Amending statement following Annual Review

Q: I find the LA delay almost everything which frustrates our right of appeal. There is no time frame to amend the statement following Annual Review. Last year they took EIGHT MONTHS to do so. This was found as poor practise from the LGO. 

IPSEA's answer: There is a very clear time frame in which a statement needs to be reviewed by the LA - 1 year (i.e. Annually). The clue is in the name, although many LAs do not seem to be clear on this. A review is due 1 year after a statement was first issued following a Statutory Assessment (look for the date it was originally signed at the very end) and thereafter by the anniversary. Remember that the date will only change if your child is re-assessed. An amendment of a statement following an Annual Review (AR), or even following a SEND tribunal decision, does not change this date. Also be aware that it is the LA's duty to make and maintain statements. The AR meeting you have at the school is just an evidence-gathering exercise. The AR actually happens when the LA review the Statement in the light of the evidence gathered at the meeting and recorded in the Head Teacher report sent to the LA. They then send you a decision saying whether they will amend the statement, leave it as it is or cease to maintain it.  Read the SEN Code of Practise chapter 9. Eight months is a clear and total breach of the LA's statutory duty.