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Navigating Education Law: My Experience and Insights from a 6-Month Secondment

by TFS Admin 23rd October 2024

During a recent 6-month secondment at Warwickshire County Council, I was given the opportunity to gain experience in the world of education law, an area previously foreign to me. This blog documents my experience and the skills I have gained over the course of the secondment. 

Education, health and care plan (“EHCP”) appeals

The main area of education law I became involved with concerned appeals made by parents of children with special educational needs and disabilities (“SEND”). These appeals involved parents appealing the contents of their child/young person’s EHCP. 

EHCP appeals process

If the Local Authority (“the LA”) believes a particular child or young person with SEND requires additional support to that which their school normally provides to children or young people, they will issue an EHCP in their name. If, following the issuing of this EHCP the child/young person’s parents are unhappy with the contents of it, they can appeal to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (“the SEND Tribunal”). 

The caseload of appeals I dealt with involved parents appealing against a combination of the following sections of an EHCP:

  • Section B – the description of the child’s/young person’s SEND;
  • Section F – the educational provision required to appropriately support the child’s SEND; 
  • Section I – the school the LA have named in the child/young person’s EHCP. Parents will often appeal this section on the basis that the LA has named a mainstream school but parents feel a special school would be more appropriate to accommodate their child/young person’s SEND;
  • Health and social care needs and provision – these elements of an EHCP cannot be appealed on their own and become an extension of an appeal based on either Section B, F and I.  

Once the LA receives both the appeal documentation submitted by parents and the Tribunal’s case directions, the LA is required to provide its grounds of response. The way in which the LA responds depends on which sections of the EHCP have been appealed. 

If the appeal in question relates to Section I, the LA responds by either agreeing to name the school parents have requested in their child’s EHCP, or alternatively by proposing an alternative school and opposing parents’ preferred school under one of the grounds found in Section 39(4) of the Children and Families Act 2014. These grounds are: 

(1) unsuitability due to the child’s age, ability, aptitude or special educational needs of the child or young person concerned; 

(2) attendance of the child or young person at parents’ preferred school would be incompatible with the efficient education of others (i.e. the school is full); or 

(3) attendance of the child or young person at parents’ preferred school would be incompatible with the efficient use of resources (i.e. the cost of sending the child to parents’ preferred school is significantly higher than the LA’s preference). 

By contrast, in order to address appeals which involve sections of the EHCP other than Section I, the LA and parents (“the Parties”) cooperate through the continual amendment of the child/young person’s current EHCP throughout the appeal, with these amendments being recorded in a document known as the ‘Working Document’. In order to make suggested amendments to the child’s EHCP, it is typical for the Parties to commission professional reports from experts such as educational psychologists, speech and language therapists and occupational therapists. Once these reports are obtained, the Parties then incorporate the findings of these reports into the Working Document before attempting to narrow any disagreements in their respective reports. 

Day-to-day responsibilities

During the day-to-day handling of EHCP appeals, I found myself regularly engaging in the following activities:

  • Liaising either directly with parents or their solicitors (if represented), the SEND Tribunal, the LA education team, Counsel and various professionals (such as educational psychologists, occupational therapists and speech and language therapists); 
  • Meeting regularly with schools regarding their ability to meet the child in question’s needs and what to expect at the final Tribunal hearing; 
  • Drafting the LA’s grounds of response to the appeal, school witness statements and further evidence submissions; 
  • Attending virtual tribunal hearings; and  
  • Applying to the SEND Tribunal to have evidence submitted as late evidence. 

School enquiries hotline

In addition to dealing with EHCP appeals, I was also responsible for covering the school enquiries hotline 1 day a week. 

This role involved providing ad hoc advice to schools who were subscribed to the LA’s hotline service. The enquiries I dealt with over the course of the secondment were varied in nature, ranging from GDPR/data protection issues; issues regarding amendments to school admission policies; and issues relating to parental responsibility (such as providing consent for a child to be vaccinated, agreeing to changes of name etc).   

Looking ahead

The knowledge and skills I have obtained during my 6-month secondment have been invaluable and I have no doubt these will serve me well in my future legal career. Whilst there were aspects of Council work that differed from my experience in private practice, I have found that the fundamental principles of being able to communicate effectively with clients and appropriate third parties and meeting deadlines are consistent in both. 

DISCLAIMER: Please note that the information located within this blog does not constitute legal advice and is for information/educational purposes only. 

Our blogs and articles are not meant to serve as legal advice for any specific issue. The author assumes no responsibility for the accuracy of the content or any consequences that may arise from relying on it.