Section 08 · Disclosures
Tracking your requests
How to track the status and timeline of Subject Access Requests and other disclosure requests in SEN Evidence Vault.
After reading this article you can
- Log and track a disclosure request from submission to response
- Monitor statutory deadlines and flag overdue responses
- Record what was received and note any apparent omissions
Once you have submitted a disclosure request, tracking it carefully ensures you know when the deadline falls, what has been received, and whether the response is complete.
Logging a disclosure request
Go to Disclosures
From your child's profile, select Disclosures and then Add request.
Enter the request details
Fill in:
- Organisation: who the request was sent to (e.g. "Northshire County Council")
- Type: Subject Access Request, Freedom of Information, or Tribunal Disclosure
- Date submitted: the date you sent the request
- Method: email, letter, online portal
- Reference number: if the organisation provided one
- Description: a brief summary of what you requested
Attach your request letter
Upload a copy of the request you sent. This is important, if there is later a dispute about what was requested, you need to be able to show exactly what you asked for.
Monitoring the deadline
The app automatically calculates the statutory deadline:
- SAR: one calendar month from the date of submission
- Freedom of Information: 20 working days from the date of submission
- Tribunal Disclosure: set by the Tribunal's case management directions (you enter this manually)
The deadline is displayed prominently on the request record. As the deadline approaches, the app will surface the request in your upcoming actions.
Logging the response
When you receive a response:
Update the request status
Change the status to Response received and enter the date received.
Upload the response documents
Upload the response, whether it is a letter, a PDF of records, or multiple files. These are stored in the Disclosures section and can also be linked to your Vault categories.
Note any issues with the response
Record whether the response appears complete. Common issues include:
- "We hold no records" when you know records should exist
- Heavily redacted documents
- Partial response with the remainder "to follow"
- Response outside the deadline
If the deadline is missed
If the one-month deadline passes with no response, you can:
- Send a written reminder noting the deadline has passed
- Escalate to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) if the organisation continues to fail to respond
The app lets you log an overdue flag on the request and add a case note recording the steps you took.
What to do next
- 1
Log any outstanding disclosure requests
Add a tracking record for any SAR or FOI request you have already submitted but not yet received a full response to.
- 2
Read about using disclosure responses
The next article explains how to analyse what you receive, identify omissions, and use disclosure responses in your case.
Next in this section
Using disclosure responses
How to analyse what you receive in response to a disclosure request, identify what may be missing, and use disclosed documents in your case.