Children and Families Act 2014

 

 

Annual Reviews and the Loop

A reminder of parent and young person’s rights under Annual Reviews. What are the rights of appeal following Annual Review? Section 51 Children and Families Act 2014 (CFA) gives parents and young persons the right to appeal of the Local...

Clarity on the naming of independent/non-maintained placements on EHCPs

LB of Hillingdon v SS and Others (SEN): [2017] UKUK 250 (AAC) The Children and Families Act 2014 (CFA) introduced a system by which the Secretary of State can approve independent special and special post-16 placements to enable them to be requested to be...

Parents to blame for misdiagnosis of special educational needs?

So says the findings of a GL Assessment report out today, 24 February 2017, ‘Hooked on labels not on needs’. The survey polled 810 teachers from 19 January to 1 February 2017. In summary, the findings are: 57% of teachers in the survey think...

When is an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) necessary?

The judgment of the Upper Tribunal in  Hertfordshire County Council v MC and KC (SEN) (Special educational needs : Failure to make a statement)  has been released. This case the question of when an EHCP is necessary. This case is an appeal...

No hours, just banding, in an EHCP

Over the weekend, we received  this flyer  from a concerned parent via Facebook. The parent asked us whether what the local authority was proposing was lawful. The flyer “SEN Banding Information Sessions” poses the question;...

Clarity from the Upper Tribunal about young people and EHCPs

The Children and Families Act 2014 created a new system of support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Two of the many changes made were: Extending SEND support to the age of 25; Creating the...

Special educational needs statistics are released by Department of Education

The Department for Education (DfE) has issued its first set of special educational needs statistics following the changes brought about by the Children and Families Act 2014. The information published on 26 May 2016 is currently the only national source...

How much you've paid for the SEND reforms

Since the beginning of February 2016, we have been chasing the Department for Education for details of the costs of the special educational needs and disability (SEND) reforms. On Friday 18 March we received the answer. The total figure is staggering. ...

New SEND guidance for health professionals - is it any clearer?

Since the special educational needs and disability (SEND) reforms came about with the Children and Families Act 2014 coming into force in September 2014, we have expressed our concerns about health and social care not engaging with the process. Read ...

LA cuts taking their toll

“A new special educational needs (SEN) system has been in place for more than a year. But have the changes been positive? Laxmi Patel gives them a broad thumbs up – but warns that cuts are taking their toll”. Laxmi Patel  recently...

DfE puts more money into SEND reforms

On 29 January 2016 the DfE announced that it would be putting more money into the special educational needs and disability (SEND) reforms. The additional funding is £80 million. The funding breaks down as follows: £35.87 million to local...

Personal budgets, direct payments and SEN (2)

This is the second of a two-part post. Yesterday’s post explained what a personal budget is, how parents/young person (YP) can request one, personal budgets for Health and Social Care, challenging the local authority’s (LA’s) decision and...

Personal budgets, direct payments and SEN (1)

We get enquiries about personal budgets time and time again. Whilst the right for parents and young people (YP) to request a personal budget has been in force now for over a year, it is apparent that very few people who want one have actually managed to...

Who is responsible for therapy in an Education, Health and Care Plan?

There is still quite a lot of confusion about how therapeutic provision should be provided to a child or young person who has an  Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) . Yesterday, 6 January 2016, we received a letter from a local authority which...

EHC plans and the postcode lottery

“Speakers at the Westminster Education Forum touched upon an issue that I believe needs to be discussed and understood more fully. Changes to the special educational needs (SEN) regime brought about by the  Children and Families Act 2014 (CFA)...

Is the Local Offer really the problem?

The Department for Education (DfE) has released its latest Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) newsletter. It focuses heavily on the failings of the  Local Offer , but is quiet on a number of other issues. The newsletter...

The Children and Families Act 2014 - One year on

The Children and Families Act (CFA) came into effect a year ago, on 1 September 2014. At that time, we felt hopeful that we were on the brink of a significant cultural shift. We questioned whether the transition would be smooth, whether there would be much...

A parent's guide to the Special Educational Needs reforms

Head of SEN Solicitor team at Boyes Turner  Laxmi Patel  has written a parent’s guide to the Special Educational Needs reforms which appears in this month’s Families West magazine which you can read  here . The article focuses...

West Berkshire slashes support for kids it recognises as disadvantaged

The Inclusion Manager at Reading Borough Council, Chris Stevens, has set out that too many children with  special educational needs (SEN)  in Reading are facing exclusion or are missing education. This follows the announcement that West Berkshire...

What you should know before starting SEN mediation

Parents are increasingly concerned about the new system of mediation that has been introduced by the Children and Families Act 2014. The  Children and Families Act 2014  requires that before a parent, or young person, appeals to the ...

Can schools refuse to be named on an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP)?

Over the past few weeks, a number of parents have asked whether a school can refuse to be named on an  Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) . EHCPs were introduced in the  Children and Families Act 2014 , which substantially changed the law...

Teachers warn of funding cuts for special needs

Several teachers’ unions had their annual conferences last week. You may have seen the  headlines  about teachers backing strike action against funding cuts in education.  This comes at a time when local authorities are bedding in...

Speed Kills (the Children and Families Act 2014)

Part 3 of the Children and Families Act 2014 promised to be the most significant change in special educational needs law for 30 years. However, academic commentary about the benefits of the Act is divided and its implementation could prove to be its...

The transition to EHCP - What you need to know

The Children and Families Act 2014 took effect on 1 September 2014. Since that time children have been making the move from  Statements of Special Educational Needs  (or Learning Difficulty Assessments) to  Education, Health and Care Plans...

More support needed for those accessing residential schools

The Children’s Commissioner has issued a report discussing the views and experiences of children in residential schools. The report focuses on children’s views of being placed in residential schools and considers...

Understanding one another's practice

Boyes Turner SEN Team contributed to the Solicitor’s Journal this week to explain the interplay between Negligence, Court of Protection and Education lawyers in light of the Children and Families Act 2014. See the full piece  here. ...

Timpson tells local authorities to slow down and focus on quality

Edward Timpson MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Children and Families, has  written an open letter  addressed to all local authority chiefs about the current transition from  Statement of SEN  to  Education, Health and...

SEN Solicitors host specialist seminar

“Very knowledgeable and clear answers” “Very aware of change and this has been a good start to updating knowledge. Fabulous and a real treat” “Really relevant and informative” Boyes Turner SEN team hosted a...

Transition to Education, Health & Care Plans

The Children & Families Act 2014 has now been in force since 1 September 2014. Since that time, many local authorities, schools and practitioners will have been trying to keep up with the guidance and regulations that have been issued to support the new...

Special Educational Needs law has changed!

We are holding a seminar on 22 October 2014 to help practitioners through the myriad of changes. The seminar is designed for case managers, independent therapists and other professionals who work closely with children with special educational needs (SEN)...

Special Educational Needs Update - Autumn 2014

Much has happened in the world of  special educational needs (SEN)  over the last few months. Many of us had doubts that the  legal changes  that were to take place from 1 st September 2014 would not happen and some groups were...

Local authorities need more time to fully implement the special educational needs and disability (SEND) reforms

Christine Lenehan, Director of the Council for Disabled Children, has called for local authorities to be given more time to fully implement the new SEND changes: ‘It may be some weeks before all areas are properly delivering key elements of the...

I am so happy at the outcome, I don't think we would have had such a comprehensive service from any other law firm, and you took the worry away...I do not regret a single second of the whole process, apart from the bit before you got involved. 

James' mother, Boyes Turner client

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