Q:
If YP is in specialist residential placement and is looking to stay there at post-16 transfer but the LA name the local FE college instead, can the YP continue attending the existing specialist placement until the Appeal process completed or do they have to attend the provision named by the LA in the interim?
Post-16 transfer wish to have continuing placement in specialist residential
A: SenseCheck
- 0 Yes
- 0 No
- 1 Other
- 03 Feb 2024
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Other
Other
Can't answer yes or no.:
W HH
This appears to be quite a challenging situation, and I will endeavour to clarify it by presenting a scenario while eagerly awaiting further contributions:-
Let us imagine a situation where a child, who will become a young person, is placed in a residential special school. This is the year when they will transition to post-16 provision. In this case, the Local Authority (LA) is required to follow r18 of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014 (r 18 Regs2014).
The parents and the young person have been informed that the LA's preferred placement for section I is a local Further Education (FE) College. This means the current placement at the residential special school is scheduled to end in July 2024, with the post-16 placement set to commence in September 2024. The parents/ young person wish to remain in the residential placement, which is acceptable but this would need the support of the LA.
Upon hearing this, the parents/ young person promptly take action to challenge this decision by appealing both the educational and social care aspects of the existing Education, Health, and Care plan (EHCp). The First-tier Tribunal (FtT) issues directions, and a hearing date has been listed for January 2025, which, evidently, is after September 2024. In response to this, the parents and the young person have swiftly submitted a Request for Changes (RFC) to the FtT, requesting that the current directions be modified; they have completed a SEND7 form after obtaining the LA's perspective on the matter. In their request, they emphasise the urgency of expediting these proceedings, urging that the existing directions be amended to ensure completion of the proceedings before September 2024. They have made it clear to the FtT that this is a 'transition appeal'. It is worth noting that the substantial number of appeals currently before the Tribunal, estimated at 14,000 per annum according to the Ministry of Justice, will impact the likelihood of their application/ RFC being granted. Nevertheless, the facts of the request will certainly enhance the parents and the young person's prospects in this regard.
I am uncertain whether the above information is of any assistance to you. I acknowledge the potential role of Judicial Review in your matter, but I leave a substantive response to this and other potential options to be explored by others.
Sean Kennedy
Talem Law
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