BY SAMMIE JONES
A law firm has exposed failings by 114 councils in relation to their legal duty to children with special needs.
A freedom of information request by law firm Simpson Miller has revealed that 114 councils across the UK failed to meet the March 31 deadline for issuing EHC plan this year.
The investigation by the law firm discovered that only 7 out of 110 youngsters in the borough moving from school to further education were provided with an education health and care plan. And this is across the 14 councils that have failed children with special needs.
TRANSITION
Designed to aid the transition of children with special needs from school to post 16 education on apprenticeship, the failure to implement the government plan has alarmed observers. Especially as this failing has been spotted in 114 councils in the country. That’s quite bad!
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DEDICATION
Law firm Simpson Miller, are dedicated to helping children with special needs all over the country. The reputable law firm with 14 branches nation wide, merged with Maxwell Gillies in 2009.
One of their remits is to actively campaign for children with special needs. The law firm also seek to raise awareness about the issues children with special needs face, and to provide them with legal support wherever necessary.
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Explaining the interest of the law firm in the area of children’s services,
head of digital services, Jennifer Sanders, told the eye of media.com:
“We have a whole department dedicated to children with needs. This is an area of law we cover. We seek to ensure that local authorities are helping them with access to services they need to progress in their lives”, she added.
SHORTCOMINGS
Adding to the sentiments expressed by Saunders, head of education law department, Imogen Jolly, lamented the shortcomings of several local authorities failing to meet the deadline.
“What’s the point having a deadline if local authorities have scant regard for it? Local authorities have a legal duty to prepare and issue EHC plans for young people with special education needs setting out transition from school to a college placement or apprenticeship”.
SYSTEMIC
“Clearly, we have uncovered a systemic problem which is affecting thousands of young people with special educational needs at a crucial time in their education”.
The law firm play a noble and respectable role in helping children with special needs, and deserve the utmost admiration and applause for their extraordinary commitment to a worthwhile course.
The eye of media.com contacted 3 of the councils in question to probe the failings, but were told to await an official response on this.
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