OUR APPROACH

At SEN Legal we recognise that our clients - predominantly parents and grandparents - are aspirational and that the education and welfare of their children / grandchildren is paramount. We also appreciate that a child's education can affect and influence the rest of his or her life, and so it is of fundamental importance that any problems are resolved efficiently and effectively. This is particularly true for children with special educational needs (SEN), who need specific, targeted support in order for them to achieve their full potential and lead fulfilled, lives and enable them to make a positive contribution to society in their adult lives.

By the time many parents approach us for help, they have often experienced anxiety, frustration, and the belief that they are not being listened to by those within the education system. Often they express the concern that they, and their children, have been let down. Many parents have received conflicting advice about the best way forward or feel overwhelmed by the sheer complexity of the education system, especially procedures relating to special educational needs.

Parents can be faced with having to communicate with a plethora of departments and individuals from schools, Local Authorities, Social Services and the NHS, all of whom have access to relevant resources to oppose their requests for provision and have years of experience in dealing with the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (SENDIST). We recognise that for parents of children with Special Educational Needs (SEN) the specific needs of their children can, in themselves, cause an enormous emotional strain on the family which is added to immeasurably by the collective response of schools, Local Authorities, Social Services and the NHS

We know that parents who are inevitably warm, kind and supportive are emotionally involved in the struggle to get help for their children. Their parental expectation is to look after their children and provide help and support for them. They feel enormously angry and frustrated when their efforts sometimes achieve so very little. The worry casts a big shadow. Finding the right people to deal with it so you are not alone, so that you are listened to, and overcome the “nobody else seems to see” it hurdle, and suggestions of undue “negativity” can lift an enormous cloud.

Whilst the prospect of instructing a solicitor can sometimes seem daunting, some parents find that in reality it is an enormous relief and feel that, finally, they can stop 'banging their head against a brick wall'. The advantage of instructing SEN Legal to assist you with issues relating to your child's special educational needs is that we will use our experience and knowledge in what is a highly specialised area of the law to robustly advance your, and most importantly your child's, best interests. Our objective is always to use our considerable knowledge and experience to achieve the best possible solution for our clients.

To this end, we aim to be approachable, client focused and supportive; we have personal as well as professional experience, of the education process, and in particular, personal as well as professional experience, with regards to Statements of Special Educational Needs and the problems which can arise (in particular those relating to appeals to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (SENDIST)). We can therefore offer sensitivity towards any issues that might arise and a committed, family-friendly approach to our work.

SEN Legal's success rate in the period 1^st January 2011 to 31^st December 2011 was 93.4% (this figure includes appeals conceded by the Local Authority before the hearing).