SEN school transport appeal

[woodwaj]

My son recently won his appeal for his special needs high school place in september. We are trying to get the LA to add transport in. Its gone to a stage 2 appeal and they've scheduled a call for 2 weeks time with 3 staff and a counsellor. Has anyone done this before and can advise me what to expect/prepare? I didnt realise a hearing would be a thing I presumed it would be a final yes/no

If you haven’t already, it will help you to read the school travel statutory guidance. However, it might also help you to read the actual legislation too and some of the news articles from the time the current guidance was released because there are some inconsistencies between the statutory guidance and legislation and case law. The statutory guidance does not trump the legislation.

The LA has a duty to provide transport to eligible compulsory school aged DC who attend their nearest suitable qualifying school. There are a few ways of being an eligible child. One is if DS can’t reasonably be expected to walk to school because of his SEN &/or disability. Another is if the school is more than 3 miles away. So it is worth knowing which criteria you are requesting transport under.

How is the SS named in section I? Is it named with or without a caveat about transport &/or not being the nearest suitable school but parental preference?

There will be introductions at the beginning of the meeting. The chair should welcome everyone and explain the process. You will be given the opportunity to present your case. You don’t need to read everything you have already submitted, though. The panel will have read the whole case. Although some people do as that is what they are comfortable doing. You shouldn’t introduce new evidence at this stage. You may be asked questions. You will be given the chance to ask questions too. You don’t have to attend the hearing if you don’t want to. You only have to be given the opportunity to.

@ChasingMoreSleep this is really helpful, thank you.

Section I just names school type and school name and nothing more.

The school is under 3 miles away, so our appeal is on the basis of his SEN.

I am hoping some SIASS dates pop up too between now and my meeting.

I feel like they are rejecting it largely on it being based on my work commitments, when he absolutely cannot do this walk himself. I could potentially get him to school, but not pick up do you think theres any negotiation in this?

My DS EHCP was issued when he was 3.5years old so all their assessments are well out of date. We have paid for a private EP recently who specifically highlighted these issues for him and we have submitted that info in stage 1.

From your posts, DS qualifies for transport. The school named is the nearest suitable qualifying school. The statutory walking distance is irrelevant to applications made under the SEN criteria. I wouldn’t attempt to negotiate just one journey.

Be careful with SENDIASS. Some are good but too many repeat the LA’s unlawful policies.

If your appeal fails, rather than go down the LGO route, I would look at a pre-action letter and the JR route if necessary. That is because the LGO route will take too long for it to be a suitable alternative remedy.

Thanks I was thinking of just reviewing all our information and summarising it as a sort of statement to read on the day.

Do you know if this is normal practice for a stage 2? 🤔

Yes, it’s normal.