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Welcome to Our Blog! Legal Updates, Guidance, Events and Insights from Our Teams
As you may have heard in the news today, a judgment has been handed down in the Supreme Court in a case that involved a number of linked appeals including ’W’ for whom our Judicial Review & Public Law Specialist, Keith Lomax , has been...
The Guardian has published an article in relation to ‘special needs pupils being failed by system on verge of crisis’. Their investigation has shown that the current rate of success for parents at SEN Tribunal hearings is now at 89%. It is...
The Tribunal Service has launched new guidance for Tribunal bundles in SEN appeals which could have key ramifications when providing independent reports as evidence. Whereas it is often the case that these reports are highly detailed and therefore lengthy,...
The Government has been seeking views and evidence on school exclusion practice as part of a review of school exclusions. In 2015/16, 0.08% of children were permanently excluded from Local Authority maintained schools in England, although children...
We receive a number of phone calls from parents who want to know if they can access their child’s school records. The answer is generally, yes. If your child attends a maintained school, you have an independent right of access to your...
Speaking to MP’s on the Commons Education Select Committee, Baroness Warnock, who issued a report 40 years ago about services for children with special educational needs and disabilities needing to change, along with other key figures that led to the...
Following on from previous articles, Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission have continued to carry out joint inspections to consider how Local Authorities have implemented the changes set out in the Children and Families Act 2014 in relation to the...
A recent decision from the Upper Tribunal, GK v North Somerset Council (2018) has upheld a parent’s appeal in respect of when a Local Authority is required to provide special educational provision outside of school term times. The child in question...
Two sets of parents have recently taken Bristol City Council to court for a judicial review of the council’s continuing cuts to funding for pupils with SEND (Special Educational Needs & Disabilities). The first case of its kind, the basis of the...
Well done to family solicitor, Joanne Davies, who received a lovely box of chocolates from a grateful client....
The week of 21-27 May 2018 was Dementia Action Week and the emphasis this year was on taking action “to improve the everyday lives of people affected by dementia”. Our trainee solicitor, Lisa Morgan, who is also a Dementia Friends...
Sheldon Price is pictured with a lovely bunch of flowers given to her by a very happy client today. ...
News in the last few days has focused on statistics that demonstrate there is a shortage of funding for children with special educational needs, which is leading to a growing number of children being left without suitable school places and more children with...
We are delighted to have taken further steps to implement our action plan in becoming a dementia-friendly law firm and are now members of the Bristol DAA , South Gloucestershire DAA and Bath DAA (“Dementia Action Alliance”). We have already...
From 1 April 2018, a new "Land Transaction Tax" will be payable on Welsh and transactions. This is instead of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT). There are however some exceptions: retrospective notification cases . This is where a transaction...
The Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (SEND) will soon be able to make non-binding recommendations on the health and social care aspects of a child or young person’s EHC Plans, alongside the educational needs and provision currently...
From 1 April 2018, Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) will come into effect which means that Landlords will not be able to renew or begin any lease/tenancy for any residential or commercial property which has an EPC Rating below E...
Managing Partner, Beverley Watkins, was recently asked to provide comment on the Ministry of Justice's Legal Advice Gateway for an article in the Law Society Gazette. The Legal Advice Gateway is a telephone service which provides advice on...
In 2013 under the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act, the government decided to fund advice and assistance on special educational needs and discrimination work only through a telephone advice service. There are currently two providers of this service to cover England and Wales. However, a decision has been issued this week that the government will cancel the telephone advice service and will not be awarding any contracts for education and discrimination services after 1 September 2018 through the current process...
