EHC123 | tribunals

Tribunals.

EHC123 has a range of services on offer to support Local Authorities to respond to appeals made by families to the First-Tier SEND Tribunal.

We do not provide legal or paralegal services, but we do know the law inside out, and our staff are highly skilled and experienced in representing LAs at Tribunal. Our lead Tribunal Officer has extensive experience gained over hundreds of appeals, ranging from Refusal to Assess all the way through to complex education, health and care provision and placement.

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EHC123

Our Tribunal services

Our Tribunal philosophy

Tribunal services.

We offer the following services to support Local Authorities:

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Individual casework

Case appraisal: £349

Once the appeal paperwork comes in, EHC123 will undertake a thorough analysis of the case (including consulting with the parents/carers and family, and the child/young person's school, college or other setting) and provide you with a robust, pragmatic and honest appraisal of the appeal. This will include a short case appraisal report making reference to relevant aspects of the law and our professional advice on how best to proceed.

Case management: £1,495

Includes all of the above. Following the 'case appraisal report' EHC123 will continue to engage and liaise with all stakeholders, and manage the casework through to resolution or pre-hearing. This will include the submission of responses and evidence, and acting as a first port of call for the appellants and Tribunal service. Case management does not include preparation or submission of the bundle (available for an additional £189).

Case coaching: £1,895

Includes all of the above, as well as preparation of the bundle, EHC123 will

provide bespoke and intensive coaching to your nominated representative in preparation for the hearing. EHC123 will also arrange and chair a pre-meeting with the key witnesses.

Please note that for any highly extraordinary cases, or any Tribunal appeals including elements of health or social care under the new extended routes of redress pilot, further costs may apply, to a maximum of an additional 30%.

Discounts are available for contract or bulk purchases. Give us a shout for more details.

Training

Training packages: from £349 per half-day

EHC123 is able to provide training and workshops for your team, in a range of areas:

Decision making and the law
Putting your case forward (the LA response)
Gathering evidence
Getting the Bundle right
Becoming an Expert Witness
What to expect in a Tribunal hearing

Other training sessions not listed above can be requested by getting in touch with us directly.

Prices may be negotiable according to the number of delegates and the level of training required, and include a suite of downloadable resources, and a completion certificate for each delegate to add to their CPD portfolio.

Audit and review

Starting from £1,899

It is a commonly used adage that "parents don't win tribunals; LAs lose them". Whilst we don't hold with the win/lose idea, it is true that LAs are often under-prepared, under-resourced and under-equipped to be able to respond proactively to the increase in number of appeals.

EHC123 is able to come and spend two days reviewing your Tribunal processes and helping to re-think your ethos, practice and response to appeals, including supplying you with bespoke tools and paperwork to ensure every Tribunal is dealt with efficiently, consistently and with the utmost professionalism. The price includes one 90 minute training session.

Any SEN teams who have already undergone the internal audit and review are also eligible for 10% off any other future tribunal services listed above.

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Tribunals

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Our philosophy.

Tribunals can be a difficult and uncertain time for all involved, and heightened frustrations can often impact on the lasting relationships between families and LA caseworkers.

EHC123 can undertake some of the Tribunal work on your behalf, helping to preserve relationships between families and your team to get the best chances of success for the child's future.

Our philosophy regarding Tribunals includes the following key principles:

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Resolution

We believe in restorative practice; that is, working collaboratively with each other, rather than making decisions to or for people. This doesn't mean that everyone agrees all of the time, but it means that actions are taken with the highest levels of engagement so that everyone knows the reasons for decisions being made.

As with any dispute, both parties should be prepared to consider what compromises or allowances they are prepared to make in order to resolve the conflict. With that in mind, we work hard to achieve resolution by mutual agreement ("consent order" in Tribunal terms) rather than proceeding all the way to a court hearing.

Pragmatism

We take a pragmatic approach to Tribunals: that the two parties cannot agree on the best way to provide support for the child/young person, and are therefore seeking judiciary support to determine the next steps.

We find this helps parties to work in a much fairer and collaborative way for the good of the child/young person, rather than point scoring or employing 'tactics'.

It is not helpful, therefore, to consider any outcome as a win or a loss to either party, simply a determined set of further actions.

Integrity

Nobody wants to have to go through Tribunal, and we recognise that families reach this point following a long and often arduous journey. The thought of facing a difficult legal battle can be painful and disruptive to an already complex family life.

EHC123 is in this business to help, support and bring people together. We are not barristers, solicitors, or paralegals; but we are passionate about using our intricate knowledge of SEN law to ensure that the rights and responsibilities of both parties are understood and advocated.

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Tribunals

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