Ministry of Justice widens scope of legal aid to cover looked-after children with SEN – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Ministry of Justice has changed the law so that foster parents and approved prospective adopted parents bringing SEND appeals on behalf of a looked-after child will “not be means assessed”.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 14th February 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Council told to pay over £7k after failing to provide alternative education for autistic boy – Local Government Lawyer

‘An investigation by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has found that Oxfordshire County Council failed to provide alternative education for a boy with autism for a year.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 15th December 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Children and Families Act 2014 has failed to improve lives of children and young people, peers find – Local Government Lawyer

Posted December 7th, 2022 in children, families, inquiries, news, reports, special educational needs by sally

‘A lack of focus on implementing and monitoring the impact of the Children and Families Act 2014, despite it being envisaged as a “landmark piece of legislation”, has led to the Act being “a largely missed opportunity”, a House of Lords committee has concluded in a report.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 6th December 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Safeguarding children with disabilities in residential settings – Family Law

‘A national review into safeguarding children with disabilities and complex health needs has revealed serious failures at residential special schools registered as children’s homes.’

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family Law, 25th November 2022

Source: www.familylaw.co.uk

Safeguarding children with disabilities in residential settings – Family Law

‘A national review into safeguarding children with disabilities and complex health needs has revealed serious failures at residential special schools registered as children’s homes.’

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Family Law, 4th November 2022

Source: www.familylaw.co.uk

Ombudsman criticises council over “flawed” school transport policy – Local Government Lawyer

‘Northumberland County Council has agreed to look again at families’ applications for school transport for teenagers with special educational needs, following an investigation by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 12th October 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Judge rules Tribunal erred by putting responsibility for part of EHCP on individual who was not lawful delegate or proxy for local authority – Local Government Lawyer

Posted September 20th, 2022 in local government, news, special educational needs, tribunals by tracey

‘The First-Tier Tribunal erred in law by giving responsibility for compiling an “all your need to know about” document concerning a child to a doctor who was not a lawful delegate or proxy for the council, the Upper Tribunal Administrative Appeals Chamber has said.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 16th September 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

How can parents minimise the impact of separation on children with SEND? – 3PB

Posted September 1st, 2022 in chambers articles, children, divorce, news, special educational needs by sally

‘Anthony Collins Solicitors’ associate solicitor Kadie Bennett and 3PB’s specialist family and education law barrister Aimee Fox look at Children Act proceedings and the considerations that parents of a child with SEND may find helpful.’

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3PB, September 2022

Source: www.3pb.co.uk

Permanent exclusion decisions and disability discrimination claims – Local Government Lawyer

‘The First-tier Tribunal (SEND) has no power to stay a permanent exclusion decision pending the final hearing of a disability discrimination claim, the Upper Tribunal confirmed. Katherine Anderson analyses the judgment.’

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Local Government Lawyer. 19th August 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Upper Tribunal requires council to secure EHCP for student who is hypersensitive to Wi-Fi signals – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Upper Tribunal has ruled that a council must secure special educational provision for a child who has electromagnetic hypersensitivity and is particularly sensitive to Wi-Fi signals.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 17th August 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Appealing review decisions of the SEN Tribunal for Wales – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Upper Tribunal has confirmed appeals can be brought against review decisions of the SEN Tribunal for Wales. Matthew Wyard analyses the ruling.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 12th August 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Windsor and Maidenhead council caused mother ‘serious distress’ over education – BBC News

Posted August 15th, 2022 in autism, compensation, education, local government, news, special educational needs by tracey

‘A council caused a mother “serious distress and anxiety” by failing to provide her daughter, who has special needs, with appropriate education for seven months. Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead will pay the mother £5,250 in compensation for the failures.’

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BBC News, 15th August 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

West Sussex council ordered to pay £2,000 to mother of child with special needs – BBC News

‘A mother of a child with special needs has been paid £2,000 by a council for failures involving his education, health and care plan. The mother – known as Ms C – turned to the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman after making a complaint to West Sussex County Council. The ombudsman has upheld her complaint, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.’

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BBC News, 4th July 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Ombudsman criticises council after child left without suitable educational provision for 14 months – Local Government Lawyer

‘An investigation by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has seen Southend-on-Sea City Council agree to pay £9,000 to the mother of a child who was left without suitable schooling for more than a year.’

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Local Government Lawyer, April 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Claimants secure key High Court ruling on timeframe for reviewing Education, Health and Care plans – Local Government Lawyer

Posted March 10th, 2022 in delay, local government, news, notification, special educational needs by tracey

‘The High Court has ruled in favour of three claimants in a dispute over whether there is a fixed timeframe in respect of steps in the amendment of an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan where a local authority accepts amendment is necessary, during the compulsory statutory annual review.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 9th March 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Council agrees to pay £3,600+ over failure to secure significant part of SEN support for autistic boy – Local Government Lawyer

‘A county council has agreed to pay more than £3,600 following a Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) investigation into how a teenager on the autism spectrum was left without a significant proportion of his agreed special educational needs (SEN) support for up to three years.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 17th February 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Anger over referral of vulnerable boy, 11, to counter-radicalisation scheme – The Guardian

Posted January 27th, 2022 in children, complaints, news, police, special educational needs, terrorism by sally

‘An 11-year-old schoolboy who was struggling with his homework was referred to the Prevent counter-radicalisation programme after a fellow pupil reported him saying during a fire drill that he wished his school would burn down.’

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The Guardian, 26th January 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Ombudsman recommends county council pay nearly £7k after boy left without education for two years – Local Government Lawyer

‘A boy with special education needs who received “virtually no” education for two years should be given £6,900 in compensation by Suffolk County Council, an investigation by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has recommended.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 7th January 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

SEND Tribunal case law review – Local Government Lawyer

‘Jamie Jenkins looks at the lessons to be learned from the latest judgments from the SEND Tribunal.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 5th November 2021

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Parental responsibility: a short guide for local authority SEND teams – Local Government Lawyer

‘Grace-Mary Sweeney of LASEN explores the concept of parental responsibility, how it interacts with education law, and some practical implications for Local Authority SEND Teams.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 15th October 2021

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk