For Families
I help families of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) from England to secure fit-for-purpose support for their children from the educational, health and care systems.
I help parents of children with SEND to understand and enforce their statutory rights under the SEND law.
I specialise in supporting migrant parents who commonly encounter intercultural barriers whilst trying to access educational, health and care systems to get their heads around how those systems operate in England.
I support families of children with SEND from England in:
requesting Educational Health and Care Need Assessments (EHCNA), the first step in securing an EHCP;
reviewing draft Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) for their completeness and legal compliance, including suggesting amendments/ deletions based on available evidence, and providing an analytical commentary to guide further decision-making and to be shared with local authorities;
writing and lodging appeals with the 1st tier tribunal (SENDIST);
representing parents as their lay representative throughout the appeal including working document stage, mediation and hearings;
representing parents as their lay representative in meetings with schools, local authority and other professionals;
writing formal complaints (with regards to educational establishments, local authorities and health providers);
drafting pre-action protocol (PAP) letters (the initial step required when requesting a Judicial Review), which are not normally covered under the legal aid scheme;
signposting parents to local statutory and private service providers available in their local area, according to their needs;
providing consultancy and advice in all above-mentioned matters;