Thank you so much for your replies, I'm in the process of going through the Guide and filling out the forms.
Tomorrow I'll be scheduling a meeting with the School's SENCO, so should be able to ask her for a supporting statement regarding Robyn's additional needs at School and the adjustments they have made for her, hopefully we can get somewhere with that.
Just for the sake of moaning, and further illustration of my frustrations - we have been told that before other options are explored, she has to go through a counselling service, who currently have no availability, and no waiting list. We just have to keep checking back for a free counsellor, and then hope that they remain free for long enough to clear the prospective appointment times with the school (as counselling is only offered during school hours so she'll be missing the same hour of lesson times for 6 consecutive weeks, and I don't want her to be disadvantaged because of this). Actually, while typing this, it's just occurred to me that it would probably be better to grab a slot if one becomes available and then clear it with the School after the fact!
Thanks again for the replies and support, and for listening to me moaning!
Chris.