Salèha “Saze” Pinhorn Creator of CanSpeakFrench - French tutoring and coaching for adults and children.

Salèha “Saze” Pinhorn

Creator of CanSpeakFrench - French tutoring and coaching for adults and children.

I was born in Paris and I spent all my student years in the City of Light

and after finishing my studies at the University Paris V, I decided to

move to the UK to learn English - and what a better way to learn and

assimilate than interacting with people who actually speak the language!

Although I am a fan of the British accent, which I would love to be able

to copy, I still have my French accent or shall I say my Parisian accent!

Early diagnosis key for children - Leena Hurloll, Moore Blatch - Education Law Specialist

A recent article published in Current Biology has suggested it is possible to identify differences in infants' brainwaves from as early as six months old.

This is good news for families, as identifying disorders such as autism at an earlier stage and providing the appropriate care and support needed, can have potentially life changing results for a child.

What is too often the case is that a diagnosis is made too late, meaning children are increasingly not being provided with the education provision they need. It is disgraceful that an estimated 50% of children with a statement of special educational needs are still being educated in mainstream school.

As well as having to deal with the emotional heartache of needing to fight for the rights of their child, many parents are left feeling helpless and frustrated at having to battle against such a complex system.

Indeed, we recently assisted a family from London who have been battling for 8 years to get the correct provision for their 14-year-old son, who has Asperser’s Syndrome and high functioning autism. 

His parents sought our advice after a lengthy battle with their local authority, who was refusing to issue an amended Statement of Special Educational Needs, meaning their son would have to remain in mainstream schooling.

Despite a huge amount of evidence, the local authority continually refused to acknowledge his needs and the family then brought a Judicial Review in the High Court and an appeal to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal.

With our help the family were finally able to get a Statement of Special Educational Needs for their son. 

Although an eventual success story, the family’s battle to get their son’s needs recognised has been very hard. He was forced into a mainstream school where he faced years of trauma, segregation, bullying and discrimination. He was self harming and bullied to the point of suicide. It is down to the sheer determination of his family that there has finally been a positive conclusion, as they simply refused to give up.

It is complex and difficult for parents, but they must, if they are at all unhappy about a local authority decision, seek independent advice to find out what their options really are.

Leena Hurloll, Moore Blatch - Education Law Specialist

www.educationlawsolutions.co.uk

St Albans Wood Recycling - What a Great Service !!

St Albans Wood Recycling is a not-for-profit social enterprise registered as a Community Interest Company (CIC).

We collect waste wood from the construction industry and other producers of wood waste to help reduce the amount of wood needlessly going to landfill. We sort the collected wood, selling anything that is reusable to the community at affordable prices. We also find creative ways to recycle this valuable natural resource by making products from the collected wood e.g. simple furniture, planters, wood ornaments or other wood products which we sell in our wood shop. Timber that cannot be reused is sold as firewood or gets chipped for use as biofuel. No waste wood is disposed of to landfill.

We are a not-for-profit social enterprise that is financially self-supporting. Our income is derived from the charges we make from our waste wood collection service and from sales of wood and wood products.

Any surplus is reinvested in the business. We provide work, learning and training opportunities to those facing barriers to gaining paid employment and for local people who enjoy working with wood.

If you are interested then get in contact with

Geoff Deans  07880 528407

Director St Albans Wood Recycling

The next few months will be a very difficult time for families with children with special educational needs - Guest Post by Leena Hurloll, Moore Blatch - Education Law Specialist

It can be incredibly distressing for parents when their son or daughter’s education is in question. Too many parents of children with learning difficulties can be left feeling they have to battle a complex system to get what their child needs.

It’s thought over 50% of children with a Statement of Special Educational Needs are still being educated in mainstream schools, despite government research recommending dedicated teaching to improve performance.

Yesterday many families will have been notified of the decision about where their child with special educational needs will go to secondary school from September 2012. Local Authorities are required by law to issue amended Statements of Special Educational Needs by 15^th February of every year.

If the local authority has failed to do this, parents can bring Judicial Review actions against them to do so.

If parents have received the amended Statement of Special Educational Needs and they are unhappy with the School, then they must lodge their appeal with the First Tier Tribunal as soon as possible.

The next few months will be a very difficult time for families with children with special educational needs.

Many families will feel very anxious about taking on schools and local authorities to secure a better school or provision for their child. It can seem very daunting. Others have been doing so for years and feel like the school and local authority do not listen. Often raising concerns can seem like a challenge when in actual fact it can mean working collaboratively with the school and the local authority.

Some situations may have broken down and there will be conflict because there is so much emotion associated with a child’s education and well being.

Judicial reviews can be brought in the name of the child and so therefore children will automatically qualify for legal aid. Parents who want to appeal to the First Tier Tribunal can also qualify for legal aid if they are on a low income or on benefits. We are happy to discuss avenues with families and assess the options free of charge. We also have access to charities who can offer support and advice through the process. We invite families to visit our website www.educationlawsolutions.co.uk to see the work we do.

Parents should visit www.sendist.gov.uk to give them an understanding of what they can expect a First Tier Tribunal appeal to involve.

Leena Hurloll, Moore Blatch - Education Law Specialist

www.educationlawsolutions.co.uk

Local Authorities are required by law to issue amended Statements of Special Educational Needs today at the very latest - www.educationlawsolutions.co.uk

Today many families will have been notified about where their child with special educational needs will go to secondary school from September 2012. Local Authorities are required by law to issue amended Statements of Special Educational Needs today at the very latest.

If the local authority has failed to do this, parents can bring Judicial Review actions against them to do so.

If parents have received the amended Statement of Special Educational Needs and they are unhappy with the School, then they must lodge their appeal with the First tier Tribunal as soon as possible.

The next few months will be a very difficult time for families with children with special educational needs.

Thank you

Leena

Leena Hurloll

Senior Solicitor

Moore Blatch Resolve LLP

If you need anymore information about this subject please contact Leena Hurloll by e mail or by visiting the website

E-mail:      leena.hurloll@mooreblatch.com

Website:   www.educationlawsolutions.co.uk