Do parents automatically get their choice in Section I, if a council has been "bared from taking part in any proceedings" by the Tribunal?

The Council have missed the deadline for submitting their evidence to Tribunal, and missed all subsequent deadlines. The Tribunal have responded by saying: "It is ordered: The LA is bared from taking part in any proceedings pursuant to Rule 8(2)." (however it goes on to say: "the LA may apply within 28 days of this Order, for its participation to be re-instated pursuant to Rule 8(6)".) The date of the letter is 13/08/25 + 28 days = 10/09/25. The appeal is held on 12/09/25.

The parents are going to Tribunal because they object to the school listed in Section I. Because the Council have been bared from proceedings, and if they do not respond by 10/09/25, does this mean the parents automatically get the school they requested for their child?

Can a teacher exclude a child from school because their behavior arises from the loss of essential accommodations, leaving them without any alternatives or support?

I am wanting to support the family to navigate this so I am wondering if this letter I drafted would help the situation.

I am writing to formally request a SEND Assist referral for my son, [Child’s Full Name], who is currently enrolled in the special education program at ____ Primary School. Due to his neurodivergent profile, [Child’s Name] relies on a specific object ______ for emotional regulation and predictability. While I understand the school has raised safety concerns, I believe these can be addressed through reasonable adjustments and trauma-informed planning. This has worked in the past, where we have been given the opportunity to come together to work on a solution that works for everyone.
Despite previous meetings and discussions about his behaviour, no resolution has been reached, and recently [Child’s Name] has been excluded from school and left in the care of a family member because I could not meet with the teacher that day due to work commitments, but I was available the following day. This is now impacting his right to inclusive education under the Disability Standards for Education 2005.

I am requesting SEND Assist involvement to:
- Assess the regulatory role of the object and propose safe alternatives
- Support the school in implementing inclusive, neurodivergent-friendly strategies
- Ensure [Child’s Name] can return to school safely and respectfully

Please confirm that this referral will be initiated. If not, I will escalate the matter to the Department of Education and seek support through Disability Services and allied health professionals.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Does a tribunal take into consideration where a parent lives? Or are decisions based on where the child lives?

I have been speaking to a parent who has 50/50 custody with her ex-husband. He lives in Camden and she lives in Hertfordshire. Her son has an EHCP with Camden who are objecting to their choice of school in Section I (in fact, in August Camden pushed the whole EHCP onto Hertfordshire Council despite knowing the Mother is about to move out of Hertfordshire).

Because the Mother has to move house (her lease comes to an end in 3 weeks) the children will live with the ex-husband full time for the next few weeks. On 12 Sept, they go to Tribunal to appeal section B, F and I. Will the Tribunal take into account the child is living in Camden at that point? Or does the Mother need to find a place in Camden before the Tribunal date? The outcome they want is for Camden to stop pushing the EHCP onto Hertfordshire and deal with it in borough.

Teacher ask for child to be collected from school because he was throwing things

Teacher ask for child to be collected from school because he was throwing things
What support can I access to assist my son, who has been having behaviour issues that have been increasing for 6 weeks? He has been vocally matching other children in the class (it is important to add that my son is verbal, and the other children are non-verbal, as in they do not communicate using words, but I guess they communicate both using their device and vocally). My son will continually be vocal and disturb the class, hit the teacher, hit other children, throw things at the assistant teachers and other children. He has an autism diagnosis (level 3) and has been attending the education support classes at the same school for 5 years without any behavioural issues until recently.
The first 4 weeks, this behaviour was communicated to me by writing in the communication diary, which is kept in his school bag, by speaking with Dad after school during pick-up, and through a behaviour support plan that was sent home for me to sign and return the following day. The strategies included him requesting a break, requesting to go to another class, or the sensory room. If this is done five times, he is rewarded with a treat. During this time, I expressed wanting to meet with them because of the things written in the diary, but his dad, the messenger, let me know they (the teachers) said this was not necessary because they thought they could deal with it, and the strategies they were using were helping.
Last week, I requested a meeting in writing via email, and we met later in the week. I said I was concerned about the things written in the diary and was not sure why no one had called to let me know at the time of the incidents. I also wanted to follow the same strategies at home but had some issues because of different parenting styles between me and Dad. We will meet again tomorrow with both parents and his therapist in attendance. He was excluded from school today because they were unable to stop him from throwing things at other children, and he was placed in a class by himself. I understand it is a safety concern, but what services can I access? What steps should I take? What can I do as a parent to help my son with his behaviour issues?

Hi, I wanted to get some advice around our 14 daughter's educational needs, who has an ADHD diagnosis. Our daughter also has emotional/mental health needs & has an assigned Care-Codinator through CAMS. We have battled and struggled as a family to maintain a regular placement in mainstream education since the Covid pandemic but it's not working for her. We are aware that under the new legislation, parents can be prosecuted for the children's poor attendance record . We would be grateful for any guidance or advice that you can provide us with. Best wishes Les Hanson The lack of specific educational provision for children with SEND. The mainstream school 8.30am to 3pm environment has been tried tiresly with our Daughter for over 5 years & just doesn't work for her

I suspect my daughter has dyxlexia as she is 8 and finding reading hard. Can she get extra support at school?

Should I issue JR proceedings when school cannot meet need but LA named on EHCP? Our daughter is due to start school in September. She is 4 years old. We applied for a school place and the nearest school offered a place. A draft EHCP has been issued naming the school in section I. The school have now been formally consulted with the EHCP and have said they cannot meet need. This is not a surprise to us and we suspect she needs an EOTAS package. If the final EHCP lists the school in section I, despite school saying they cannot meet need, where does this leave us? Her anxiety is high and she refused to attend preschool setting. Waits for the tribunal are likely 12+ months. Is judicial review the best option for us to challenge rationality of decision to name school in Section I that cannot need need?

Tribunal: do I point out school has verbally confirmed they can't meet need? I have lodged a refusal to issue appeal. School has admitted verbally they can't make the recommended provision in the summary of assessment report but seem unwilling to put this in writing. I think this is because if they admit they can't make provision that is (according to the LA) 'ordinarily available', they look bad. The evidence they have provided is really sloppy. Do I argue this at tribunal? Or, do I argue they've made best endeavours but still can't meet need? Child is ASD, EBSNA and new independent reports support that she needs a specialist placement. Thanks.

My child is being turned down by all the independent schools we are applying to based on his recently diagnosed dyslexia - does this contravene the disability act? My child recently had neurodiversity screeners by a charity. They provide reports but not diagnosis and suggested his had strong signs of dyslexia and possibly ADHD. He is year 6 and due to go to year 7 in a few months time. We have applied to 3 non academically selective independent schools and they have all turned our application down. The first which is supposed to have good provision for dyslexia, turned him down on the basis of the report saying they couldn't support his type of adhd. They hadn't even met him, he doesn't have a diagnosis for ADHD and certainly there was no mention of a type. We are wondering now whether he actually has adhd or whether we were just going through a tricky developmental stage at the point of the screener. I've tried to get an ADHD private diagnosis since to rule it in or out but no providers have come back to me. I'm not happy for him to be turned down over something that is not diagnosed. We have managed to get a private dylexia diagnosis since. It confirmed his dyslexia. He scored significantly low for literacy but average in other areas and particularly high in others (98th percentile in one particular test). The conclusion was he can still be successful academically (particularly in STEM) provided his dyslexia is supported. Since then our last 2 independent school options have said they cannot support his dysexia requirements. I am told he does not qualify for an EHCP and as far as i can see the dyslexia recommendations are standard. 25% more time, pre-teaching, some small group dyslexia support and speech to text tech. All of which is supposed to be available at the last school in particular that has a specialist learning facility. Are they discriminating or can they just get away with saying they can't support him and he won't be able to keep up with his cohort?

Can I request the EP as an expert witness in my EHCP appeal, or could this backfire?

Our Educational Psychologist (a 2nd-year trainee) wrote a vague Section F provision with many examples rather than specific, quantified provisions. I have emailed three times requesting that it be made legally compliant, but the response I received stated:

"EP reports are written with the intention of enabling education staff to plan and deliver a personalised curriculum within a school or other educational setting. The additional examples that are included within advice help educators to incorporate recommendations/approaches into their lesson planning without limiting their creativity and flexibility, allowing staff to interpret the essence of the recommendation and plan to best effect."

I assume this aligns with LA policy, but my concern is that the vagueness makes the provision unenforceable. My son has an EOTAS package (recently agreed in final/nothing in place), and the LA is only organising tuition for the core curriculum. This means the examples listed in the EP report linking learning to interest (especially computing, which he accesses privately and consistently) are not included in his provision.

I agree with the essence of what she has written within F but due to the lack of detail I am appealing Sections B and F, and I’m wondering whether I should request the EP as an expert witness to clarify her recommendations—or whether this could backfire if she aligns with the LA's stance.