Education Law Unit: Latest News
27 February 2007 - Govan Law Centre have sucessfully brought an appeal against the decision of an Additional
Support Needs Tribunal in a placing request case. The appeal concentrated on whether the Tribunal had jurisdiction to hear the case in the first place.
Considering some complex statutory provisions, Lady Dorrian decided that where an education authority decide that a child or young person
requires a Co-ordinated Support Plan after refusing a placing request, but before an appeal against that placing request is heard,
the appeal should be heard by the Education Appeal Committee, and not the Additional Support Needs Tribunal.
Read the judgement in full on the Scottish Court Service website: Mrs. Gordon, Appellant against a decision of an Additional Support Needs Tribunal [2007] CSOH 45
21 December 2006 - The Court of Session has heard the first appeal against a decision
of the Additional Support Needs Tribunal. The Court found that the Tribunal had erred in law on two counts
and remitted the case to be heard again by a differently constituted Tribunal. Those who assist parents of pupils
with additional support needs will have cause for disappointment as the case establishes that the correct test
(in line with English authorities) for comparing the cost of an authority school with that of
an independent school is the additional (or marginal) cost to the authority. This does not take into
account things like the cost of running an existing school or employing existing staff.
Read the judgement in full on the Scottish Court Service website: SM, Appellant v. City of Edinburgh Council [2006] CSOH 201
29 September 2006 - The Education Law Unit's Annual Report for 2005/06 is
now available to download. The report contains a summary of all our activities for that year.
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Education Law Unit Annual Report 2005/06 Word (61kb)
30 June 2006 - Govan Law Centre brought the first legal test case under the
Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2005, which came into force in November 2005.
Johanne Sim, whose son Josh had a Record of Needs at his primary school, won her case to get
free travel to school from Argyll & Bute Council. The Court of Session considered the effect of
Section 30 of the 2004 Act (Transitional provision: recorded children and young persons).
Read the story in full in the
Times Educational Supplement
Or, read the judgement in full on the Scottish Court Service website:
Sim, Petitioner v. Argyll and Bute Council [2006] CSOH 144
30 June 2006 - The brand new
Education (Appeal Committee Procedures) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2006, came
into force today. The regulations make various consequential amendments in light of
the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004.
The regulations are provided for you below.
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Education (Appeal Committee Procedures) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2006 PDF (37kb)
10 May 2006 - The Scottish Parliament passed the Scottish Schools (Parental Involvement) Bill today. This piece
of legislation will abolish school boards and, in their place, introduce Parent Forums (Fora?) and Parent Councils.
Surprisingly controversial, the legislation was opposed by the Scottish School Boards Association,
among others. Check out the parental powers in Section 12 of the Bill though - the Bill as passed is provided for you below.
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Scottish Schools (Parental Involvement) Bill PDF (203kb)
22 March 2006 - The House of Lords has delivered its decisions in two high profile human rights cases involving schools.
In the Begum case, their decision was that Shabina Begum's school had not breached her human rights in exluding her from school
for wearing the jilbab, a traditionl muslim gown. And in the Ali case, their Lordships ruled that Lord Grey School
had not breached Mr. Ali's human rights in excluding him indefinitely from school pending a criminal investigation into
whether or not he was guilty of setting fire to the school. Of interest is Baroness Hale's minority opinion that Mr. Ali would
have been entitled to a declaration from the court that his rights had been breaches, but not to damages.
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R. v. Headteacher and Governors of Denbigh High School (ex parte Begum) [2006] UKHL 15 PDF (109kb)
Ali v. Headteacher and Governors of Lord Grey School [2006] UKHL 14 PDF (102kb)
16 March 2006 - As of 27 March 2006, the Additional Support Needs Tribunals for Scotland have a brand new set of rules. Actually, the Additional Support Needs Tribunals for Scotland (Practice and Procedure) Rules 2006 are not greatly different from the 2005 Rules, but introduce some minor amendments:
- Part II contains rules about the start of proceedings before the Tribunals. In this Part changes are made from the previous Rules in rule 5 in which provision has now been made in relation to the deemed refusal of placing requests.
- Part III contains rules about the management powers of Tribunals. In this Part rule 14 has been amended to clarify that a convener or Tribunal has discretion as to whether to suspend proceedings even where parties are so agreed.
- Part IV contains rules in relation to evidence for references to the Tribunals. In this Part, some changes are made from the previous Rules. Rules 21 and 22 are modified to clarify that the persons to whom citations for the recovery of documents and attendance of witnesses may be sent are not restricted to those in Scotland; and Rule 24 is changed to remove the provision for the Secretary to pay fees to experts appointed under that rule.
- Part V contains rules about hearings before, and decisions of, the Tribunals. In this Part changes are made from the previous Rules. Rules 27 and 28 are altered to provide separately for the respective entitlement to be in attendance at hearings held in private of interpreters and those giving necessary assistance to persons entitled to be to be in attendance; Rule 37 is changed to remove the provision in terms of which a statement of the facts found by the Tribunal and of the reasons for its decision was not required in the case of a decision by consent; and Rule 39 removes the provision in terms of which an order as to expenses could be made as respects the expenses of an expert appointed to assist the Tribunal or of a person appointed under rule 33(2) to facilitate the giving of evidence by a child.
- Part VI contains miscellaneous and general provisions which apply to proceedings before the Tribunals. In this Part a change has been made to rule 46(1) to clarify the circumstances in which it applies.
25 November 2005 - The Scottish Executive have published two pieces of guidance
relating to the new Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004, which came into force on 14 November 2005.
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Dispute Resoloution Arrangements: Appointment and Payment of Independent Adjudicator - General Direction Number PDF (71kb)
Education (Additional Support for Learning)(Scotland) Act 2004 Circular: 5/2005 PDF (147kb)
24 October 2005 - Newly launched today: a joint collaboration between Glasgow City Council and Govan Law Centre an interactive CD-Rom
which delivers the equivalent of one day's training for clerks, chairs and members of Education Appeal Committees. The training covers both legal aspects
(e.g. exclusions, placing requests and committee procedures) and practical considerations (e.g. committee skills, including children, making the hearing accessible).
Copies have been sent to the clerks of all 32 Education Appeal Committees, but a limited number are available for others involved in the administration of
the committees, while stocks last.
4 October 2005 - Available to download direct from this website, our Annual Report for the period 2004/05. Including
details and statistics of all of our work, case studies and testimonials. View online, or print it off and create your own A5
ELU annual report booklet! We suggest that you right click the link and select "Save Target As.."
Education Law Unit Annual Report 2005 PDF (161kb)
15 September 2005 Govan Law Centre's new programme of seminars on various aspects of education law is now
available. A total of 8 events for schools and education authorities are being run between October 2005 and January 2006.
Internal link to our Training Pages.
25 August 2005 The final version of the Code of Practice for the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 was published today, on
the Scottish Executive's website. It is made available to you below. The Code of Practice has been called "supporting
children's learning".
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Supporting Children's Learning: Code of Practice PDF (538kb)
19 August 2005 New guidance for schools was published today. Called "Safe and Well", its 296 pages offer good practice in
schools and education authorities for keeping children safe and well. Govan Law Centre's Education Law Unit assisted the Scottish Executive with the
Law and Policy section (to be found towards the end). At the start is a Children's Charter which is to be "enacted daily in schools", including the
following:
- Get to know us
- Speak with us
- Listen to us
- Take us seriously
- Involve us
- Respect our privacy
- Be responsible to us
- Think about our lives as a whole
- Think carefully about how you use information about us
- Put us in touch with the right people
- Use your power to help
- Make things happen when they should
- Help us be safe
Safe and well: Good practice in schools and
education authorities for keeping children safe and well PDF (1.6Mb)
18 July 2005 Circular No. 3 July/05, Guidance on the appropriate age and stage when young people can be presented for externally
assessed qualifications offers guidance in place of regulations and allows for early presentation for exams in some exceptional cases.
It is made available to you below.
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Guidance on the appropriate age and stage when young people can be presented for externally
assessed qualifications PDF (273kb)
16 June 2005 The Scottish Executive have just repealed the Schools (Scotland) Code 1956 which they (correctly) argued was out of date.
In its place has been enacted a set of regulations called the Requirements for Teachers (Scotland) Regulations 2005.
These specify the particular registration and qualification requirements for teachers in education authority schools (and Jordanhill School in Glasgow).
Of particular note is the requirement for those teaching hearing impaired or visually impaired pupils to have "an appropriate qualification" - or to be in
the process of obtaining one.
External link to the Requirements for Teachers (Scotland) Regulations 2005.
14 June 2005 An interesting case heard by the Sheriff Principal of Lothian and Borders regarding legal aid for placing
request cases. Seasoned education law ltigators, Campbell Smith W.S. have cleared the first
hurdle in challenging the Scottish Legal Aid Board's policy of assessing placing request appeals on the
finances of the parents, rather than the child (even in cases involving children with special needs). The Sheriff Principal decided that they
should be allowed to bring a petition against the Board in the Court of Session. The outcome of that petition will be keenly anticipated.
External link to the case of Sinclair v. Scottish Legal Aid Board.
19 May 2005 The draft Code of Practice for the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 was published today, on
the Scottish Executive's website. It is made available to you below.
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Draft Code of Practice, Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004
PDF (1212kb)
11 May 2005 Two new consultation papers relating to the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 were made available on the Scottish Executive website today.
The papers concern transitional arrangements for pupils with Records of Needs (Paper 08) and placing requests (Paper 09). Both are made available below.
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Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004: Transitional Arrangements Consultation Paper: Additional Support Needs 08
PDF (406kb)
Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004: Children and Young Persons with Additional Needs: Placing Requests: Consultation Paper: Additional Support Needs 09
PDF (202kb)
20 April 2005 Two recent cases from England & Wales have come to our attention. In the case of
D.N. v. London Borough of Greenwich, the Court of Appeal upheld a decision that the Borough's educational
psychologists had been negligent in their failure to provide appropriately for a child (later diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome).
The child had, instead, been sent to a school for pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties. The educational psychologist
also failed to carry out any psychometric testing and failed to recommend a school for children with communication disorders.
The judge found the Borough liable for these failures, and directed that damages (compensation) be awarded against them.
Meanwhile, the case of R. v. The Governors of Tamworth Manor High School, ex parte K. establishes the principle that
a sixteen day exclusion from school for "pulling a mooney" during a school football match was not, in the circumstances of the case,
disproportionate or excessive.
Both cases can be obtained by using the links below. We suggest that you right click the links and select "Save Target As.."
D.N. v. London Borough of Greenwich [2004] EWCA Civ 1659
Microsoft Word Format (122kb)
R. v. The Governors of Tamworth Manor High School, ex parte K. [2004] EWHC 2564 (Admin)
Rich Text Format (46kb)
18 March 2005 The report of an audit of education authorities early years policies and provision regarding specific learning difficulties including dyslexia was
published today. The report can be obtained by using the links below. We suggest that you right click the link and select "Save Target As.."
Scotland-Wide Audit of Education Authority Early Years Policies and Provision regarding Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD) and Dyslexia: A report on a research study commissioned by the Scottish Executive Education Department (SEED)
PDF (264kb)
11 March 2005 Article by Iain Nisbet of Govan Law Centre on exclusions from school, titled The Final Deprivation is printed in the Times Educational Supplement (Scotland) today.
9 March 2005 Scottish Executive research on Minority Ethnic Pupils' Experiences of School in Scotland published today. Including pupils' perceptions on bullying; racist incidents; ethnic identity; bilingualism; and faith.
4 March 2005 Launch of new Education Law Unit website. The aim of the website is to bring parents, pupils and professionals useful, accurate and easy to understand information on education law and the education law unit. We have taken steps to improve the accessibility of our website to all users, and intend to continue this process over the coming months.
1 March 2005 The Scottish Executive launches its consultation on parental involvement in school education.
The consultation documents include a draft Scottish Schools (Parental Involvement) Bill, and the consultation period runs until the 7th of June, 2005.
The relevant documents can be obtained by using the links below. We suggest that you right click the link and select "Save Target As.."
Making the difference – improving parents’ involvement in schools:
a consultation on a draft bill
PDF (557kb)
Making the difference – improving parents’ involvement in schools:
a consultation on a draft bill (summary)
PDF (301kb)
Parents’ views on improving parental involvement in
children’s education PDF (480kb)
Parents’ views on improving parental involvement in
children’s education (Executive Summary and Conclusions) PDF (160kb)
Making the difference: Parents' evenings PDF (224kb)
Making the difference: Sharing information PDF (360kb)
All of these documents can be located on the Scottish Executive website.