The Government has completed its review of education in England and has published a green paper proposing changes to the SEND and alternative provision (AP) system in England. It is hoped the changes will better support children and young people (CYP) to...
What is the SEND Tribunal? The Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (SENDIST) is an independent specialist tribunal that hears appeals during the EHCP process. This includes appeals from parents or a young person (YP) whose request for an...
If you are a parent with a child or young person (YP) with an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP), then now is a good time to look ahead at the New Year and to plan for the key dates in the SEN calendar. Whilst timescales for the EHCP process are legally...
I recently visited the Helen Arkell Dyslexia Centre in Surrey, a specialist centre offering assessments and services for children and adults with Specific Learning Difficulties, to provide training on Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs). Helen Arkell...
We are approaching the end of the academic year. This is normally a busy time for education lawyers, particularly those of us who specialise in special educational needs. This year, however, has been the most hectic I have experienced in nearly 10 years...
Over recent weeks we have experienced an increase in enquiries from concerned parents and young people who (1) will be moving on to further education in September or (2) are already in further education but where they have been told that continued funding...
The Department for Education (DfE) has confirmed that the Education and Adoption Bill has completed its journey through Parliament and will now be put forward for Royal Assent. This means that the Bill will shortly become the Education and...
We are fast approaching the 15 February, the date by when local authorities (LAs) must issue a new Statement of Special Educational Needs (SSEN) or Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) for children who are transferring to a new phase of...
The case of R (C) v Westminster City Council (2015) has just been reported. Unfortunately, we have not been able to locate the case on free databases and, as yet, have not received the full citation. The case concerns a judicial review of a...
The DfE has released an updated report on the destinations of pupils leaving Key Stage 4 and Key Stage 5. The data can be found here . These figures relate to the academic year 2013/2014. As such, they are an assessment of the outcomes for children...