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In November 2006 IPSEA began a formal complaint to the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (DfES) against the London Borough of Barnet over its distribution of leaflets in 2006 and 2007 for parents explaining the transfer of pupils with Statements of SEN to secondary school. In particular, the 2006 leaflet includes crucially misleading descriptions of parent’s rights, notably:
- It said that parents could not ask for an independent school unless their child had undergone a statutory assessment or reassessment. In fact, a parent can make such a request in response to any proposed change to their child’s statement which is suggested by the local authority, including when a statement is amended at secondary transfer.
- It told parents that they would have to give written agreement to pay the relevant fees if they requested that their statemented child was placed in an independent school. This is completely wrong in law and would have actively discouraged parents from suggesting independent school placements for their children when no appropriate local authority placement was available.
- Confusingly it also gave parents false hope by saying that ‘If the Authority is satisfied that the school is able to meet the pupil’s needs the support as described in the children’s statement of Special Educational Needs will be funded by the Authority.’ In fact, if there is an appropriate maintained school available, the Authority must name it to avoid unreasonable public expenditure.
The Secretary of State has warned Barnet that he may give it a legally binding direction under sections 496-497 of the Education Act 1996 unless it corrected these errors in its printed leaflets and on its website. On receipt of Barnet’s initial response, IPSEA has also asked DfES to press Barnet for confirmation that:
- This year’s transfer arrangements in Barnet have been carried out lawfully and parents have been given the choice of an asking for an independent school for their statemented child; and
- That no Barnet parents are paying independent school fees unnecessarily for statemented children that have already transferred to secondary level.
Barnet have yet to respond but all parents in Barnet are advised to act carefully in these circumstances and call our advice line for help if needed on 0800 0184016.
Roger Inman
Chief Executive
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All parents in Barnet are advised to act carefully iif they want an independent school named in a statement and call our advice line for help if needed on 0800 0184016 |