Secondary schools admissions and appeals
Summary
TLDRThis video addresses the UK's special educational needs crisis, highlighting the underfunding of special educational needs budgets and the challenges parents face in securing appropriate secondary school placements for their children with EHCPs. The speaker outlines steps for parents to take if their child isn't offered a suitable school, including appealing to a tribunal where 98% of cases favor parents. The video also discusses the SEND reform trial, the importance of understanding legal rights, and strategies for self-care during the stressful appeals process. The speaker emphasizes the value of community support and provides tips for managing stress and advocating effectively for children's educational needs.
Takeaways
- 📊 Nearly 40% of children with an EHCP in the borough did not receive their first choice of secondary school.
- ⚠️ The UK is experiencing a crisis with special educational needs budgets being significantly underfunded.
- 🏫 Local authorities often push for the cheapest and simplest school options, regardless of appropriateness.
- 🙅♀️ Parents are not obligated to accept the local authority's choice and can appeal through a SEND tribunal.
- 🏛️ 98% of SEND tribunal cases are decided in favor of the parents, indicating the law supports them.
- ⏰ February 15th, 2024, is the statutory deadline for informing parents of secondary school places.
- 📑 The 'SCENT Change Program' is a trial that doesn't affect parents' legal rights to appeal.
- 📖 Parents have the right to see consultation documents to understand why their child was turned down for a school.
- 🚫 Limited reasons exist for turning down a child with an EHCP, and 'no space' or 'lack of funding' are not valid.
- 💼 Legal knowledge is crucial; parents are advised to read the SEN Code of Practice to understand their rights.
- 👥 Parents are encouraged to seek support from communities and take care of their mental health during the appeals process.
Q & A
What percentage of children with an EHCP in the speaker's borough did not get their first choice of secondary school?
-Nearly 40% of children with an EHCP did not get their first choice of secondary school.
What is the purpose of mentioning the special educational needs crisis in the UK?
-The purpose is to highlight the underfunding of special educational needs budgets and the challenges parents face in securing appropriate schools for their children.
What is the significance of the 15th of February deadline mentioned in the script?
-The 15th of February is the statutory deadline for informing parents of secondary school places, emphasizing the importance of this date for parents to be aware of their child's school allocation.
What is the SCENT change program and how does it relate to the script?
-The SCENT change program is a trial program testing parts of the government's white paper around SEND reform. It's mentioned to inform viewers that even if their area is part of the trial, it does not affect their legal rights to appeal school placements.
Why is it important for parents to ask to see the consultation documents from the local authority?
-It is important because parents have a right to understand the reasons behind the rejection of their preferred school choices, and these documents can provide insight into the local authority's decision-making process.
What are the three conditions under which a local authority can refuse a request for a school placement as per the Children and Families Act 2004?
-The local authority can refuse a request if: 1) the setting is unsuitable for the child's needs, 2) the child's attendance would be incompatible with the efficient education of others, or 3) the child's attendance would be incompatible with the efficient use of resources.
Why is it recommended to lodge an appeal as soon as possible if a parent disagrees with the school placement?
-It is recommended to lodge an appeal as soon as possible due to the backlog of cases and the potential for long waiting times for tribunal hearings.
What does the speaker suggest doing if a parent cannot find a solicitor to help with an appeal?
-The speaker suggests using an AS Advocate, seeking support from friends, or representing oneself with the help of friends and community resources.
Why is self-care emphasized in the script?
-Self-care is emphasized because the process of appealing school placements can be stressful and overwhelming, and it's important for parents to maintain their mental health during this challenging time.
What resources does the speaker provide at the end of the script to help with self-care?
-The speaker provides links to learn more about tapping, free tapping resources, and a video about self-care techniques to help manage stress and overwhelm.
Outlines
📚 Understanding the Special Educational Needs Crisis
The speaker begins by discussing the challenges faced by children with an EHCP (Education, Health, and Care Plan) in securing their first-choice secondary school, highlighting a crisis in special educational needs in the UK. They emphasize the importance of being prepared and knowing one's rights, especially as local authorities often push for the cheapest educational option. The speaker mentions the high success rate of appeals at SEND tribunals, where 98% of cases are found in favor of parents. They advise on steps to take if a suitable school place is not offered, including staying informed about deadlines and legal rights, and being proactive in filing complaints if information is not provided on time.
🏛️ Navigating the SEND Tribunal Process
The speaker continues by discussing the SEND Tribunal process, emphasizing the importance of lodging an appeal quickly and not getting bogged down in meetings or mediation. They mention the current backlog of cases due to the crisis in special education needs, and the potential long wait for a hearing date. The focus is on appealing Section I of the EHCP, which names the school. They also discuss the reasons a local authority might refuse a school placement, such as the setting being unsuitable or incompatibility with the efficient education of others, and how these reasons must be proven by the authority. The speaker encourages viewers to read the SEND Code of Practice to understand their legal rights and to be prepared for the process.
💼 Legal Support and Self-Care During Appeals
In this paragraph, the speaker discusses the options for legal support during the appeals process, including hiring a solicitor, using an AS Advocate, or representing oneself with the support of friends. They share their personal experience of the stress involved in the process and the importance of self-care. The speaker provides tips on how to manage stress, such as taking a walk, talking to friends, and practicing tapping, a technique that combines aspects of acupuncture and psychotherapy to reduce stress. They also recommend seeking support from online communities and charities that offer advice and resources for parents going through the appeals process.
🌟 Finding Support and Prioritizing Self-Care
The speaker concludes by encouraging viewers to connect with other parents who are fighting for similar causes and to share stories and support each other. They mention additional resources available, such as self-care tips and an explanation of the tapping technique, which can be helpful in managing stress during the appeals process. The speaker wishes viewers the best of luck in securing an appropriate school place for their child and emphasizes the importance of looking after one's mental health during this challenging time.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡EHCP
💡Secondary School
💡Special Educational Needs (SEN)
💡Local Authorities
💡Appeal
💡SEND Reform
💡Consultation Documents
💡Section 394
💡SEN Code of Practice
💡Tribunal
💡Self-Care
Highlights
Nearly 40% of children with an EHCP did not get their first choice of secondary school.
The UK is experiencing a special educational needs crisis due to underfunded budgets.
Local authorities often push for the cheapest school option regardless of appropriateness.
Parents can appeal school placement decisions at a SEND tribunal, where 98% of cases favor parents.
The deadline for informing parents of secondary school places is February 15th, and it's statutory.
20% of parents in the local borough were not informed within the deadline.
The SEND Change Program is a trial that doesn't affect parents' legal rights to appeal.
Parents have the right to see consultation documents to understand rejection reasons.
There are limited reasons for rejecting an EHCP request, and local authorities must prove these.
Not having space or funding issues are not valid reasons for rejection according to Section 394 of the Children and Families Act 2004.
The SEND Code of Practice is a crucial resource for understanding legal rights.
Local authorities must fully fund the provision in the child's EHCP, regardless of cost.
If parents wish to appeal, they should lodge their case at tribunal as soon as possible.
There is a significant backlog of cases at tribunal due to the crisis.
Parents have the option to use a solicitor, an AS Advocate, or represent themselves with support.
It's important for parents to look after their mental health during the appeals process.
Communities and support networks can provide valuable advice and emotional support.
Self-care techniques such as walking, talking to friends, tapping, meditation, and yoga can help manage stress.
Transcripts
in my burough nearly 40% of children
with an ehcp did not get their first
choice of secondary school I don't tell
you this to try and scare you that's the
last thing I want to do I tell you CU I
want you to be
prepared in the UK we are in the midst
of a special educational needs crisis as
councils go bankrupt people around the
country are waking up to what we've been
bangging on about for ages special
educational needs budgets are woefully
underfunded at the moment this may be
playing out in terms of whether you get
the appropriate school for your child in
most cases local authorities will try
and push you towards the cheapest and
simplest option regardless of whether
it's appropriate for your child you do
not have to accept this you can appe
appeal once more at the scend tribunal
that's where your case goes it's a court
and it's where your case goes if you
appeal
98% 98% of cases are found in the
parents favor so the law is on your side
in this video I want to talk you through
some of the steps you need to take if
you have not been given a school place
that is appropriate for your child
so we're going to start with the fact
that this is being recorded after
February 15th to 2024 so I know some
people may be watching this in 2025 or
whenever but the 15th of February is the
deadline for informing parents of
secondary school places if your child
has an
ehcp if you have not been told then you
need to get on to the phone email
whatever it takes to get that answer
because this deadline is not a nice to
have it is a statutory deadline and
unfortunately again in my local burrow
20% of parents were not told within that
time frame so good chance is the first
thing you need to do is just get on
their case start filing those complaints
if they're not telling you and remind
them of their legal
responsibilities the next thing I want
to flag is something called the scent
change program again this has been
recorded in February 2024 and this is
currently a trial program that is being
run in some parts of the country its
aims is to test out parts of the
government's white paper around send
reform and it's not happening everywhere
it's just happening in some regions now
I just saw a very interesting email um
video from Ipsy who are the charity that
support parents with uh legal advice if
your child has special educational needs
and they were saying that even if your
area has been chosen as one of the
rollout areas it does not affect your
legal rights so one of the things they
are triing is local authorities just
telling parents where their child will
go so currently you may if you're in one
of those areas just be told this is the
school you're having but Ipsy want you
to know that you can steal appeal
because this is not yet law they are
just testing on whether it could become
law and hey let's hope it doesn't
because that will be a bit of a
disaster so the next point is to ask to
see the consultation documents so the
local Authority should have consulted
with your first and second if you had
one choice of schools and you have a
right to see those documents to find out
why they turned you down now this is
important because there are limited
reasons why a child with an ehcp can be
turned down and the schools need to
stick to these and I'm actually going to
read out what Ipsy have on their website
I'm going to read it because I want to
make sure I get the wording right so
they say the only reason the local
Authority can refuse the request is if
one the setting is unsuitable for the
age ability aptitude or special
educational needs of the child or young
person two the attendance of the child
or young person would be incompatible
with the provision of efficient
education of others or three the
attendance of the a child or young
person would be incompatible with the
efficient use of resources so this is
set out in section 394 of the children
and families act
2004 Ipsy say the local Authority has to
prove that at least one of these
conditions applies in order to dislodge
the parent or Young Person's
preference so they will have to comply
with with these you can see sometimes
the wording is a little bit vague
so the attendance of the child or young
person would be incompatible with the
provision or efficient education of of
others is often used when they say we
don't have space so not having space is
not a legitimate reason but they can say
we don't have space and it would be um
incompatible with the education of
others however ever in court a judge is
unlikely to rule that having just one
more student is going to be incompatible
with the education of others so if
they're saying there is no room still
appeal because the law is on your side
and if you're saying it's just one more
child I'm not I'm not sending coach load
over there it's just one more child they
are unlikely to win that and another
reason they often give is uh funding
funding is not appropriate again this is
not a valid reason as you can see from
the reasons I've read it is not listed
on there
furthermore uh if you've read the sen
Cod of practice and this is from the
senoda practice and I you you need to
read the senoda practice and I'm going
to put a link in the description CU I
want you to read the enod of practice
that much I know it's big but you can
actually skip loads of sections
and the reason I want you to read it is
because then you will know your legal
rights and that is so important because
at the moment these local authorities
will just try in and if you know your
legal rights you will be on much better
ground so look in the description you
will see a link to the same code of
practice download it make yourself a cup
of tea and get reading so as I said in
the sen code of practice it states that
the local Authority must fully fund the
provision in the child's ehcp so that's
regardless of cost if you have you
should have a costings mapping um and
they have to fund it so a school can't
say we can't take this child because we
don't have the money because the local
Authority should be providing all the
money so those are some of the common
reasons now you might decide that this
school has just been such beats that you
actually don't want to send your child
there in which case you may decide I
don't really want to have this fight but
if you do want to have the fight if you
do think that this school is the best
option regardless of what they're saying
your child needs to go to this school
then what you need to do is get your
case lodged at tribunal ASAP don't mess
around don't mess around with meetings
or mediation or any of that stuff just
get it logged I mean you can still do
meetings you can get your appeal lodged
and then still say well I'm still open
to discussions but I'm still going ahead
and getting this case Lodge the reason I
say that is because as I say we are in
the middle of a s crisis and the system
is falling apart and the number of cases
that have been lodged at tribunal has
gone through the roof I'm actually in
the middle of a tribunal case myself at
the moment I've been given a year until
my hearing date now now I don't know if
that I don't want anyone to panic now
it's not necessarily the case if what
you're doing is appealing the name
school I think they do try and Fast
Track those ones but it is a long wait
the there was a massive backlog of cases
because of the crisis so if you are
going to appeal what you're appealing is
Section I of your ehcp that is where the
school is named so that's section I and
I'm not going to run through every
single stage but you should have
information on the letter that was sent
to you from your local Authority about
how to start the appeals process now if
you're in a fortunate enough position
that you can afford a solicitor great
although my experience was it was
actually quite hard to find one again we
are in a special educational needs
crisis and the solicitors are all
absolutely backed up with cases but by
all means go for it I'm not going to
make any particular recommendations here
because things change and I don't know
when you're going to be watching this
video and also as I said there's such a
backlog of cases that some people may
find that they just can't get onto the
books of any solicitor you do have other
options you can use an A S Advocate
there are a few agencies around there
again I'm not going to recommend any but
you can maybe ask around locally they
are cheaper than a solicitor but they
are not legal Representatives but they
often have lots of legal knowledge the
other thing you can do and what I have
ended up opting for just because I was
starting to run out of money is doing it
yourself with the support of friends and
this brings me on to my final point
which is you need to look after
yourself I've had quite a rough week
mainly because of my tribunal
case the support I was meant to be
getting from my advocate was not up to
the standard that I was happy with and
so I've had to take it on all myself and
I was sitting at a table on most of the
day on Sunday covered in papers trying
to sort out all the paperwork for the
the uh evidence deadline which was fast
approaching it was extremely stressful
and it was not how I wanted to spend my
weekend I also then got myself into a
bit of a muddle because I am not an
expert on any of this and I had to go
out and seek help and support from
friends to say what do I do next I don't
understand I have to say also the
helpline at the tribunal were very
helpful so you can always call them and
ask them for
advice but I also did Lean Into My
communities because I was feeling so
overwhelmed by it all and people stepped
up people who have been through this
before me were able to advise me
so find your communities there are some
great communities online have a look on
Facebook um search for ECP advice look
on contact uh the charity for disabled
children and their families they have a
Facebook page great place to ask these
kind of questions lean into those
communities because they actually there
are parents in there with a wealth of
knowledge and advice and they can help
you and they don't charge anything
and the other thing is about looking
after your mental health so I have got
much better at recognizing now when I'm
getting overwhelmed and I could tell
over this weekend because I've been
working so hard on this my mental health
was starting to get a little bit frayed
around the edges so I took a break and I
decided I need to do something for me so
the first thing I did was just go out
and go for a walk to move my body to get
out in nature to take a big lung full of
fresh air and just try and clear my head
a
bit the other thing was that I just
talked to some friends just to
say I'm this is really tough um and I
got lots of support from those people
that just made me feel like a little
less alone and the third thing I did was
sat down and did some tapping now you if
you've watched a few of the videos on
the channel you have heard me talk about
tapping if this is your first video then
let me explain tapping is a mix of the
ancient tradition of acupuncture with
Western Psychotherapy so what we do is
we tap on certain parts of the body and
recite statements and this releases
cortisol the stress hormone and it has
has an impact in less than 10 minutes
and I find it great for all sorts of
situations and it was great for this
situation and I could just as I was
tapping just feel my body starting to
relax I also had this morning a bit of
meditation time and a bit of yoga just
to get rid of all those knots and
tensions that the stress are caused in
my body if you want to learn more about
tapping I will put a link at the end of
this video that you can learn a little
bit more about tapping and I will also
put a link at the in the description box
if you want to sign up for some free
tapping resources that I've produced
exclusively for you I will also put a
link to another video I've done about
self-care techniques because you are
really going to need it if you're going
to enter into this process it is tough
but you can do it you you can be the
best advocate for your child so with
that I wish you all the best of luck if
you are going through this process and
know that you are not alone there are
thousands of parents out there fighting
this same cause so connect with them and
share your stories and support each
other good
luck I hope that video got you going
with a plan for what to do if you need
to appeal section I that's the school
named on your Charles
ehcp as I talked about in that video if
you're going through this process it is
really important that you look after
yourself I've given some ideas in that
video but I've got two other videos here
that I think will give you some extra
tips on how to prioritize self-care so
we've got one with some self-care tips
and another which explains what tapping
is I mentioned it in the video it's a
really really useful technique for
relieving stress and overwhelm and it is
ideal for you if you are going through
the appeals process I wish you all the
best of luck with getting an appropriate
School place for your child and watch
these
videos
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