‘The Department for Education has taken two key steps to relieve councils of duties related to children with special educational needs (SEN) during the Covid-19 crisis.’
Law Society's Gazette, 1st May 2020
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘Various statutory deadlines in four sets of regulations dealing with special educational needs and disabilities, principally those that relate to EHC [Education, Health and Care] needs assessment and plan processes, will be modified with effect from tomorrow (1 May).’
Local Government Lawyer, 30th April 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Remote video trials could disadvantage people with learning disabilities, the equalities watchdog has warned, as courts switch to online hearings during the coronavirus crisis.’
The Guardian, 22nd April 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘The Government has changed its leaving home guidance to permit people with specific health needs to exercise outside more than once a day and to travel to do so where necessary, following the threat of a judicial review challenge.’
Local Government Lawyer, 14th April 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal over a council’s decision to amend its Special Educational Needs Home to School/College Transport Policy for the 2019/20 academic year.’
Local Government Lawyer, 7th April 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (‘NICE’) has changed the COVID-19 guideline for clinical care after being threatened with a judicial review challenge.’
Local Government Lawyer, 1st April 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘The Court of Appeal held that the First-Tier Tribunal (FTT) had correctly construed the meaning of ‘necessary’ in section 37(1) of the Children and Families Act 2014 (CFA 2014) in finding that it was necessary for special educational provision to be made for HD in accordance with an EHC Plan. This was despite his school having identified his needs, made provision to meet those needs and HD making progress at school. The court considered and affirmed the approach to making a determination under CFA 2014, s 37, determining what is ‘necessary’ requires an evaluative judgment based on the facts of each case.’
3PB, 9th March 2020
Source: www.3pb.co.uk
‘In A (Fact-Finding), HHJ Clayton strongly criticised, and awarded costs against, a local authority and Clinical Commissioning Group after their pursuit of a fundamentally flawed approach to the best interests of P, a young man with a severe global delay, who was unable to communicate verbally.’
Doughty Street Chambers, 20th January 2020
Source: insights.doughtystreet.co.uk
‘At least 5,000 children seeking special educational needs support (Send) are to have their cases reviewed after a London council landed a stinging rebuke from the local government ombudsman. Concerns about “systemic failures” in Richmond’s Send department prompted the watchdog to take the highly unusual step of ordering the full-scale audit.’
BBC News, 17th January 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘In R (AB) v Chief Constable of Hampshire Constabulary [2019] EWHC 3461 (Admin), the Divisional Court considered a claim on behalf of a boy with severe learning and communication disabilities, that police had failed properly to investigate what appeared to be a disclosure by him of a sexual assault during a stay at in respite care. He argued that they had wrongly proceeded to interview him despite no witness intermediary being available and had subsequently failed to re-interview him with an intermediary. He argued that this was a breach of Article 3, and unlawful disability discrimination. The Court dismissed the claim, also giving important procedural guidance.’
Police Law Blog, 17th December 2019
Source: ukpolicelawblog.com
‘More than 350 people with special needs have been detained in hospitals for more than 10 years, analysis has revealed.’
The Independent, 8th December 2019
Source: www.independent.co.uk
The law reform group Justice has called for a radical overhaul of exclusions amid concerns that too many schools do not fully understand their legal duties and that the appeal process available to parents wishing to challenge an exclusion is inadequate.
The Guardian, 11th November 2019
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘John Roberts reports on a successful result obtained by a local authority in the Special Educational Needs Tribunal.’
Local Government Lawyer, 8th November 2019
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Court users with limited access to computers, poor literacy or limited understanding of how the law works could be disadvantaged and potentially left going through a case with no legal advice as a result of the courts and tribunals modernisation programme, MPs have said.’
Local Government Lawyer, 1st November 2019
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Some 95% of decisions at special educational needs tribunals in 2017/18 were either won by parents, or saw local authorities withdraw or concede, it has been claimed.’
Local Government Lawyer, 29th October 2019
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘A judge has ruled that social services should not facilitate access to prostitutes for a man with learning disabilities who has a “high sex drive”.’
The Guardian, 7th October 2019
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Rules should be updated, judicial training improved and court rooms rejigged to cater for parties with mental health conditions and other vulnerabilities in civil proceedings.’
Law Society's Gazette, 5th September 2019
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘A private school has been forced to re-admit an “aggressive” pupil after his parents took legal action, claiming that their son had been discriminated against.’
Daily Telegraph, 4th September 2019
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
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