Commentary on Sections Local education authority Legal background Section 80: Assessments relating to learning difficulties
85.Section 80 inserts sections 139A to 139C into the 2000 Act. The effect is to transfer to local education authorities, and to expand, the existing duty of the Secretary of State to arrange for assessments of a person’s educational and training needs in certain circumstances, and his power to arrange such assessments. New subsections 139A (2) and (4) place a duty on a local education authority to arrange for an assessment of a person in respect of whom it maintains a statement of special educational needs, who is either in his or her last year of compulsory schooling or over compulsory school age but still at school, at some time during the person’s last year of schooling. In either case, the assessment is only required where it is believed that the person will leave school at the end of their last year of compulsory schooling or during or at the end of their current school year to pursue post-16 education, training or higher education. This expands on the current duty on the Secretary of State under section 140 of the 2000 Act to arrange for these assessments at some time in year 11 (the last year of compulsory schooling), where the Secretary of State believes that the person will be leaving school at the end of that year to receive post-16 education or training.
86.Inserted section 139A(5) gives local education authorities a power to arrange for an assessment at any time of a person:
87.Inserted section 139C of the 2000 Act applies the assessment provisions to those being educated at home. In relation to England, these new sections replace the existing provision for assessments in section 140 of the 2000 Act.
88.Consequential amendments to the 2000 Act are made in paragraphs 75 to 77 of Schedule 1.