Education and Child Matters

I AM L.I.P

I am a Litigant In Person

Doing Something About Discrimination And Inadequate Care For Special Educational Needs, Disabled And Medically Ill Children

 

If you feel that your child has been discriminated against in education or the provisions provided were not adequate then this Help Guide will explain what you can do.

We will go over the following:

  1. How to complain about a schools SEN support department (Special educational needs department).
  2. How to complain about disability discrimination in a school.
  3. How to complain about your local authority with regards to your child’s EHC plan and assessment.

Before you read this webpage please note the following points:

1) Never be shy to complain about something you are not happy about or appeal a decision which you feel is incorrect. 

2) We are all very lucky in the UK that there are many complaint procedures that have been put in place for you. In this Help Guide we will guide you through as many of these procedures, explaining how to complain and who to contact first. 

 

HOW TO COMPLAIN ABOUT A SCHOOLS SEN SUPPORT (SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS SUPPORT) 

Possible complaints about the school SEN support department could be:

  1. The provisions provided by the school are not appropriate
  2. The school has not taken the child’s education, health and care plan into consideration.
  3. Your child feels discriminated against.

The complaints procedure about a schools SEN support department:

  1. The school should have a SEN information report. This report will outline the whole procedure and the stages how to complain to and about the schools SEN department. You may find the school’s SEN information report on their website or you can ask a member of staff for the policy in writing. Follow the stages and procedure exactly as recommended. The school and their board will reply to you within the timeframe suggested in their complaint policy. 
  2. The first stage of a complaint to a school is to make an informal complaint by emailing or calling the special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO) at the school and making an appointment. If the school does not have a SENCO then you should contact your child’s form tutor or year head.
  3. At the appointment explain your concerns in detail. 
  4. The SENCO or your child’s form tutor/year head should make notes about your conversation. They will send you minutes of your meeting via email a few days after your meeting. The SENCO or your child’s form tutor/year head will discuss the next steps, what they can and will do, and who they will contact. They will also arrange the date and time of the next meeting to give you an update.
  5. At the next meeting the SENCO or your child’s form tutor/year head should outline everything they have done and what progress has been made about your complaint. If you are happy then your complaint will be closed. If you are not happy, your complaint will now be accelerated to the next stage.  
  6. The second stage will be that you will need to make a formal complaint to a senior member of staff or the head teacher. They will look into your complaint and either call you in for a meeting or send you a letter/email outlining their investigation and decision about your case.
  7. If you are not happy with the decision of the headteacher/senior member of staff you can now escalate your complaint to the third stage. This usually involves completing a form and writing a statement which will go to the school governors or the trust.
  8. The school governors or trust will look into your complaint and reply to you within the time frame set in the school complaints policy.

If you are not happy with the outcome of your complaint about the school SEN support, who do you contact next?

If you are not happy with the outcome of your complaint to the school about the SEN department, you can contact your local authority. They may offer you a disagreement resolution service. 

LINK TO GOVERNMENT WEBSITE TO FIND YOUR LOCAL AUTHORITY.

If you are not happy with the outcome of your complaint to the school and local authority about the SEN department, you can contact the department of education. They can ask the school to take action. The department of education will only take complaints about certain types of school. Please ask your school if they are the type of school where you can complain to the department of education. 

LINK TO THE GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

LINK TO CONTACT THE GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

LINK TO GOVERNMENT WEBSITE FOR SCHOOL COMPLAINTS FORM TO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION.

If you are not happy with the outcome of your complaint to the school and local authority about the SEN department, you can contact the education and skills funding agency (ESFA) if your child attends an academy or free school.

LINK TO GOVERNMENT WEBSITE FOR COMPLAINING TO THE ESFA

Exceptions where you can contact other bodies first – 

If you feel at any time your child is in danger or there is criminal behaviour at school, you can contact the police.

LINK TO GOVERNMENT WEBSITE TO CONTACT THE POLICE 

If you feel that there has been child abuse at school, you can contact your local authority or the police.

LINK TO GOVERMENT WEBSITE TO REPORT CHILD ABUSE TO YOUR LOCAL COUNCIL. 

Any useful links we can give you –

LINK TO GOVERNMENT WEBSITE FOR COMPLAIN ABOUT A SCHOOL – SEN 

 

HOW TO COMPLAIN ABOUT DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION IN SCHOOL

Possible complaints about disability discrimination to a school could be:

  1. The school has not provided the provisions, aids, and equipment needed and required.
  2. The school is not adequately supporting the child.
  3. The school is treating the child unfavourably.
  4. The school is excluding the child from activities
  5. The school is not enrolling the child due to their disability
  6. The child feels harassed at school
  7. The child feels victimised at school.

The complaints procedure for disability discrimination in a school:

  1. The school will have a complaint policy or a SEN information report and it will outline how to complain about disability discrimination. This complaint policy will detail the whole procedure and the stages of how to complain to and about disability discrimination. You may find the school’s complaints policy on their website or you can ask a member of staff for the policy in writing. Follow the stages and procedure exactly as recommended. The school and their board will reply to you within the timeframe suggested in their complaint policy. 
  2. The first stage of a complaint to a school is to make an informal complaint by emailing or calling the special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO) at the school and making an appointment. If they do not deal with disability or the school does not have a SENCO then speak to your child’s form tutor or year head. 
  3. At the appointment explain your concerns in detail. 
  4. The SENCO or your child’s form tutor/year head should make notes about your conversation. They will send you minutes of your meeting via email a few days after your meeting. The SENCO or your child’s form tutor/year head will discuss the next steps, what they can and will do, and who they will contact. They will also arrange the date and time of the next meeting to give you an update.
  5. At the next meeting the SENCO or your child’s form tutor/year head should outline everything they have done and what progress has been made about your complaint. If you are happy then your complaint will be closed. If you are not happy, your complaint will now be accelerated to the next stage.  
  6. The second stage will be that you will need to make a formal complaint to a senior member of staff or the head teacher. They will look into your complaint and either call you in for a meeting or send you a letter/email outlining their investigation and decision about your case.
  7. If you are not happy with the decision of the headteacher/senior member of staff you can now escalate your complaint to the third stage. This usually involves completing a form and writing a statement which will go to the school governors or the trust.
  8. The school governors or trust will look into your complaint and reply to you within the time frame set in the school complaints policy.

If you are not happy with the outcome of your complaint about disability discrimination to a school, who do you contact next?

If you are not happy with the outcome of your complaint to the school, you can complain to the special educational needs and disability tribunal (SEND TRIBUNAL). Their contact details are 

Email – sendistqueries@justice.gov.uk

Tel – 0300 303 5857 

LINK TO GOVERNMENT WEBSITE COMPLAIN ABOUT A SCHOOL – DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION 

You can make a disability discrimination claim through the First Tier Tribunal (SEND). This type of claim must be made within 6 months of the incident that happened. It is completely free.

The SEND Tribunal is a national organisation that deals with disability discrimination cases against schools and also appeals against Local authority’s decisions about a child’s education, health and care plan (EHC plan) and the needs assessment of a child.

LINK TO OUR L.I.P HELP GUIDE FOR EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS & DISABILITIES – EHC Plan.

LINK TO GOVERNMENT WEBSITE FOR FIRST TIER TRIBUNAL (SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS & DISABILITY)

LINK TO GOVERNMENT WEBSITE FOR HOW TO APPEAL A SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS DECISION – SEND 37 

Exceptions where you can contact other bodies first – 

If you feel at any time your child is in danger or there is criminal behaviour at school you can contact the police.

LINK TO GOVERNMENT WEBSITE TO CONTACT THE POLICE 

If you feel that there has been child abuse at school, you can contact your local authority or the police.

LINK TO GOVERMENT WEBSITE TO REPORT CHILD ABUSE TO YOUR LOCAL COUNCIL. 

Any useful links we can give you –

LINK TO GOVERNMENT WEBSITE FOR DISABILITY RIGHTS

 

HOW TO COMPLAIN ABOUT YOUR LOCAL AUTHORITY WITH REGARDS TO YOUR CHILD’S EHC PLAN AND ASSESSMENT. 

Possible complaints about your local authority could be:

  1. Your local authority has let down a child with special educational needs
  2. Your local authority did not conduct an EHC needs assessment or there was a delay in assessing a child’s SEND needs.
  3. Your local authority did not conduct an education health and care plan (EHC plan)
  4. Your local authority has not provided adequate support for a child with disability or medical needs.
  5. The local offer.
  6. Your local authority’s response about the school not providing SEN support.
  7. A young person has not been included in the decisions made about their SEN support.
  8. There has been no annual review
  9. The SEND code of practice has not been followed.

The complaints procedure:

Your local authority will have their complaints procedure outlined in the complaints policy on their website. There will usually be a form to complete and send in via email, post or hand deliver. Your local authorities’ complaints policy will outline how they will handle your complaint. Usually your complaint form will first be dealt with by your local authorities customer relations team who will decide whether they can resolve your complaint by themselves. If they feel they cannot and your complaint needs further investigation they will give your complaint a reference number and deal with it as a formal complaint.

Stage 1 of a formal complaint will be dealt with by a senior member or the head  of the local authority service department. You will receive a reply within 15 – 20 working days. If you’re not happy with their reply you can escalate your complaint to stage 2.

Stage 2 will require you to request a review of your complaint and reply to you within 15 – 20 working days. 

If you are not happy with the outcome of your complaint about your local authority, who do you contact next?

If you are not happy with the outcome of stage 2 of your complaint, you can complain to your local government and social care ombudsman. This is a free service. They will investigate your complaint about your local authority and decide if your local authority has dealt with your compliant in the correct manner and made the right decisions. 

LINK TO WEBSITE FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND SOCIAL CARE OMBUDSMAN

You can also complain to the special educational needs and disability tribunal (SEND TRIBUNAL). Their contact details are 

Email – sendistqueries@justice.gov.uk

Tel – 0300 303 5857 

LINK TO GOVERNMENT WEBSITE COMPLAIN ABOUT A SCHOOL – DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION 

The SEND Tribunal is a national organisation that deals with appeals against Local authority’s decisions about a child’s education, health and care plan (EHC plan) and the needs assessment of a child.

LINK TO OUR L.I.P HELP GUIDE FOR EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS & DISABILITIES – EHC Plan.

LINK TO GOVERNMENT WEBSITE FOR FIRST TIER TRIBUNAL (SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS & DISABILITY)

LINK TO GOVERNMENT WEBSITE FOR HOW TO APPEAL A SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS DECISION – SEND 37 

Exceptions where you can contact other bodies first

If you feel at any time your child is in danger or there is criminal behaviour at school, you can contact the police.

LINK TO GOVERNMENT WEBSITE TO CONTACT THE POLICE 

Any useful links we can give you –

LINK TO GOVERNMENT WEBSITE TO FIND YOUR LOCAL AUTHORITY

LINK TO GOVERNMENT WEBSITE FOR GUIDE – WORKING TOGETHER TO SAFEGUARD CHILDREN