SEND Tribunal query

[RainyReadingDay]

Can anyone help with a question, please?

We are appealing to Tribunal, and the LA should have responded by the beginning of this week, by sending us a copy of their Attendance Form, etc. They haven't done this, we've heard nothing from them.

We don't know whether to send our Attendance form to the Tribunal anyway, or whether to wait to see if the LA are going to try to reach an agreement. There's a complete silence from everyone. We've messaged the Tribunal office to see if they have received any paperwork, but haven't yet heard back from them.

Does it look like the LA are trying to get us to withdraw our appeal, by ignoring the timetable?

What happens now? We've tried getting in touch with SENDIASS who were helping and supporting our appeal, but there doesn't seem to be anyone there to answer emails/tel calls.

Very confused as to what happens now.

Unfortunately this isn’t uncommon. It doesn’t mean the LA are going to concede. Let SENDIST know and carry on.

OK. Thanks. I have written to SENDIST to let them know. The LA are hateful. They've messed up everything and left DS without any education at all. We're paying for tutors for him out of our own money. We've made a v long detailed complaint to their Complaints Department, which is currently being investigated and, if we don't get a satisfactory response there, we were advised to take it to the Ombudsman too, which we will do. The LA have made so many mistakes and denied DS an education that they don't have a defence, but I suppose that won't stop them trying. Bastards.

Have you told SENDIST DS is out or education? Then the appeal will be prioritised.

Depending on specifics it might not be possible now because you have gone down the complaints department route, but if DS is CSA provision under s.19 of the Education Act 1996 can be enforced via judicial review. Email the Director of Children’s Services requesting provision and threatening judicial review. If that fails contact SOSSEN for help with a pre-action letter.

@FloatingBean Thank you so much. This is really helpful. It's been an absolute nightmare so far. I have written endless emails to the LA, and have complained to the Director of Children's Services. I will now do that again and include the bit about Judicial Review. Hopefully that will get their attention. So far all we've had is just the LA ignoring our emails, or pushing back at us.

If DS already has an EHCP and the appeal is about content/placement rather than refusal to assess or refusal to issue the LA must also provide anything specified and quantified in F. If they don’t this can also be enforced via JR if necessary.

The Appeal is about content and placement. We've had an EHCP for DS since 2021. It has been a fight from the start.

Both DH & I are so stressed by it all. We had a good SENDIASS advisor who pushed us to appeal and advised us what to say, but now we can't get hold of her or anyone else in their office. I know she mentioned that they are extremely busy, but she said she'd be there for us to advise. It's almost as if the whole team have quit.

Be careful with SENDIASS, some are good but too many repeat the LA’s unlawful policies. I would be wary if they haven’t directed you to judicial review for failure to provide education under s. 19 of the Education Act 1996 and failure to secure provision specified and quantified in F under s.42 CAFA 2014 before now.

Yes. I think I see now that they led us to Tribunal, but not to JR. No mention was ever made of it. This is all very new to me, and I'm going to have to do a lot of reading into it over the weekend.

I had been thinking along the lines of writing to our local MP, who appears to have a vested interest in SEND provision for our area. He's been pushing for another Special School, but who knows whether that will ever happen. And would almost certainly be far too late for DS even if it did.

I shall plan out another letter to the Director of Children's Services this weekend, with DH, and refer to JR.

SOSSEN have information on JR. If you haven’t already read them IPSEA and SOSSEN’s websites are helpful for information about EHCPs/the process etc. Both have advice lines too.