Special Educational Needs Solicitors

If your child has special educational needs or a disability (SEND) it means that they have a learning difficulty or disability that will make it harder for them to learn than other children. If your child has SEND, they will need extra help to enable them to progress. 

If you are concerned that your child is not making adequate progress, or you think they may have SEN then you should talk to their teacher straight away. Your child’s teacher may think it appropriate to involve the SENCO (Special Educational Needs Coordinator) at the school at this stage.

According to the Government,

“An education, health and care (EHC) plan is for children and young people aged up to 25 who need more support than is available through special educational needs support.

EHC plans identify educational, health and social needs and set out the additional support to meet those needs.”

The plan should be easily understood by the child/young person, parents and institution involved. It should include who is required to do what and when. In addition, it should include how often the plan should be reviewed. If the plan is for someone who is beyond year 9, it should include provision to help them to prepare for adulthood and independent living. The plan doesn’t have any fixed format and each local authority can choose its own style. 

If the school cannot meet the needs of your child, you can ask the local authority to carry out an Education Health and Care (EHC) assessment of your child’s needs. 

This is a detailed investigation into what needs your child has and the kind of special help they require. The local authority should decide within six weeks of receiving the request whether to carry out an assessment of your child’s needs. 

If the authority decides not to carry out an assessment, you will have the right to appeal against this decision to the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Tribunal. You must do so within two months of the decision.

The Special Education Needs code of practice (2014) covers the 0-25 age range. It includes guidance relating to disabled children and young people as well as those with SEN. There is also new guidance for education and training settings on taking a graduated (assess, plan, do, review) approach to identifying and supporting pupils and students with SEN. Teachers are responsible for assessing, planning and supporting pupils with an SEN. They should be supported by the SENCO (Special Education Needs Coordinator). Where children have more complex issues, they will have an EHCP. The SENCO works closely with work colleagues, pupils, parents and outside agencies. You can find more information about the Special Education Needs code of practice here

To lodge an appeal with the SEND tribunal you will need to complete an appeal form and send it to the tribunal together with your grounds of appeal, that is, your reasons for appealing. 

You should also send any documents which support your appeal. It is extremely helpful to have an independent educational psychologist report that supports what you are saying your child needs. 

Your appeal will be registered and sent to the local authority who will be given a timescale for responding to your appeal. The tribunal will also issue a set of directions which will set out how your appeal will proceed from that point on and provide you with a set of deadlines for providing the tribunal with any further information. 

The decision of the tribunal following the hearing will be binding on the local authority. 

Our Special Educational Needs solicitors have experience with this and can help you with this process.