (Northern Ireland)

For parents and carers in Northern Ireland dealing with SEN, statutory assessment, a statement or a SENDIST appeal. Here is a practical way to organise the reports, letters and plans so you can find everything quickly and keep track of every time limit.

Checked against official sources on 3 November 2026.

The quick version

Keep every report, letter and plan in one binder, split into the sections below.
Write down every date and time limit the moment you get a letter.
Follow up every call or meeting with an email, and log it.
Check each week that the support in the plan is actually happening.

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Asking for an assessment

Before you ask

Write down what your child finds hard and what helps
Ask the school what support is in place and get the PLP
Ask the SENCo whether the school will also request an assessment
Collect reports from health, therapy or other professionals

Making the request

Write to the EA, or use its request form if it offers one
Include your evidence with the request
Keep a copy and note the date you sent it
Note the 6 week reply time in your key dates

If the EA assesses

Give your views and any extra reports
Go to interviews or tests if you can
Ask who else the EA is getting advice from
Keep notes of every call and meeting

If the EA says no

File the letter and the reasons given
Ask about DARS and your right to appeal
Note the 2 month SENDIST limit in your key dates
Call SENAC or the Children's Law Centre for advice

Documents to gather

Gather these before you ask for an assessment or go to a review. Tick each one off as you find it.

About your child

Full name, date of birth and address
Recent photo and child profile
Diagnosis letters or reports
Your child's own views, written or recorded
Contact list of school and professionals

Health and medical

GP and consultant letters
Speech and language reports
Occupational therapy reports
Trust or CAMHS reports
Medication and care notes

School records

School reports and progress notes
Attendance and exclusion records
Personal learning plans (PLPs)
Emails with teachers and the SENCo
Examples of your child's work

Assessments and advice

Educational psychologist advice
Evidence sent with your request
Independent reports you've paid for
Your own written views
Social services advice, if any

Statement and reviews

Proposed statement and your comments
Final statement, Parts 1 to 6
Appendices A to F
Annual review invitations and reports
Review preparation pages

Letters and decisions

Your written requests, with dates
EA replies and reasons
DARS papers
SENDIST appeal form and papers
Correspondence Log

Costs and transport

Receipts for reports or equipment
Travel costs to meetings
School transport letters, if any

Dates and deadlines to track

Request for statutory assessment sent
EA reply due (6 weeks)
Assessment started
Decision on statement due (12 weeks)
Comments on proposed statement (15 days)
Final statement due (8 weeks of draft)
Annual review meeting
SENDIST appeal deadline (2 months)

Use the exact dates on the letters, forms and notices you receive.

How to section your binder

Section A: About my child

Who your child is, their needs and the people around them.

What to file: Child profile (one page); Diagnoses and health letters; Contacts: school, EA, Trust, advisers; Front sheet and key dates.

Section B: Request for assessment

Your request for a statutory assessment and the EA's replies.

What to file: Request form and covering letter; Evidence sent with the request; EA reply and reasons; Proof of date sent.

Section C: Reports & advice

Every report and piece of advice collected for the assessment.

What to file: Educational psychologist advice; Medical and health advice; Social services advice, if any; School reports and your own views; Independent reports.

Section D: Statement of sen

The proposed and final statement, and any changes.

What to file: Proposed statement and your comments; Final statement (Parts 1 to 6); Appendices A to F; Note in lieu, if one was issued.

Section E: School & support

Everything from your child's school and the support they get.

What to file: Personal learning plan (PLP); School reports and SENCo emails; SEN register stage details; Transition and school change papers.

Section F: Annual reviews

Review invitations, your views and the outcome each year.

What to file: Review invitation and papers; Parent and pupil contribution forms; Headteacher's report to the EA; Review preparation page.

Section G: Letters & emails

Every letter and email you send or get, in date order.

What to file: Letters from the EA; Emails with the school and SENCo; Texts and online messages; Correspondence Log.

Section H: Disagreements & sendist

DARS, complaints and tribunal papers.

What to file: DARS contact notes; EA decision letters with dates; SENDIST appeal form and papers; Complaints and replies.

Section I: Meeting notes

Notes from every meeting, call and conversation.

What to file: Meeting notes with dates; Questions to ask next time; Actions agreed and who owns them; Notes from advice calls.

What this binder is for

Case Ready is a document organisation tool for parents and carers. This edition is designed with reference to the SEN Code of Practice 1998 and its 2005 supplement, with nidirect, Education Authority and SENDIST guidance.

Keep reports, letters and the plan in one place
Track every time limit and meeting
Check the support in the plan is actually happening

What this binder is not

Case Ready:

Does not provide legal or educational advice
Does not tell you what to argue or what your child is entitled to
Does not replace the advice of a specialist adviser

For free, impartial advice, speak to the EA's DARS (free mediation), SENAC (028 9079 5779) or the Children's Law Centre's free advice line (028 9024 5704).

How the process works here

In Northern Ireland, children with special educational needs (SEN) are supported by the school first. The Education Authority (EA) can carry out a statutory assessment if more help is needed.

Parents and the school can ask the EA for an assessment.
The EA normally replies within 6 weeks to say whether it will assess.
If it assesses, it gathers advice from you, the school, an educational psychologist, a doctor and others.
It usually tells you within 12 weeks of starting whether it will write a statement of SEN.
The EA aims to finish the whole process within 26 weeks of getting the request.
If it assesses but decides against a statement, it may issue a note in lieu with its reasons.
Keep a copy of every request and the date you sent it.

Timescales can stretch. Ask the EA officer on your case for the dates in writing.

The statement of sen

A statement sets out your child's needs, the help to be given and the school. It has six parts, plus appendices A to F holding the advice the EA collected.

Part 1: child's details. Part 2: the special educational needs.
Part 3: provision other than placement, with objectives and how progress will be monitored.
Part 4: placement, meaning the type of school and your preferred school.
Part 5: non-educational needs. Part 6: non-educational provision.
You get a proposed statement first, with Part 4 blank. You have 15 days to comment and name a school.
After any meeting you ask for, you get 15 days to send further comments.
The final statement must follow within 8 weeks of the draft.

If you need more time, speak to the EA officer on your case. Keep your request in writing.

Annual reviews

The EA must review a statement at least once a year, checking progress and whether it still meets your child's needs. The school organises the meeting.

The school invites you and asks for your views on the past year.
Your child, teachers, the SENCo and other professionals are also invited to give views.
The headteacher sends a report to the EA within 10 working days, or by the end of term if sooner.
The EA then decides whether to change the statement.
From age 14, transition planning is part of the review.

A decision not to amend a statement after a review can't be appealed to SENDIST. Use DARS or the EA complaints route.

If you disagree

Speak to the EA officer on your case first. Keep the two month appeal limit in mind while you try to sort things out.

DARS (Dispute Avoidance and Resolution Service) is free and independent, run by Global Mediation. Phone 028 9072 6060.
SENDIST is the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal. Each case is heard by a panel of three.
You can appeal if the EA refuses to assess or to make a statement, or about the educational parts of a statement.
You can't appeal how an assessment is done or how long it takes, funding levels, or Parts 5 and 6.
You must appeal within two months of receiving the EA decision you dispute.
Ask SENDIST for the How to Appeal booklet. It has the appeal form and a document checklist.
Many cases can be agreed before the hearing, and the appeal can then be withdrawn.

The two month limit is strict. Write the date you received the decision on your key dates sheet.

What is in force and what is planned

The law is mid-change. The 1998 Code of Practice and its 2005 supplement still apply, and the 2005 Regulations set today's timescales.

In force from the 2016 SEND Act: the EA must seek and consider your child's views (section 1).
Most of the rest of the 2016 Act waits for new regulations and a new Code.
In June 2026 the Department of Education put the start back from September 2026 to about September 2027.
Planned in the drafts: a Learning Support Co-ordinator and a personal learning plan set in law.
A five year SEN reform plan began in 2025 and is still under way.

Check with the EA or the Department of Education whether the new rules have started.

Terms used in this organiser

EA: Education Authority, which runs statutory assessment and issues statements.
Statutory assessment: the formal EA assessment of a child's SEN.
Statement of SEN: the legal document setting out needs, provision and school.
Note in lieu: reasons and advice issued when the EA assesses but doesn't make a statement.
PLP: personal learning plan used in school.
SENCo: the school's SEN co-ordinator.
SENDIST: the tribunal that hears SEN appeals.

Who this is for and where to get help

Parents, carers and young people in Northern Ireland. This is general information, not legal advice. England, Wales and Scotland work differently, so use their editions.

EA SEN helpdesk: 028 9031 7777, option 1, Monday to Friday, 9am to 4:30pm.
DARS: free, independent help to avoid and resolve disagreements. 028 9072 6060.
SENAC (Special Educational Needs Advice Centre): advice and advocacy. 028 9079 5779.
Children's Law Centre Chalky advice line: free legal advice by phone or email. 028 9024 5704.
SENDIST is based at the Royal Courts of Justice, Belfast, and can send the appeal booklet.

Phone numbers are as listed on the official pages. Check them if you can't get through.

Before the review or hearing

Written request or concern sent, with the date
Latest reports and advice copied and filed
Current PLP and school notes brought along
Proposed or current statement in front of me
Child's views written down or recorded
My own views and examples written down
Friend, adviser or SENAC contact arranged
Questions and requested changes listed
Notes page ready to record decisions and dates

Save time with Case Ready

Case Ready is a printable, fillable organiser for Northern Ireland: one-page profile, provision tracker, review preparation pages, reports index and a tracker workbook for Excel and Google Sheets, with your child’s details on every page. Type into it on screen or print it at home.