Legal advice required please

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by SweeneyTodd, Nov 8, 2019.

  1. As some of you know, our eldest son is profoundly Deaf as a result of meningitis. He has an education & health care plan (EHCP). He is in his final year of high school but his EHCP has not changed since junior school unbeknown to us as we were told it was updated & the support was in place & he was on track to get the necessary results, this was a lie... it is a legal requirement that it is updated annually with things that he is capable of achieving & what the school/education authority hopes he will be able to achieve given the correct support & learning. We found out, on Tuesday, that his EHCP has not been changed for years in regard to this.
    The school he attends is a mainstream one with a dedicated Deaf/deaf unit attached. We feel however that the education authority has failed him because 3 years ago Mrs St (who attends all his meetings etc) went into school & complained to the head. The funding for a Deaf student is quite high compared to that of a 'normal' student but our son has had very little signed support in class (he uses BSL) throughout all this time which should have been paid for by his funding. Which means basically that he has sat there with no clue about what is going on.
    What I want to know essentially is..... Can we/he take any legal recourse against the education authority and in fact the school?
    The poor lad doesn't even know the basics of maths & english. He doesn't know how to go to the shop, the bank, the post office, how to catch the bus, the train or what actually is expected of him as an adult.... Now some of you may blame the parents but rest assured we have fought tooth & nail against the tide only to have been lied to, in respect of what he has been achieving, what they hope he will achieve & where his funding has been used! They have some pretty nice astroturf facilities at this school (relatively new), over 40 (yes forty) admin staff in their main office, 4 deputy heads & a wind turbine to produce electricity.... so is that where our son's funding has gone? It certainly hasn't been spent on his support for the last 5 years.
    I really want to sue them (but we are not in the USA) if only to secure his future! He is afraid of the 'big wide' world & has not much confidence left & we as his parents feel we have let him down!
    Any legal advice welcome because I really want to run with this & fight for his rights! Poor kid! It makes ne want to cry!
     
    Surfari, vinnyboy and Merlin Cat like this.
  2. Dub and Dubber

    Dub and Dubber Supporter

    This is a shocker to me ...
    Guess you've already got on to:
    Citizen's Advice Bureau?
    Charities for hearing impaired?
    Child and disability specialist lawyers?
    I guess they would want to see that you can prove wilful misdirection on the part of the school :mad:
     
    SweeneyTodd likes this.
  3. How old is your son, John?
     
  4. Jack Tatty

    Jack Tatty Supporter and teachers pet

    Do you have the meeting minutes from each EHCP review? Aren’t changing needs discussed at these? Go back through them and see what has been discussed in relation to your son’s needs. Any legal action will rely heavily on historical paperwork I would imagine. That’s a good place to start. Dig out any medical correspondence from gp or hospital appointments too. The more you have in writing the better chance you’ll have with your case. Fingers X’d.
     
  5. My son is now 16 years old he's been at school since he was 3 years old... unusual I know but he was/is so bright the teacher/support he had attached to him in early years couldn't teach him anything more... she had exhausted all the early years learning set out by the authority so the next logical step was school. We are lucky here as there is a specialist Deaf junior school local to us but we still had to jump through hoops to get him in earlier than normal. @Jack Tatty there seems to be no paperwork relating to the last four years with the education authority & his teacher of the Deaf + SENCO who told us everything was in place both retired at the beginning of this his final year, which is how this came to light during a huge transition meeting including, us, the school & council. We were told there has been no paperwork submitted to the education authority (has it been done? Have the authority lost it?) The council member dealing with my son was shocked when he pulled his file..... I don't know what to believe any more! So many lies it's hard to establish who is at fault! I am both angry & exasperated.... we thought we were doing our best for him.... It seems NOT! We feel like bad parents & that hurts A LOT! The problem is now that it is too late for our boy, his new upto date EHCP will take months to complete & he will have left school by then.... so any fight we have will only benefit those younger Deaf children still left at the school. It's heart breaking!!! :(
     
  6. Writing as a teacher, that is shocking! He, and you, have obviously been let down terribly by the school.
    Have they been inspected recently? If so there should be some mention of the provision in the specialist deaf unit.
    Good luck!
     
    Merlin Cat likes this.
  7. Merlin Cat

    Merlin Cat Moderator

    My ex sister in law teaches deaf children, both in and out of a school environment. She’s away at the mo but I can ask her when she gets back. She is also partially deaf/hearing.
     
    Dub and Dubber likes this.

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