Uckfield mum vows to fight on in school fees legal battle

Jake and Sara Moult

A mother has vowed to fight on in a legal battle over specialist school fees after her local council appealed a tribunal ruling.

Sara Moult from Uckfield, East Sussex, said her family were forced to re-mortgage to pay fees to send their son Jake to specialist secondary school.

In June a tribunal ordered East Sussex County Council to backpay Jake's fees, but it is appealing the decision.

The council said it has a duty to manage public funds appropriately.

In June 2022, 12-year-old Jake, who is autistic and has a language disorder associated with Chromosome Deletion, was assigned a place at a mainstream school which his parents thought was unsuitable.

Mrs Moult, and her husband Paul, said they sent him to a specialist school after securing an Education, Health and Care Plan (ECHP).

The judge at the tribunal awarded the family some costs, but they will not be awarded until an appeal is concluded.

Mrs Moult said: "I feel angry because we have had such a long, hard fight to get my son into his school, and now we were lucky enough to get an award of costs by the judge they are challenging the competency of the judge by appealing this.

"So we are facing, again, going through the legal system to fight for what is rightfully ours."

She added that Jake was thriving in a specialist education setting.

East Sussex County Council is appealing a tribunal decision forcing the authority to pay back some of the costs incurred by Ms Moult

A spokesman for the council said: "Although we cannot comment specifically on individual cases, we do work with all parents of children with special educational needs and disabilities to find the best possible provision for their individual needs.

"As a local authority, we have a duty to ensure that we are managing public funds appropriately and, although we recognise that this process can be difficult for families, the council has a responsibility to take a view on appropriate placements and to ensure that the resources available to meet children's needs are used well, for all children."

Sarah Woosey from Simpson Millar, the family's lawyer, said: "This case highlights everything that is wrong with the current SEN tribunal system."

Mrs Moult has launched a crowd funding campaign to fund her legal costs associated with ESCC's appeal.

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