Norfolk SEND: Parents talk of council battle for school places

Joanne Boon said her legal battle with the council over SEND provision cost her family £18,000

Parents who have been trying to get their children places in special schools say it is "ridiculous" that a council spent £750,000 on legal bills.

Norfolk County Council's fees for special education tribunals increased from around £500,000 the year before.

One mother, Joanne Boon, said her legal battle with the council had cost her family £18,000.

The authority said it faced more appeal cases because of a rising demand for special school places.

Ms Boon, 29, said her daughter Ellie was autistic and non-verbal, but the education, health and care plan (EHCP) the council supplied to her was "very wrong".

"It stated she could say words," she explained.

"She's a non-verbal child. It stated she had no mobility issues - she uses a disabled buggy to get around.

"It just appeared to not be written about her at all."

'Legal battle'

Ms Boon, who lives in Norwich, said she spent more than a year in a legal battle with the council to get Ellie a place in a special school.

"It cost approximately £18,000. That bill was paid for by an inheritance after a death in the family, as well as some of my mum's pension and some of my nan's pension as well."

She said the strain caused by the case "nearly broke down our family completely", but that Ellie had was finally given a place in a suitable school.

"She didn't start there until April 2023 but she's flourished there and come on majorly."

The county council has seen its legal fees to defend appeals from parents over its decisions on special school place steadily increase in recent years and said the cost for the last year was £747,600.

Last year, more than 200 parents lodged appeals against the council's decision to decline extra support for their children with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND).

A judge ruled in favour of the council in just two of those cases, with the majority resolved before a tribunal hearing.

Lucie Oakes said the chance of her son, Logan, getting a specialist place soon was "slim, to none"

Lucie Oakes from Norwich is another mum fighting for a place for her child in a special school.

She said it took two years to get her eight-year-old son Logan an EHCP, and that it also contained mistakes which had delayed the process.

Miss Oakes, 35, said Logan was in a mainstream school while she tried to arrange a specialist place for him.

"His education has drastically suffered," she said.

"It has got the point where he has had exclusions because his current school cannot meet his needs."

She described the council's expenditure on legal fees as "ridiculous" and said it should be spending the money on SEND education.

The authority has said it is committed to increasing specialist places, creating 650 more since 2018 with the expansion including three new schools.

Inspectors said the council had made significant progress in improving the assessments of SEND children

Earlier this year, inspectors from Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) said the council had made "sufficient progress" after previously identifying "significant weaknesses" in its support for children with SEND.

Nicki Rider, the council's assistant director of high needs SEND, said the authority was "committed to giving children and families the very best support we can".

"We have been working to improve our performance on EHCPs for those children with high needs SEND who need them," she added.

"However, demand for specialist provision is very high and the rise in tribunals reflects this as many tribunal cases are brought about by parents seeking a specific specialist placement for their child."

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