ChildRIGHT Interview: Edward Duff, trainee solicitor, Children's Legal Centre
Friday, October 8, 2010
You provide advice and legal representation for parents whose children have special educational needs (SEN). Can you explain what SEN is?
A child is recognised as having SEN if they have a learning difficulty that requires special educational support.
A child is considered as having a learning difficulty if she or he finds it more difficult to access education than the majority of children of his or her age. Children will also be recognised as having a learning difficulty if they have a disability that stops or hinders them from using the educational facilities that would ordinarily be used by children of the same school age.
What should parents or guardians do if they think that their child might have special educational needs?
Schools will have systems in place to help children who have special educational needs and a special educational needs co-ordinator who is responsible for the operation of the school's SEN policy. Parents who are concerned that their child may have SEN should arrange a meeting with their child's teacher. The school may decide to place the child on "school action", which is when the school works to help the child with their learning. This extra help might include the school providing special equipment or different learning materials. If the child needs more support than that, they may be moved to "school action plus", which is when the school should seek help from external specialists. The school may seek advice from a speech and language specialist or from an occupational therapist, for example.
If the child needs more support than that available at "school action" or "school action plus", parents should request that their local authority conduct a statutory assessment. This is when the local authority conducts a detailed study to determine what a child's special educational needs are and may issue a Statement of SEN, providing the child with extra help.
When might parents need advice from a legal expert?
Parents might need support at any stage of the SEN process. If a parent thinks that their child has special educational needs we can help with their request for a statutory assessment. We can help parents to appeal if the local authority has refused to conduct an assessment or has issued a Note in Lieu instead of a Statement. We also help parents who are unhappy with the Statement because it does not fully cater for their child's needs or because they disagree with the school named on it.