Prices

What are the costs?

We know it’s frustrating when exact prices aren’t listed on a website, but the services provided by 1^st Class Assessments really are so bespoke that it’s impossible to quote prices here. However, please be assured that 1^st Class Assessments’ fees are:

• Extremely competitive for high-quality in-depth work with shorter than usual waiting times
• Agreed upfront with no hidden extras
• Volume discounts can be discussed
• Assessments can be ad-hoc or an ongoing agreement, to suit your needs and budget

Bespoke quotes

Costs depend on many factors including: how many children are being assessed in a session, how many assessments are needed, which assessments are being used and how many booklets/test kits are needed, the age of the child (as this affects how long some assessments take), as well as whether there are going to be observations and/or consultations, the number of visits that will be required to the school to complete the work, and the distance to the setting! Time efficiency is important in forward planning, such as arranging an observation and assessment of one child in the morning session, followed by a feedback session in the afternoon and maybe beginning another piece of work with another child. Efficiency can also be enhanced by having a planning meeting where several children’s assessment needs are discussed and arranged for future visits. Where a setting has regular visits, ongoing planning meetings can be built into a visit that has already been planned for a child’s assessment arranged at a previous planning meeting. Avoiding too much assessment work with one child can be done by combining two or three children into a few visits, therefore assessing each child over the course of 2 or 3 sessions and finishing with each of their feedback meetings in one morning or afternoon session. Price reductions can be discussed for regular visits to a setting. There are so many combinations, please contact Elizabeth for a discussion of the work you are wanting to be carried out, and how it can be arranged most effectively over various session visits, in order to obtain a price for the work.

The costs of my work are not purely the time in school and the assessment materials. Like most businesses, I have many additional costs to cover, such as insurance, professional registration, IT, marketing, invoicing and accounting, and the time it takes for travel, phone calls, discussions about the possible services I can provide in varying situations, emails before and after pieces of work, and arranging visits. Often I have spent many hours preparing for a piece of work before the assessment visit to school even takes place. Many of these costs are difficult to predict at the beginning of a piece of work, but once I have provided a quote I will not increase the price for that work.

All costs would be agreed up front before any work takes place, following a discussion with the person intending to make the referral. If it is not clear at the beginning how many assessments or which ones will be needed, an initial consultation can be organised to discuss the child’s needs, following which further visits for assessments can be arranged with agreed costs. The cost of the initial consultation would be agreed prior to arranging a date for the visit, and would be dependent on location and length of visit.

Initial Consultation visit to school: example price £150 (depending on travel to location) Lasting 1 to 2 hours (usually around 1½ hours depending on the complexity of the situation), an initial discussion focuses around gathering information and arranging a plan of action (eg. to carry out observations, assessments, feedback). The information gathered may include: school based achievements, developmental and health history, areas of strengths in learning and current areas of concern, and current or past educational support received. This information is gathered from parents/carers, school staff and, where appropriate, the young person themselves, either present for part of the meeting or by giving their input in an alternative way. The discussion is most effective when as much relevant information as possible is provided. By holding two consecutive initial consultations (ie. for different pupils) in one morning or afternoon, the time can be made more efficient as it would enable two consultations to be held for the cost of one half-day session.

For all of my assessments, the following is included in the price:

• my preparation, including gathering background information in the referral process (eg. information about the pupil's difficulties, progress, interventions tried and/or in place),
• planning assessment visits and preparation prior to visits,
• all the assessment materials required,
• assessment time in school to administer the agreed assessments (usually around half a day in school on a one-to-one with the pupil per assessment),
• scoring of the assessment, statistical analyses and interpretation of findings,
• producing a summary of the assessment scores and pupil's presentation and approach to assessment

Most parents and schools requesting an assessment also take advantage of a feedback meeting in school of up to 1½ hours which can sometimes be held later the same day as assessments (depending on the length of assessment and scoring time) or at a later date. The meeting would require the attendance of the SENDCO and any other relevant members of school staff such as the class teacher, and ideally would also include the attendance of parent(s) / carer(s). (If the meeting is held at a later date, there may be an additional charge if it is a visit just for the feedback meeting and not combined with other work. Combining assessments for more than one pupil where possible and/or holding consecutive feedback meetings often makes best use of time).

The price for the meeting, depending on time needed, distance and whether it is a visit solely for the meeting, would be discussed when preparing the quote so it is part of the known cost prior to agreeing the work.