-
Can I claim transport costs arisen while appealing changes to transport provided (appeal was successful)?
- Transport changed from solo taxi to shared taxi without new risk assessment being conducted
- initial appeal (end of august, just before school returned) submitted parent statement
- initial appeal failed, warned one attempt left. Gathered evidence from multiple professionals for stage two appeal and triggered pre-action protocol letter
- while appealing - self funded transport with the same company the LA had been using previously, receipts provided
- outcome - won appeal and LA concluded solo transport was required, however refusal to reimburse any costs as it was parental choice to send our son to school and we hadn't provided all the evidence (which we didn't have) at stage one
Context - our son is a school refuser (gaps in attendance can lead to increase in distress behaviours going in / increased refusal), his school is out of county and we were unable to drive him ourselves, all our leave was allocated to school holidays, our son has a congenital brain injury and cannot be left at home without supervision, our son has previously looked after child status (adopted) and significant trauma, the loss of regular driver triggers rejection and toxic shame responses (including self injurious behaviour).
Additional - initial appeal August 2024, pre action protocol issued October 2024 (and not accepted as stage two complaint hadn't gone through - we thought both ran together, additional costs associated with this), complaints re costs incurred outcome August 2025. (Process initially delayed by gathering evidence, and then by stress incurred / health issues)
Costs incurred - around £5,000, now in debt as a result as had been told if we won the appeal we would claim costs back (but county staff member - recording of this phone call is unavailable we have been told, as not all calls are recorded) -
Suspensions
Son is 6 years old - suspected ADHA,PDA and Trauma related anxiety (owing to my incurable cancer diagnosis). He is in year 1 of a primary school who were very slow to acknowledge his SEN needs, despite paperwork backing this from age 3. He has a sen support plan in place, along with a positive behaviour plan - both heavily written by me as the SENCO is very inexperienced. He now has 1:1 at all times he is in school - with a note in the sen plans that he should be with a trusted adult at all times, because of a flight risk and risk to others. This year he has been suspended 3 times already with the last suspension being 2.5 days for spitting. The situation occurred because his trusted adult was not with him, no adult was. My question is - can the school really suspend him, when they are failing to stick to what's been agreed and counter to the plan, fail to identify new triggers and learn from experience. Many thanks legal brains for giving your time.
Michelle Bullen
21 Jan 2026
-
Understanding change of placement in section I after permenant exclusion?
My son is in year 7, EHCP and been permanently excluded.
He was in mainstream and I was trying to get a change of placement but the LA had not put the paperwork through in time and told me to wait. In which time he was PEX. I'm not appealing the PEX as it's pretty pointless, he lasted 10 weeks in Mainstream school.
Now the PEX has prompted a change of placement under section I. I have named a specialist, the LA are consulting on Parental preference. But they feel his needs can still be met in Mainstream and consulting with them.
Due to the PEX he is now educated outside of school and the LA have set him work online with a tutor online. Which obviously does not meet provision F. I also work full time and after next week I have zero childcare. I have complained to the director of children and suprise, nobody cares.
I have two questions with anyone that has been through this:
1.When the LA name a school that is not parental preference I have the right to appeal under SEN tribunal, this is currently a 9-12 month wait, is this triaged as more urgent as he is not in school? Also will the 'tutoring' remain in place whilst I appeal?
2.I have contacted every solicitor I possibly can to proceed with judicial review, can anyone recommend anyone that could take legal aid and has availability?
I actually have no idea what to do and I don't actually no how I'm going to keep my job. Anyone that's been through this experience and could share would be much appreciated, I can't find this situation online anywhere.O -
If a tribunal is open for an ehcp can I still carry out a phased transfer review of the ehcp
Parent went to tribunal over an EHC and a draft amended EHC is still being argued over. LA have asked for the original final EHC to be reviewed as per Phased transfer regulations. Mum has said it is not legal to do so if it is at tribunal
-
GCSE options; My yr11 Autistic child wishes to reduce her options to 3 subjects instead of 4. This will be Drama that is removed, therefore allowing a study block session within her timetable. If she had her diagnosis at the time of selecting her options I understand that this may of been offered. Us requesting it now is these a reasonable adjustment and can the school refuse the change?
The school are saying that this is a big ask and that it won’t be possible.
-
Teacher ask for child to be collected from school because he was throwing things
What support can I access to assist my son, who has been having behaviour issues that have been increasing for 6 weeks? He has been vocally matching other children in the class (it is important to add that my son is verbal, and the other children are non-verbal, as in they do not communicate using words, but I guess they communicate both using their device and vocally). My son will continually be vocal and disturb the class, hit the teacher, hit other children, throw things at the assistant teachers and other children. He has an autism diagnosis (level 3) and has been attending the education support classes at the same school for 5 years without any behavioural issues until recently.
The first 4 weeks, this behaviour was communicated to me by writing in the communication diary, which is kept in his school bag, by speaking with Dad after school during pick-up, and through a behaviour support plan that was sent home for me to sign and return the following day. The strategies included him requesting a break, requesting to go to another class, or the sensory room. If this is done five times, he is rewarded with a treat. During this time, I expressed wanting to meet with them because of the things written in the diary, but his dad, the messenger, let me know they (the teachers) said this was not necessary because they thought they could deal with it, and the strategies they were using were helping.
Last week, I requested a meeting in writing via email, and we met later in the week. I said I was concerned about the things written in the diary and was not sure why no one had called to let me know at the time of the incidents. I also wanted to follow the same strategies at home but had some issues because of different parenting styles between me and Dad. We will meet again tomorrow with both parents and his therapist in attendance. He was excluded from school today because they were unable to stop him from throwing things at other children, and he was placed in a class by himself. I understand it is a safety concern, but what services can I access? What steps should I take? What can I do as a parent to help my son with his behaviour issues?Cristina M
28 Aug 2025
-
Can a teacher exclude a child from school because their behavior arises from the loss of essential accommodations, leaving them without any alternatives or support?
I am wanting to support the family to navigate this so I am wondering if this letter I drafted would help the situation.
I am writing to formally request a SEND Assist referral for my son, [Child’s Full Name], who is currently enrolled in the special education program at ____ Primary School. Due to his neurodivergent profile, [Child’s Name] relies on a specific object ______ for emotional regulation and predictability. While I understand the school has raised safety concerns, I believe these can be addressed through reasonable adjustments and trauma-informed planning. This has worked in the past, where we have been given the opportunity to come together to work on a solution that works for everyone.
Despite previous meetings and discussions about his behaviour, no resolution has been reached, and recently [Child’s Name] has been excluded from school and left in the care of a family member because I could not meet with the teacher that day due to work commitments, but I was available the following day. This is now impacting his right to inclusive education under the Disability Standards for Education 2005.
I am requesting SEND Assist involvement to:
- Assess the regulatory role of the object and propose safe alternatives
- Support the school in implementing inclusive, neurodivergent-friendly strategies
- Ensure [Child’s Name] can return to school safely and respectfully
Please confirm that this referral will be initiated. If not, I will escalate the matter to the Department of Education and seek support through Disability Services and allied health professionals.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Kind regards,
[Mother’s Full Name]
[Contact details]Cristina M
25 Aug 2025
-
Should I issue JR proceedings when school cannot meet need but LA named on EHCP?
Our daughter is due to start school in September. She is 4 years old. We applied for a school place and the nearest school offered a place. A draft EHCP has been issued naming the school in section I. The school have now been formally consulted with the EHCP and have said they cannot meet need. This is not a surprise to us and we suspect she needs an EOTAS package.
If the final EHCP lists the school in section I, despite school saying they cannot meet need, where does this leave us? Her anxiety is high and she refused to attend preschool setting. Waits for the tribunal are likely 12+ months. Is judicial review the best option for us to challenge rationality of decision to name school in Section I that cannot need need? -
Does my child with no diagnoses' have the right to stay in her school & not be sent to another school for a 'few days' after melt downs
It was aggreed at a meeting that my daughter has an undiagnosed SEN. They have put in alot of support for her while at school, but when her behaviour escalates she will be sent to another school, where she is told that, she is a naughty child & is not allowed to associate with the other students
-
Is it discrimination under Equality Act 2010? and is this considered a safeguarding issue?
Son is a full time wheelchair user (unable to stand or crawl) year 3 at mainstream village school. There were adaptions needed to access the top playground (keystage 2) and a ramp was put in last year.
On the 17th May, he suddenly said children were allowed to play on the grass bank alongside the playground (this is quite steep and the kids often roll down it). My son described how he felt sad and lonely as all he could do was sit and watch his friends. We explained this to the headteacher who at first defensively said:
1) No children are allowed on the bank, shortly after 2) The children are only allowed on the bank when i'm there 3) Then 10 minutes later, advised there were no rules about the bank. When further talks were had she advised she cant stop the kids going on as its the 'shaded area'.
My son told her how he felt and she said to him whilst I was sitting there "Its really fun going on the bank, that's why the children want to go on there, but they'll move onto something again soon."
We had asked if there could be rules applied that limited 2 houses (school are divided into 4 houses) on the bank at any one time. This would ensure that our son had some friends down on the playground with him at all times. No further communication from the head. We had also questioned why our sons 1-1 had not seen him alone and offered support, but this was not addressed.
On the 5th July, our son was upset again as he was made to feel this way again. When we questioned why this had not been addressed or rules put in place, we were told the Senco was meeting with the School Council (made up of children aged 8-10 years) the following week to decide the rules.
The rules they came back with is that each classroom/year group of 30 children are allowcated 2 x 30 minutes sessions at lunch on certain days.
We said that this per class (only one class per year at school) will make our son feel even more isolated from his peers.
We raised a complaint and have been told its not under the Equality Act 2010 as its a physical feature - but we are not asking them to flatten it, but just make reasonable adjustment to their rules/policies.
Also stated its not a safe guarding issue - surely if it is having an effect on our sons Mental Health and using the words that the head said to him, it is safeguarding.
We lodged a complaint to the governors whom have sent a really weak reply saying "the head never intended to cause any offence and regrets the vocabulary chosen.
They have looked at the timetables and confident our son receives 1-1 dedicated support. (That's as per his EHCP).
There has been a few things happen previously like everytime our son moves areas, new equipment has been put in the playgrounds from reception and key stage 1. Then when he moved up to this one, they got an accessible grant and the Head wanted to put in 'monkey bars' using the money, my son told us and we were able to speak with school and find something more appropriate but there seems little thought.
Just wanting for the head to take responsibility and show some care.
Any advice would be gratefully received.
Thank you.Lisa Bazin
16 Jul 2024