Rob Price

Areas of expertise:

• Education Law
• Civil Litigation

Rob specialises in Education Law, primarily Special Educational Needs/Additional Learning Needs, and Civil Litigation. He advises on a range of Education Law and Civil Litigation matters in both England and Wales, and his main practice comprises of the following:

• Securing an Education, Health and Care (EHC) needs assessment;
• Appeals to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (SENDIST) and Education Tribunal for Wales (ETW), including:
• Appeals against a refusal to make an EHC needs assessment;
• Appeals against a refusal to make an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP);
• Appeals against the content of Sections B, F and/or I of an EHCP;
• Appeals against a decision by a Local Authority as to whether it is necessary to prepare and maintain an Individual Development Plan (IDP) for a young person;
• Disagreement with the contents of an IDP, including the description of the child/young person’s needs and/or the educational provision to meet those needs;
• Disagreement with the school named in the IDP or in the absence of the name of a school being stated within the IDP;
• Securing parental preference in respect of school placement in an EHCP/Statement of Special Educational Needs/IDP;
• Obtaining specialist and / or residential school placements for children and young people with complex needs.

 
Rob handles appeals to SENDIST or ETW in their entirety, from lodging the appeal to final hearing or earlier settlement. 
 
Rob regularly represents clients at final hearings, Annual Review hearings and mediation appointments. 
 
Rob offers detailed advice in terms of the content of EHCPs/Statements of Special Educational Needs/IDPs, and document ‘health-checks’.
 
Rob also assists clients in relation to school/college exclusion appeals, school admission appeals, University appeals, Disability Discrimination claims, and Educational Negligence claims. 
 
Approach
 
Rob brings a passionate and holistic approach to his work.  He prides himself on listening to clients’ aims and objectives, giving tailored, bespoke advice and delivering the best possible outcome for all of his clients.
 
Background
 
Rob joined the Education Department of HCB Widdows Mason Limited as a Senior Associate Solicitor in May 2019. Rob was previously Head of Litigation at a reputable Cardiff firm and has extensive experience of dealing with a broad range of complex litigation matters.  Rob has over 15 years’ experience of civil litigation matters, acting for both Claimants and Defendants, in a variety of disputes.  Rob brings a wealth of experience to his role with HCB. 
 
Rob is an accomplished advocate and has represented clients in various county court hearings and final hearings in the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal and Education Tribunal for Wales. 
 
Rob regularly challenges educational decisions made by Local Authorities and schools on behalf of parents and young people to ensure they receive the support they require to enable them to make progress and reach their potential.
 
Rob has a specific and personal interest in Special Educational Needs as a result of issues faced by his own family. Rob is acutely aware of the challenges faced by parents of children and young people with SEN and is passionate about making sure that young people are provided with the appropriate support.
 
Testimonials
 
“I cannot express how much gratitude I have for Rob & Saskia for helping me get my daughter’s EHCP after an 18 month battle.  Rob's knowledge of SEN was invaluable and despite his wealth of knowledge he acts with such compassion & understanding.  They were both professional and so very kind to me as a mum going through this very difficult and at times heart wrenching process.  I would not hesitate in highly recommending them.”
-Mrs C
 
“After a long battle with my Local Authority we have successfully appealed the decision regarding our daughter's school placement.
Rob and Saskia have been absolutely brilliant in helping us achieve this. Their friendly, professional, personal approach and communication by email and telephone has been great and reassuring throughout.
I would not hesitate to recommend them to anyone.
Very many thanks.”
-Mr W
 
“We have just successfully won our Tribunal hearing with Kent and managed to get our son the EHCP and named school that he needed. Rob Price and Saskia were excellent throughout what was a difficult process. Rob was transparent and provided good advice over what proved to be a 12 month endurance test with the local authority.  If we had not had his help then i doubt we would have won, or in fact would probably never have made it to the tribunal stage. As a parent entering this legal arena you need professional help and advice or the Local Authority will simply time you out and spin you around in circles. A solicitor like Rob will prevent them doing that. There is a reason why the LAs don't like dealing with solicitors; it's because it works.”
-Mr E
 
“I would just like to say a massive thankyou to Rob Price for representing my son during his case to gain his EHCP.
The Professionalism that Rob provided was second to none, I highly recommend future parents to utilise Rob and HCB.
Without Rob myself and my partner would not of got the result we deserved.
My son now has been granted the EHCP we as a family desperately wanted, and now he will attend Maple Hayes in September.
Rob thanks for everything, a massive thanks from my son as you have helped change his life in order to progress as an individual, and opened his life up to opportunities that he deserves.”
-Mr P
 
“After trying and failing for over year to secure an EHCP assessment for our daughter we employed HCB solicitors and can’t recommend them highly enough.
You simply cannot do this on your own, the system is completely against you. This whole saga has almost destroyed our family so I can’t thank Rob Price and his assistant Saskia enough in successfully securing our daughter a place at a Alderwasley Hall school and providing her a future.
Thank you!”
-Mrs S
 
“I would highly recommend the services of HCB Solicitors, Cardiff. I was assisted by Rob Price and Saskia Barnett to appeal to the SEND tribunal service against the LA to successfully secure a specialist provision placement for my child. Rob and Saskia were highly professional throughout the process and their communications were excellent; Rob had to work within tight deadlines and did so with efficiency and care. Rob gave me clear and helpful advice from my first contact with him over the telephone and throughout the process. He responded to my queries very quickly and efficiently and this was very reassuring and made the process a lot more bearable. I am very pleased with the service I have received and would not hesitate to recommend the services of Rob Price and HCB Solicitors to anyone looking for representation for a SEND tribunal appeal. Thank you!”
-Mrs H
 
“We cannot thank Rob and Saskia at HCB for the amazing service in supporting us through an EHCP dispute with the local authority. It was an incredibly stressful time and one no parent should have to go through to justify a child’s learning difficulty. Your professionalism and determination really helped us through, thank you.”
-Mrs B
 
“Rob Price and Saskia make a great team and were professional throughout in the EHCP process. I particularly like that they give you a clear estimate of costs at the start and try to keep costs down as much as possible. The whole EHCP process (and tribunal) is exceptionally stressful for parents and whilst this shouldn’t be the case as result of LAs, it was great to have them working with us to help guide and ensure that we got a quantified and specific plan. I would definitely recommend them to others who face an EHCP journey to help them secure the right provision for their child. Many thanks again.”
-Mrs C
 
“Worked with Rob and Saskia in order to challenge an inappropriate EHCP for my daughter. HCB provided a professional service with an eye to detail and delivered the perfect result. I found the company responsive, knowledgeable, and high quality. Rob handled the whole case from initial exploratory call through to final tribunal which was successful. Communication was good throughout and costs outlined with accurate predictions. Very happy to recommend.”
-Mr M
 
“Rob Price and Saskia Barnett at HCB supported us through an appeal over an EHCP and were amazing. I can't fault them. They responded quickly and clearly every time I contacted them and crucially they were considerate and supportive without being patronising. This is such an emotionally challenging issue that a team who genuinely understand what's at stake and appreciate that you are human beings, is essential. With their expert support we won our appeal, but even if we hadn't I would still recommend them.”
-Mrs M
 
“Rob Price led our case as a solicitor to challenge my child's EHCP and school placement. I found Rob very knowledgeable in the area of education law, the tribunal documents he prepared were of a high quality and his grasp of the issues was very good at all times although there were lots of changes due to the on-going reassessment of needs. It is also worth mentioning that I found HCB's fees to be very competitive for the level of service we received. Overall, I recommend Rob for his legal expertise, reliability and sensible pricing.”
-Mrs H