What to do if I'm not happy (SEND)
There may be some instances where you may be unhappy about a decision that has been made. It would be helpful if you could talk this through with the relevant professional in the first instance. However, if you are still not satisfied, the information below will provide some help on your next options.
All local authorities, by law, have to provide children and young people with SEN or disabilities, and their parents, with free, confidential, impartial information, advice and support. Buckinghamshire SEND IAS Service is the information, advice and support service here.
The purpose of a way forward meeting is to work together with parents/carers, child/young person, teachers and other professionals (where appropriate) to understand the current and future programme of support for a child or young person. The meeting is held when the SEN Advisory Panel has made a decision not to carry out an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Needs Assessment, or decided not to issue an EHC Plan. Parents/carers and/or young person will be offered a meeting within three weeks of the decision of the SEN Advisory Panel. For more information see the Way Forward Meeting 1 and 2 - Guidance (pdf 181 kb)
Mediation - If it has not been possible to reach an agreement with us over the assessment process or the provision or content of an EHC Plan, you have the right to appeal to SEND. Find out more about the mediation service.
The Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (SENDIST) considers parents’ appeals against the decisions of Education and Library Boards about children’s special educational needs, where the parents cannot reach agreement with the Board, and also deals with claims of disability discrimination in schools.
You can appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability) if you disagree with your local authority’s decisions about your child’s special educational needs. The tribunal is independent of government and will listen to both sides of the argument before making a decision. Find out more on the gov.uk website.
The special educational needs disability (SEND) tribunal is changing (single route of redress).
Starting on 3 April 2018, the SEND tribunal will have some new powers and can look at health and social care concerns too. This is called the 'Single Route of Redress'.
If you have concerns about the education sections of an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan or about a local authority decision to not issue an EHC plan, you can go to the tribunal and ask for these concerns to be addressed. For these cases, you will now also be able to ask the tribunal to look at the health and social care sections of the EHC plan as long as the local authority decision happened on or after 3 April 2018 or the plan was issued or amended from 3 April 2018. You will still need an education complaint to go to tribunal as they cannot look at health and social care aspects alone.
Independent Health Complaints Advocacy is a free, independent advocacy service that can help you make a complaint about any aspect of your NHS care or treatment. This includes treatment in a private hospital or care home that is funded by the NHS. For more information contact SEAP.
Find out how to make a complaint about adult social care.
You can also contact Healthwatch Bucks, an independent consumer organisation created to gather and represent the views of the public.
The Patient advice and liaison service (PALS) is the one-stop-shop for patients, carers and relatives seeking advice and support on all aspects of healthcare.
The service is free and confidential and aims to support anyone with questions or queries about health-related issues.
If you wish to make a complaint about Children's Social Care, read the information and leaflet on the Buckinghamshire County Council website.