Why get an assessment?
Some children may get extra help provided by the school from its own resources - sometimes called School Action or Early Years Action. However, if this support isn't enough to ensure that your child's needs are met, the local authority (LA) can carry out a Statutory Assessment of your child's special educational needs. This is meant to establish what kind of extra support your child may need.
The school or setting, with your consent, can ask the LA for the assessment, or you can approach the LA directly. Although it may seem daunting, this is a positive step and might stop your child becoming disheartened or losing motivation because their sight problems are not supported.
What a Statement is for
After the assessment the LA will draw up a Statement of Special Educational Needs (SEN). A Statement does not stigmatise or isolate your child in any way and is simply there to identify your child's needs so they can be properly met.
A Statement will describe:
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your child and how their SEN affects them
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the educational provision they need and must be provided with
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the school they must attend.
The Statement also quantifies your child's non-educational needs and what should be provided to meet these. The school can usually provide this help with the Local Authority's support.
The Statement will be reviewed at least once a year. You will be invited to take part in review meetings, which are usually referred to as "annual reviews".
In Scotland, the term "additional support needs" (ASN) is used instead of SEN.
For further information, you can download the Department for Education's (DfE) 'Special Educational Needs (SEN): A guide for parents and carers' from the DfE website.