Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (SENDIST)

This is an independent Tribunal set up by Act of Parliament. It hears and decides parent's appeals against the decisions of the Local Education Authority about children's Special Educational Needs where parents who live in Wales cannot reach agreement with the LEA. Not only does it deal with claims relating to Special Educational Needs but it also considers claims of disability discrimination in schools. The Tribunal hears appeals in relation to the following:

• 1) decision not to carry out a formal assessment
• 2) decision to refuse to issue a Statement - if the LEA has made a Statement or has changed a previous Statement, a parent can appeal against:
    a. the parts which describes the child's Special Educational Needs (Part 2) and
    b. the parts set out in Part 3 which of course spell out the special educational help that the LEA thinks the child should get

A parent can appeal also against the school named in Part 4 of the Statement or if the LEA does not name a school in Part 4.

A parent can also appeal if the LEA refuses to change the school named in the child's Statement if that Statement is at least one year old, refuses to reassess a child's Special Educational Needs if the LEA has not made a new assessment for at least six months, or a decision not to maintain or a decision to cancel a child's Statement or a decision not to change a Statement after reassessing a child.

You cannot appeal however to Tribunal if the LEA refuses to name an independent or non-maintained school where you ask for a change of Statement which was at least one year old. You also cannot appeal about the way the LEA carried out an assessment or the length of time it took or about how the LEA is arranging to provide the help set out in your child's Statement. The Tribunal will also not hear appeals about the way the school is meeting your child's needs or about the description in Parts 5 and 6 of the Statement of your child's non-educational needs. It will not get involved in how the LEA plans to meet those needs or even if the LEA will not amend the Statement after a yearly review.

In some circumstances however, it is possible to seek redress through the Courts (to deal with an issue which the Tribunal cannot deal with or beyond its jurisdiction). In those circumstances, it is possible for an application to be made for legal aid to enable a complaint to be made to the Court within what is known as judicial review proceedings. Judicial review proceedings are similar to injunction proceedings but they are brought against public bodies, for example an LEA or a school, to compel it to do something, ie. to provide home education for a child who is out of school, or to quash a decision made by a school or Local Authority to an independent panel to exclude a child.

It is worth taking advice from a solicitor if you believe that you need to bring an application for a judicial review. It is however generally important to bear in mind that the Court would only interfere if it is satisfied that an applicant has exhausted alternative remedies that may be open to them. However the Court may still grant leave irrespective of whether or not somebody has looked to alternative methods to resolve a case, in urgent situations.

If you believe that you have a case that you can bring in the court or the tribunal it is important that you bear in mind that there are time limits to do so – it is therefore essential that you seek proper legal advice.

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