Secondary school place SEN appeal - legal help needed! Pref in Sheffield area

[redwineandh0ney]

My son has not yet been statemented but has diagnosis of ASD /Aspergers and has been refused a place at his two schools of preference in Sheffield, and been made inappropriate offer by the LEA. Am going to appeal but does anyone have any experience of legal help (pref. Sheffield area) that has been useful? Does anyone rate a particular legal firm in terms of SEN and appeals? I could really use a legal firms in depth knowledge of case histories and precendents. Grateful for any pointers... Thanks

Maxwell Gillott is normally the go to firm for parents of children with SEN.

www.maxwellgillott.com/

Don't worry about them not being local. I had a solicitor in London for my appeal and i live in yorkshire and everything was done via phone and email.

Thank you!

There's SEN Legal in Bury St Edmunds - they cover the whole country.

Thank you!

SenLegal in Bury St. Edmunds are highly professional in this area.

SEN Legal are incredibly expensive. You're much better off with Maxwell Gillott.

Is there a reason he doesn't have a Statement/EHC plan? Am only asking as it might help you in your appeal.

My son has autism and ADHD, having a Statement meant we got our choice of school sorted out early. I chose the smallest school locally.

I am hoping some of the appeals people will also come in to the thread. I think that transition to secondary school is so important for children with autism and the diagnosis alone should make a difference in appeals. I don't know if it does though but am guessing the appeals experts on MN will know more.

You might want to post this in the Secondary Education topic as well, as there are some expert posters there who are usually very generous with their time and expertise.

You say your DS is not statemented, but is there other evidence of additional needs and how they should be met?

Do either of your preferred schools have an exceptional medical/social need criterion, and did you make it clear that you were in that category when you applied? What did Admissions a Authority publish about how they manage that criterion, and does it look as if they did it correctly? (procedurally, not in terms of outcome you wanted).

We are having the exact same problem in Sheffield at the moment.
It seems that if you do not have a statement then your diagnosis and the childs needs do not matter!

Douglas Silas claim to be the only solicitors specialising exclusively with sen. Very well reputed within the field

I don't think that it's necessarily beneficial for solicitors to specialise exclusively in SEN, given the need for expertise in the law on social care since EHC Plans came in and the fact that many children with SEN also have health and care needs. Maxwell Gillott have offices in Lancaster, Gateshead and Manchester so are probably the best bet for cases involving Sheffield.