
Dan Rosenberg
Partner, Education & Public Law Solicitor
For initial advice call our Education Law Solicitors.
Has your child been excluded from school and you would like to challenge the decision? Contact us for advice and guidance. Find out how we can help.
Most children in the UK will be in school and receiving education. When a parent is faced with a child who is out of school, and they are not making progress in ensuring that they receive suitable education, the situation is both worrying and draining.
Children are out of school for many reasons. They can have been excluded, have recently arrived in the area, or have been “off-rolled”. Other reasons include bullying in school and mental health issues. Sometimes they will have Special Educational Needs (SEN) and there are difficulties in finding a school placement, or alternatively they will have a placement but nothing works in terms of getting them to it.
Working out the right course of action in these circumstances is not straightforward, as there will often be many routes which could be followed. Routes include taking legal action against the Local Authority, taking legal action against the school for not admitting a child or previous schools for unlawfully excluding them from school.
For initial advice get in touch with our Education Law Solicitors.
Our Education Law Solicitors can look at the situation, advise you on the options with your input, and help take the matter forwards if required.
Often the way to move matters forward is to threaten Judicial Review against either the school or Local Authority in an attempt to force them to provide a solution, and then, if a response is not favourable, take a legal challenge forward on behalf of the child using Legal Aid. Simpson Millar are well placed to do this being one of only two law firms with a Legal Aid contract in Education Law.
It’s unfortunately relatively common place for schools to “unlawfully exclude” pupils. The way in which they do this varies. Sometimes it’s as simple as telling a child that they are not able to return to the school. Our Education Law Solicitors and Lawyers have significant experience of dealing with these situations, including being able to use Judicial Review or the threat of Judicial Review to resolve the matter quickly. We are also able to provide clear legal advice on the appropriate way to deal with the circumstances, as in these cases there is often a risk of a (lawful) permanent exclusion if matters are pushed.
One of the things that we often find with children who are out of school is that their parents want to get them into other schools, but are having difficulty in so doing.
Often, this is because the children may have some problems in the first place (which is why they are out of school), and other schools therefore wish, if at all possible, to avoid taking them.
Our Lawyers can use their experience, including with Judicial Review, to engage with schools and move matters forward, including by forcing them to either take the child or alternatively give an appeal right.
We also have experience of working with Local Authorities to ensure that pressure is put on schools to take pupils, or alternatively advising you on the use of Local Authorities fair access protocols to obtain a school place.
Simpson Millar5 stars
Highly recommend for SEN representation
Mia at Simpson and Millar, has supported us as a family, from the initial EHCP - assessments and advice- through to the appeal process and on to a happy resolution. Our confidence came from Mia’s leg...
Annabelle
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My experience with Simpson Millar was a…
My experience with Simpson Millar was a positive one . Elisa was very helpful she went above and beyond to help and give advice when needed and very prompt with responding back to emails . I would...
Jay Lee
Simpson Millar5 stars
We were recommended this firm for education law and disability rights.
We were recommended this firm for educational support. Lucy's advice, knowledge, calm presence and ability to advocate for our needs in a multi-disciplinary meeting has been exceptional. She is fastid...
Customer
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Special education needs
Heather, Lucy and Mia have helped greatly in relation to getting the Local Authority to supply education provision for a child with special needs. This had been dragging on prior to their involvemen...
Happy customer
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I highly recommend Simpson Millar for…
I highly recommend Simpson Millar for their excellent advice and professionalism. We had reached a deadline when dealing with our local authority regarding a special needs school place for our daughte...
Elisa Uludag
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My experience was Fantastic- Although I…
My experience was Fantastic- Although I can’t comment too much on Simpson&Miller as a company, due to having contact with one Solicitor dealing with my case- I was very lucky to have Saskia Coles work...
Mr James Hoey
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Caring and professional
Dan, Heather and Clara supported me through a very difficult and challenging time. They were very professional and caring and took the appropriate action when needed. Highly recommended. Thank you guy...
Zahra Alioglu
Sometimes, there is no suitable education for a child, or, particularly for children with Special Educational Needs, it’s not reasonably practicable for them to attend the school named in their Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP).
We can give legal advice on all options at this stage, including seeking changes to the EHCP, and also seeking provision from the Local Authority under section 19 of the Education Act 1996. We have a Legal Aid contract in Education Law, and can use this to bring Judicial Review proceedings in the child’s name if initial efforts by us to resolve the matter do not work, providing the merits of the case warrant it.
Having a child out of school is extremely difficult, stressful and time consuming for parents. We can assist with finding a way through, and can set out all your options depending on the circumstances of the case and what you want to achieve.
For advice and help join our Education Matters Facebook community group here
An EHCP (Education, Health and Care Plan) identifies your child’s Special Educational Needs (SEN) and should entitle them to the right provision they need to support them.
The reality of the end of Year 12 for all students normally includes a set of internal exams. This helps the school or college to have a better understand of how well pupils have coped with the transition from GCSE to A Level work, and helps inform the process of providing predicted grades to universities.
If your child has Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), they may need an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). But we understand that EHCPs can be confusing.
Fill in the form below to get in touch with one of our dedicated team members, or call our team today on: 0808 239 9764