Tribunal question

[amunt]

Is a senco barred from being a witness for the family at tribunal? This is what our LA is claiming.

Any ideas?
Thanks

[coffeemaker5]

I don't think so. But as an LA employee, the Senco is probably under a lot if pressure from the LA.

Would it be possible to get a summons for the Senco?

[youarenotkiddingme]

No you can call any witness you want. There is a summons sheet which you should have had with the pack.

Also IPSEA tribunal pack has great info on this.

Yiu just need to be sure they'll back you up against their employer.

[amunt]

Thanks. They are bloody unbelievable.

They also said they want to do an EHCP review (the one they had no interest in until we appealed it) in November. The tribunal is in January and it was only issued at the end of May.

Can they force this?
Thanks

[Ineedmorepatience]

Is your Dc in Early yrs? They do 6 monthly reviews for them.

Our primary school senco refused to attend for the LA and for us but the head teacher came as our witness and the LA called the class teacher. Jokers!

[amunt]

Ah, that must be it. He is in Yr1 (aged 5) but was four when they did it. Thanks

[LadyConstanceDeCoverlet]

They can't stop the SENCO coming. However, they will probably put an awful lot of pressure on her not to do so or to change her evidence. It would be a good idea to ask her to put her views in writing as soon as possible, so that you can rely on them if necessary.

[amunt]

Thanks. I rang the courts today and both claims were false. What is so awful is that they are free to lie and cheat with absolute impunity. The complaints service won't accept a complaint and the LA ombudsman say it's outside their jurisdiction. I can't think of another public body that is so unaccountable.

[LadyConstanceDeCoverlet]

The council's complaints service can't just refuse to accept a complaint, can they? What reason do they give?

[Ineedmorepatience]

You have to follow the complaints protocol! If you are complaining about a school you have to complain to the governors if its the LA you have to complain to the Section manager usually or the director of childrens services. Give them chance to respond and if they dont of if their response is rubbish you can escalate the complaint.

Good luck.

[amunt]

Thanks.

When I made a complaint with the complaint service the response was that it cannot be accepted as you have the right of appeal. Also, the problem is that these tactics seem to be common and so are presumably condoned internally. I think basically if you are repeatedly lying in order to deny children access to support they need and are entitled to, you should be sacked, not be reminded of best practice, which is what would presumably be the result of an internal complaint.

[LadyConstanceDeCoverlet]

If you are complaining specifically about the fact that they lied to you in saying you could not call the SENCo as a witness, that isn't anything to do with the tribunal and there is nothing the tribunal can do to discipline or train the person who lied. Maybe if you went back to them and said something to that effect they would reconsider? If not, escalate the complaint to the next level.