Notice of Consideration SEN Northern Ireland: What Happens After You Request Assessment

You've submitted a request for a statutory assessment — either directly to the EA yourself, or through the school. Within 10 days, you should receive a letter from the Education Authority. It's called a Notice of Consideration, and the clock starts the moment you open it.

This document explains what the Notice of Consideration means, what happens in the next six weeks, and what you need to do right now.

What Is the Notice of Consideration?

When a request for a statutory assessment reaches the EA — whether submitted by a parent directly, by the school via the Request for Involvement (RFI) portal, or by an independent professional — the EA is legally required to issue a Notice of Consideration within 10 days.

The Notice of Consideration is the EA's formal acknowledgment that they have received the request and are deciding whether to proceed with a statutory assessment. It does not mean the assessment has been approved. It means the EA is now in the six-week decision window.

The letter will typically:

• Confirm they have received the request
• Explain that they will be seeking information and "parental representations"
• Give you a deadline — usually 22 days — to submit your parental evidence (Appendix A1 and A2 forms)
• Name an EA officer responsible for the case

The 22-Day Deadline: What You Need to Submit

The most urgent thing you need to do on receiving the Notice of Consideration is submit your Appendix A(1) Parental Representations and Appendix A(2) Parental Evidence.

Appendix A1 is your written account of why your child needs a statutory assessment — their difficulties, the impact at school and at home, and why the school's current provision is insufficient. Appendix A2 is your bundle of supporting documents: medical reports, therapy assessments, PLPs, educational psychology reports, and any other evidence relevant to your child's needs.

These documents are critically important. The EA uses them — alongside the school's own submission — to decide whether there is sufficient evidence of a need that cannot be met through school-level resources alone.

The 22-day window sounds reasonable. In practice, it can feel impossibly tight when you're gathering years of reports, writing a coherent account of your child's difficulties, and managing everything else that comes with having a child with complex needs. Start immediately.

What the EA Is Doing During Those Six Weeks

While you're preparing your parental evidence, the EA is also gathering information from other sources:

• They will ask the school's Learning Support Co-ordinator (LSC) to provide information about the child's educational history, current provision, and progress.
• They may consult with EA support services, Local Impact Teams, or other professionals already involved with the child.
• They will review all the parental evidence you submit.

At the end of the six weeks, the EA makes one of two decisions: proceed with a statutory assessment, or issue a refusal to assess.

If the EA Proceeds: What Happens Next

If the EA agrees to proceed, you enter the multi-disciplinary assessment phase. A named officer is assigned to the family. The EA then gathers "advice" from multiple sources:

• The school (teachers and the LSC)
• An Educational Psychologist (EA's internal EP service)
• Medical professionals (GP, paediatrician, or any other relevant clinician)
• Speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, or other specialists involved with the child
• Health and Social Care Trust (if applicable)
• You and your child (your Appendix A1 and A2 submissions serve this purpose)

This phase takes approximately 10 weeks (weeks 6-16 of the 26-week statutory timeline).

After gathering all advice, the EA decides whether to issue a Statement. If they agree a Statement is needed, you receive a Proposed Statement at approximately week 16-18. You then have 15 days to challenge any vague wording, request a meeting, and state your preference for a named school.

If the EA Refuses to Assess

A refusal to assess is not the end. It triggers an immediate right of appeal to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (SENDIST).

The EA must give their refusal in writing, with reasons. They must also inform you of your right to appeal. You have two months from the date you receive the written refusal to lodge your appeal with SENDIST.

Mediation through the Dispute Avoidance and Resolution Service (DARS) is available and can be effective — but engaging in DARS does not pause the two-month appeal deadline. You can pursue mediation and lodge the tribunal paperwork simultaneously.

Common grounds on which the EA refuses to assess:

• They believe the school's delegated resources are sufficient to meet the child's needs
• They argue that insufficient evidence has been provided of the child's difficulties
• They consider the child has made adequate progress with current school-level provision

All of these can be challenged with evidence. Your Appendix A2 bundle — the reports, the PLPs showing stagnant targets, the professional assessments — is what makes or breaks an appeal against a refusal to assess.

The RFI Portal: What Schools Use to Submit Requests

The Request for Involvement (RFI) portal is the EA's online system through which schools submit formal requests for EA involvement in a child's case. This is the mechanism schools use at Stage 2 to request Local Impact Team support, and it's also the channel through which schools can formally trigger a statutory assessment request.

As a parent, you don't use the RFI portal. You submit your request directly to the EA in writing — addressed to the Education Officer (Special Education) at the relevant EA regional office.

If you're waiting for the school to initiate an RFI and nothing is happening, remember that you have a direct and independent right to request a statutory assessment yourself. You do not need the school's permission or co-operation. If the school has been reluctant to make a referral, submitting a parent-initiated request bypasses that gatekeeping entirely.

The Complete 26-Week Timeline

For reference, here's the full statutory timeline once a statutory assessment is agreed:

• Weeks 0-6: Request received; Notice of Consideration issued; EA decides whether to assess
• Weeks 6-16: Multi-disciplinary assessment; advice gathered from all professionals
• Weeks 16-18: EA decides whether a Statement is required; Proposed Statement issued if yes
• Weeks 18-26: 15-day parental response window; school consultation; Statement finalized

In theory, this process takes 26 weeks. In practice, the Northern Ireland Audit Office found that 85% of Statements were issued outside this statutory limit in 2019-2020. If the EA misses statutory deadlines, document it. Persistent delay can be escalated.

The Northern Ireland SEN Statement Blueprint covers each stage of this timeline in detail, including what to do if the EA misses its statutory deadlines and how to prepare your parental evidence for maximum impact.

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