Laxmi Patel
Laxmi Patel is partner and Head of Education and Boyes Turner LLP. She specialises in advising individuals on their children’s special educational needs and statutory requirements under the Children and Families Act 2014. She has particular expertise in relation to Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) including appealing to the Special Education Needs and Disability Tribunal against the: Refusal to conduct an EHC needs assessment; refusal to issue an EHCP following an assessment; the content of educational provision in an EHCP; the named placement in an EHCP; and a decision to cease to maintain an EHCP. Laxmi regularly represents parents in SEND Tribunal hearings.
Laxmi is a regular commentator in the media and Special Educational Needs forums, providing legal advice and training to parent groups, solicitors in other practice areas, education professionals, charities, schools and colleges. She has spoken national conferences for various groups including APIL and BABICM.
She is on the committee of the Education Law Association.
Practice Area
Panel
- Contributing Author
Qualified Year
- 2011
Membership
- Education Law Association (ELAS)
Education
- LLB Hons, The Open University
- LPC, College of Law, London
3 Contributions by Laxmi Patel
PRACTICE NOTES
EHC needs assessments and EHC plans in England: statutory duties, required advice, timescales, drafting pitfalls, and naming mainstream or specialist placements, including EOTAS and SEND Tribunal appeal scope
The principal statute governing Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans is the Children and Families Act 2014 (CFA 2014). Sections 36–51 of the CFA 2014 cover EHC needs assessments and EHC plans. These provisions are supplemented by: the Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice (COP), Chapter 9; the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014, SI 2014/1530; and case law from 2014 onwards, in which the Upper Tribunal and other courts have interpreted the legislation, the regulations and the COP, and how they interrelate. This Practice Note concentrates on the rules for EHC needs assessments and the format and content of EHC plans. For guidance on who may request an EHC assessment and the factors local authorities (LAs) must consider when deciding whether an EHC assessment is required, see Practice Note: When must a local authority carry out an EHC needs assessment? For further reading on matters concerning EHC needs assessments and EHC plans for young people over 19, see Practice Note: Post-19 education for young people with special educational needs.
What must an EHC plan contain?
set out a child’s needs
specify the provision required to
...
Local Government
PRACTICE NOTES
EHC plans and post‑19 SEND education in England: assessments, placements (mainstream/specialist), maintenance or cessation to 25, capacity and preferences, Local Offer and five‑day provision
Part 3 of the Children and Families Act 2014 (CFA 2014)
Part 3 of the CFA 2014 sets out the primary statutory framework for children and young people in England who have special educational needs or disabilities (SEND). It brings in ‘Education, Health and Care plans’ (EHC plans), which specify the support that must be delivered to meet identified educational needs. This support can be available to young people up to the age of 25 throughout England.
See Practice Note: Special educational needs in England under the Children and Families Act 2014. For the position in Wales, see Practice Note: Special educational needs law in Wales, respectively.
Compulsory school age runs until the last Friday in June in the year a young person turns 16. For the purposes of the CFA 2014, anyone above compulsory school age but under 25 is treated as a ‘young person’.
Young people with Special Educational Needs (SEN) who wish to pursue further education are entitled to have their EHC plan maintained up to age 25 where their learning outcomes have not yet been achieved, and where further education is both appropriate and necessary in order to enable them to access the educational provision of their choice...
Local Government
PRACTICE NOTES
Special educational needs in England: identifying needs, distinguishing educational from health/social care provision, EHCP drafting and enforceability, and SENDIST appeals
Local authorities (LAs) are under a duty, in specified circumstances, to ensure that children and young persons with special educational needs receive the special educational provision required. In carrying out these functions, a local authority will set out a child’s identified needs within an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP), differentiating educational needs from health or social care needs. While preparing the plan, the authority identifies what constitutes educational provision—intended to meet educational needs—and what amounts to provision for health and social care. This divide matters because it determines who is responsible for delivering the necessary provision and how it can be enforced. For an LA, this bears on budgets; for a parent or young person, it concerns practical delivery. This Practice Note describes the process for identifying SEN provision in England and explores the distinction between educational needs and other needs. For the position in Wales, see Practice Note: Special educational needs law in Wales.
What is a special educational need?
In England, a child or young person has...
Local Government
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