The Department for Education (DfE) has published a report setting out how local authorities and clinical commissioning groups will be held accountable for the special educational needs and disability (SEND) reforms. The full report can be found here ....
Our special educational needs solicitors have recently contributed to PI Focus. The article can be found at PI Focus article . The article explores how children may develop special educational needs as a result of personal injury (PI) and what PI...
Kidz in the Middle took place yesterday, 19 March 2015. Our head of SEN at Boyes Turner, Laxmi Patel , gave a talk to a packed room and we met dozens of parents and professionals keen to discuss special educational needs reforms. Our thanks go...
Action Cerebral Palsy has published a Parliamentary Inquiry into the national delivery of support for children with cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy is the most common childhood disability. If education, health and social support cannot be provided...
As we know, on 1 September the Children and Families Act 2014 took effect. This began the transition from Statement of Special Educational Needs to Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) . Statutory guidance was issued...
The answer in short is, yes, an expert, or anyone else who has knowledge of the issues, can be required to attend the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Tribunal to give evidence. To request the attendance of an expert, either the...
The government has passed legislation to come in force on 1 April 2015 that will enable the First-tier Special Education Needs and Disability (SEND) Tribunal to test hearings where they can make recommendations in respect of social care and...
“A very useful seminar and well delivered” “Expert knowledge and gave good information” “Very well informed, able to respond to questions well” “Useful clarification and overview especially regarding changes as...
Yesterday, 2 March 2015, children found out which secondary school they would go to in September. This year the competition for school places has been higher than ever. This year’s statistics reveal that in some regions of London 45% of pupils did...
When carrying out an Education, Health and Care (EHC) needs assessment that will lead to an EHC plan the law is clear that the final plan must be issued within 20 weeks of the initial request. The law states in the Special Educational...
On Wednesday I wrote about an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) I received on a case. I was concerned that the content of the EHCP was unlawful. I am awaiting a response from the relevant legal team about that and will post...
Laxmi Patel , Head of Education at Boyes Turner, ran a training session on 17 February 2015 at Scope’s head office in London on the recent changes in Special Educational Needs (SEN) law. The training was attended by Scope’s...
I have recently received a Draft Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) which is as vague in Section F as we have all come to expect from the ‘old’ Part 3 of a Statement of Special Educational Needs . Multiple references to...
The Inclusion Trust has published a report discussing the difficulties faced by children who are ‘pushed out’ of education. This coincides with Children’s Mental Health Week which is this week (16-22 February 2015) . The...
Place2be has launched the UK’s first child’s mental health week this week, 16-22 February 2015. HRH The Duchess of Cambridge is supporting the campaign which draws attention to the facts of children’s mental health: 3 children in every...
The Early Intervention Foundation has published a report assessing the costs of Late Intervention for children and young people. Late and Early Intervention Late Intervention is the compliance with emergency and statutory duties to support...
The most recent big development in special educational needs is R (L & P) v Warwickshire County Council and Warwickshire Safeguarding Children Board . This was a Judicial Review of, among other things, the Local Offer prepared by Warwickshire. ...
SEN has been in the news again this week. Following the publication of the Special Educational Needs Tribunal Tables , The National Autistic Society (NAS) reported this week that many more parents of children with autism are taking legal action...
Today is World Cancer Day. According to Cancer Research UK, an average of 1,574 children were diagnosed with cancer each year between 2009-2011. Naturally the focus of parents will be health, but additional education support is also...
Part 3 of the Children and Families Act 2014 promised to be the most significant change in special educational needs law for 30 years. However, academic commentary about the benefits of the Act is divided and its implementation could prove to be its...
Social media and popular press is currently full of opinions about comments made by Katie Price in the Celebrity Big Brother House. Part of the issue seems to be a significant objection to the fact that Ms Price’s son, Harvey, receives free...
Schools Minister, Nick Gibb, gave a speech on 22 January 2015 claiming that academies were central to the improvements in the education system. A report issued by an Education Select Committee today calls this into question. What are academies? Academies...
We have today, 26 January 2015, received a decision letter from a local authority which fails to make any reference to mediation . We will not name the local authority involved. The decision letter runs to 4 pages and gives numerous reasons for the...
The Upper Tribunal has issued a judgement explaining the definition of “Disability”. It particularly focuses on cases where a person reacts in a violent manner as a direct result of an underlying condition (such as Autism or ADHD). The case...
Our special educational needs solicitors have recently contributed to PI Brief Update Law Journal. The article can be found here . This explores how children may develop special educational needs due to negligence or personal injury and the important...
The Children and Families Act 2014 took effect on 1 September 2014. Since that time children have been making the move from Statements of Special Educational Needs (or Learning Difficulty Assessments) to Education, Health and Care Plans...
The Children’s Commissioner has issued a report discussing the views and experiences of children in residential schools. The report focuses on children’s views of being placed in residential schools and considers...
A new case, Essex County Council v TB , provides further clarification about what the Tribunal will look at when you are seeking an independent school in your child’s Statement or EHCP. The starting point is the law of s9 Education...
The Ministry of Justice has issued a report about the activity of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal. The report itself can be found here (third in the list). The report covers the period 1 September 1994 until 31 August...
Today there is significant press interest in the ruling of the European Court which was asked to make a decision about whether obesity was a disability. The case revolved around a 25 stone Danish child minder who was sacked because he was too large to be...
Boyes Turner SEN Team contributed to the Solicitor’s Journal this week to explain the interplay between Negligence, Court of Protection and Education lawyers in light of the Children and Families Act 2014. See the full piece here. ...
The High Court has issued a decision in a Judicial Review application in a case which is potentially one of the last of its kind. The case is R (Smieja by her father & litigation friend Smieja) v Bexley LBC [2014] EWHC 4113 (Admin). The...
There has been a lot of debate in the news and social media about Judicial Review . This is because there a number of changes have been proposed to how Judicial Review will work. A lot of the commentary has all been rather ‘heavy’ on the...
Judicial Review is the process by which a member of the public can challenge a decision made by a public body which directly affects them. It is one of the central pillars of the English justice system. By way of example, I have used Judicial...
The Department for Education (DfE) has released data exploring the “destinations” of pupils. This assesses how disabilities, special educational needs (SEN) and other characteristics impact upon pupils’ further education. The...
Edward Timpson MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Children and Families, has written an open letter addressed to all local authority chiefs about the current transition from Statement of SEN to Education, Health and...
Ofsted has issued a general policy document about the use of exclusions. Why is this relevant? Ofsted is making it very clear that peaks in exclusions, continually high levels of exclusions, or higher levels of exclusions for children...
The Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) has issued new guidance about what it can, and cannot investigate. This follows the Children and Families Act 2014 special educational needs (SEN) amendments taking effect from 1 September 2014. ...
The Department for Education (DfE) have commissioned a review and report on how the ‘new’ law of Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) is being advanced by local authorities. A series of reports have been published, the most...
On 29 October 2014 the Court of Appeal gave a decision in what started life as a Judicial Review application. The case is R(ER) v Local Government Ombudsman and Hillingdon LB. The very clearly written judgement can be found here . Who is this...
On 21 October I wrote about the proposed changes to Judicial Review that the Government were advancing within the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill. Our previous article on the impact, especially for people with SEN, can be found here . ...
On 22 October, Boyes Turner’s special educational needs lawyers hosted a seminar for experts and case managers. A summary of the key questions that arose from that seminar was posted by us here . Following that seminar a number of experts and...
The Department for Education (DfE) announced yesterday that schools, nurseries and child-minders will be given up to £300 for every 3- and 4- year old pupil from a low income family. This new funding is to be called “Early Years Pupil...
“Very knowledgeable and clear answers” “Very aware of change and this has been a good start to updating knowledge. Fabulous and a real treat” “Really relevant and informative” Boyes Turner SEN team hosted a...
Currently working its way through Parliament is the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill 2014. As with recent ‘new’ law, this new Bill seems to bundle together what would seem to be separate issues. The Bill, if it becomes an Act, will bundle...
Research has shown that children with disabilities are more likely to be subject to bullying with substantially higher levels of constant and occasional bullying than peers without any form of disability or special educational needs. The...
The University of Northampton has recently issued a research report exploring the difficulties that parents face when seeking to secure a particular school for their child with a Statement of Special Educational Needs . Who is covered? This report...
Yesterday, 15 October, the Department for Education (DfE), along with the Office for National Statistics, published its autumn report concerning the rates of attendance at School for 2013-2014. The report makes for interesting and somewhat...
The Children & Families Act 2014 has now been in force since 1 September 2014. Since that time, many local authorities, schools and practitioners will have been trying to keep up with the guidance and regulations that have been issued to support the new...
We are holding a seminar on 22 October 2014 to help practitioners through the myriad of changes. The seminar is designed for case managers, independent therapists and other professionals who work closely with children with special educational needs (SEN)...
