TRIBUNAL WANT A TELEPHONE HEARING

[aarmic]

Hi all,

Fairly new to this site and just needed some support as i am feeling quite low, alone and anxious at the moment.

A tribunal date has been set for the end of this month, my son age 7yrs has severe specific speech and language difficulties and the LA has refused to specify and quantify support needed in his statement as well as address issues relating to OT.

The main problem i am now faced with is that in October 2012 i named a particular mainstream school with a language unit in part 4 of statement as i felt at the time that this school had more to offer in terms of support and that this school would be a more suitable option, as the LA wanted to keep my son at his current mainstream school with minimal support 3 days a week and then spend 2 days a week in a language unit. Knowing my child i did not believe that this would work well for him, and though the LA have since provided my son with 15hrs LSA support he still continues to struggle.

At the beginning of February 2013 the LA eventually agreed to name my choice of school on my sons statement however during the months of Dec 2012-Jan 2013 my legal rep arranged for a number of independent assessments to be carried out and with the last of the reports being made available to me last month it has now become much more apparent that the school which i named and which the LA agreed to is not a suitable school.

Having spent a considerable amount of time thinking things over i decided to contact my legal rep asking for another school which i believe is able to meet all of my sons needs to be named. This was a week ago and the Tribunal have recently responded by saying that they would like all parties concerned to have a preliminary phone hearing before deciding on whether to allow my request.

I have been totally stressed out for a number of months, and as i am now a bag of nerves and not the most confident speaker going could those of you who have gone through this process of a telephone hearing please advise me on what to expect.

Many Thanks.

Before naming a school it is always important to get parts 2 and 3 right so you then know what school you are asking for. All you need to say is that there is further evidence in these new independent reports that the school agreed will not be suitable as you first thought it might have been and that a different one would be suitable??

hi, i was in a similar position - i had to change my choice of school with just 4 weeks to go to the tribunal and had a telephone hearing as well.

what wassup has said is what you need to say. also the judge will put a lot of weight on the parental right of choice of school. you need to ensure that parts 2 and 3 via the working document relate to your new school choice.

the school you now want - is it known to your LA - do they already have children who go there? if not then the LA may ask for an adjournment so that they can look at the school so be prepared for that. My school choice was well known to the LA so the judge said that the LA could consult the school within the last few weeks to go - think by this stage was just over 2 weeks. the LA did then consult my school.

have you got in writing an offer of a place at the school you now want? the tribunal also wanted to be sent to them as a matter of urgency confirmation in writing of the place and also a copy of the prospectus. they also asked for a written report from the school detailing certain things which the judge listed. also get your cost figures together as well.

i know it feels overwhelming - i was so nervous having to speak to the judge - it probably wont be the actual tribunal judge. the LA had their solicitor to speak for them as well. it was just me and the hubby. what i did find is that the judge was incredibly impartial and just wanted the facts,. The LA tried some game playing were instantly told where to go by the judge. the LA will be on their best behaviour so please dont worry. I came away feeling that for the first time in this stressful process that we were listened to and the judge was well aware of the case and asked very relevant questions.

my new school choice was 50k a year more - the judge made it clear it was my absolute right as a parent to amend my parental choice of school. my reports came back similar and detailed a much more needier child than i had envisaged.

i won my tribunal and a 70K independent school placement so it can be done and i did it without any legal representation

The judge just wants to know there is time for all info the panel will need to be in place. They send the papers to panel members 2 weeks before and if you need to adjourn they would rather do it before then so time is not wasted on panel members reading the file who then don't hear the case if its adjourned. Just explain what happened and be flexible about adjourning if LA say need more time to consider your new request. The judge must do what is in the best interests of the child and that is getting the right placement. The judges role is purely to make sure the case is in a fit state to be heard so both parties have filed everything and had enough time to view placement etc. the eventual hearing is not with a judge at all but a panel of 3. Usually a lawyer, an expert in sen eg EP and a lay person. If the LA says anything you don't understand just ask the judge to explain it to you. That's his job. Have alternative dates for your experts to hand.

Thank you all so much for your replies, your personal experiences and words of advise are of tremendous value as well as a source of strength through these difficult times.

In response to bjkmummy i do not know if the school i would like my son to attend is known to my LA or if the LA currently have children attending. As my decision to change school was fairly recent i have been in contact with the school and i am waiting for an appointment to visit.

My initial choice of school was a mainstream school with a language unit attached however as the independent reports have highlighted a child with much greater needs i am now seeking a placement at an independent school.

Will keep you posted.

Thanks again.

Will inbox you in a moment with this

okay - you will need an offer of a place in writing as a tribunal cannot order the school to place the child there without them confirming there is a place available especially with it being an independent school. I think from what you have said that there could be a real chance that there could be a post ponement of the tribunal hearing. I personally didnt want that due to the length of time my son was out of school so argued against it but it sounds like you will need more time as well. you will need the head from the independent school to come to the tribunal as well if they will agree as the tribunal will want to ask them questions about the school and its provision

Thanks bjkmummy for the advice, i will ensure that all areas that you have mentioned regarding the school are addressed during my visit which should hopefully be soon.

In a recent conversation with my legal rep a possible postponement was mentioned but that it would be up to the judge to decide, so i guess i will have to wait and see what happens after our telephone hearing.