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Special Educational Needs help in Northamptonshire
Our expert special educational needs (SEN) solicitors assist many parents and young people within Northamptonshire County Council, obtaining successful outcomes in resolving disputes between them and the Local Authority. The team specialises in obtaining support and additional funding to meet the needs of children/young people with Special Educational Needs (SEN). HCB works closely alongside specialist placements and independent schools both within and outside of the county to secure funding from Northamptonshire County Council to enable to child to receive a suitable education.
We have provided SEN law advice in Northamptonshire for many years to secure special educational needs support for many children, young people and families. The specialist education law solicitors have dealt with Northamptonshire County Council on numerous matters which can often involve an appeal being made to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal.
What are Special Educational Needs in Northamptonshire?
If a child or young person has difficulties in accessing school, education, or facilities at school and requires support beyond that typically made for young people of the same age, they will often be regarded as having special educational needs.
Special educational needs can be regarded as being any difficulty a child or young person has in accessing education. Special educational needs (SEN) affect how a person learns. The needs can affect everything from:
- physical ability
- concentration levels
- ability to understand
- anxiety
- sensory processing
- hearing and/or visual impairment
- behaviour
- literacy and/or numeracy
- language (expressive or receptive) impairment
- social and/or communication skills
If you are unsure as to whether your child or young person has special educational needs, you should seek specific legal advice from a specialist education law solicitor. HCB Solicitors has a specialist team on hand to assist, given their substantial experience in helping parents across the region and UK, as a whole.
Northamptonshire County Council has their own policies, but also must comply with the relevant legislation, being the Children and Families Act 2014 and the SEND Code of Practice. Whilst the law can be complicated, in our experience the policies can over-simplify the law and confuse quite complex rules. These policies can be found here:
This can result in poor decision making and bad decisions being made that require challenge. That is often why parents in Northamptonshire seek special educational needs advice from us and we have an excellent record of success against the Council.
If the SEN Department in Northamptonshire Local Education Authority relies on policies exclusively, rather than the law, this can lead to disputes arising and we have helped families successfully appeal to the tribunal against decisions taken by Northamptonshire County Council SEN team.
We would always advise parents to make sure that they focus on the SEND Code of Practice and current legislation, rather than Northamptonshire Council’s SEN policies only. The SEND Code of Practice can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-code-of-practice-0-to-25
This however is only guidance and not a set of mandatory requirements the Authority must follow. The relevant legislation is contained within the Children and Families Act 2014.
What is SEN Support in Northamptonshire?
The school should identify that a child or young person has special educational needs and assess their progress levels regularly. When this happens, the class teacher and Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO), will plan additional support for the child that will consist of special education provision from within the school’s own budget and resources.
Sometimes, however the child will not be in attendance at school due to a complex medical condition or high levels of anxiety, for example. This does not preclude a parent from requesting an assessment of their special educational needs.
If the school does not identify a pupil as having special educational needs, or the support is not sufficient to meet their special educational needs, it may be necessary to secure a statutory assessment of their special educational needs from Northamptonshire County Council. Our specialist team of education law solicitors can assist with this.
If the child or young person needs more support than the school can provide, an EHCP will be required that is specifically worded in relation to the support that will be delivered.
It is very important to note that there is no requirement to try the graduated response of School Action or School Action Plus before seeking a statutory assessment or an EHCP.
How can I get an EHCP in Northamptonshire?
Before a Statement of SEN can be issued, Northamptonshire County Council must make a statutory assessment and at the conclusion of the assessment, Northamptonshire County Council will decide whether an EHCP is necessary.
The term “necessary” has been the focus of much litigation. It means that the Local Authority must consider the subjective needs of the child or young person, the special educational provision that they need and whether it is reasonably likely that a mainstream school can deliver that support.
If Northamptonshire County Council refuses to make and maintain an EHCP to cater for the child’s additional learning needs, parents can appeal to the Tribunal.
Where can I find SEN legal advice in Northamptonshire?
Our special education needs solicitors (SEN Solicitors) provide advice in Northamptonshire. To contact our specialist education lawyers, please call 02920 291 704 or email education@hcbgroup.com
We can help in the following ways:
- Formally requesting a statutory assessment from Northamptonshire County Council
- Successful appeals to Tribunal against Northamptonshire’s refusal to issue a Statement of SEN following an assessment
- Successful appeals to Tribunal against Northamptonshire’s refusal to conduct a statutory assessment
- Successfully appealing to Tribunal against Northamptonshire for additional support, therapy and provision
- Successfully appealing to Tribunal against Northamptonshire for specialist and/or independent school placements