TCM’s Application
| Jurisdiction | Northern Ireland |
| Court | Queen's Bench Division (Northern Ireland) |
| Writing for the Court | Horner J |
| Judge | Horner J,Gillen J |
| Judgment Date | 25 January 2013,21 January 2013 |
| Neutral Citation | [2013] NIQB 2 |
| Year | 2013 |
| Date | 21 January 2013 |
1
Neutral Citation No: [2013] NIQB 3 Ref:
GIL8701
Judgment: approved by the Court for handing down Delivered:
25/01/13
(subject to editorial corrections)*
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE IN NORTHERN IRELAND
_______
QUEEN’S BENCH DIVISION (JUDICIAL REVIEW)
______
TCM’s Application [2013] NIQB 3
IN THE MATTER OF AN APPLICATION BY TCM
FOR JUDICIAL REVIEW
_______
GILLEN J
Introduction
[1] The applicant in this case is a Down Syndrome child who was born on 30 July
1998. She is the subject of a Statement of Special Educational Needs (“the
statement“) as amended and prepared on 24 March 2011 by the South Eastern
Education and Library Board (the second notice party to these proceedings). Inter
alia it stated:
“[the child] should attend a special school. [the
child’s] parents have expressed a preference for main
stream education.[the child] will attend St
Columbanus College in September 2011.”
[2] The statement was appealed to the Special Educational Needs and Disability
Tribunal (hereinafter referred to as “the respondent” or “the Tribunal “) on a
number of issues. That Tribunal gave its decision on 14 September 2011 wherein,
inter alia, it decided not to alter the Board’s recommendation that the most suitable
school for the applicant was St Columbanus College (St Columbanus) Bangor and
thus rejected the applicant’s contention that the most suitable school for the
applicant was St Joseph’s College, Ravenhill Road, Belfast(St Joseph’s).
[3] On a Notice of Motion the applicant now seeks orders for:
• A declaration that the decision of the Tribunal to name St Columbanus on the
applicant’s Statement of Educational Needs is unlawful.
2
• An order of certiorari quashing the decision.
• An order compelling the Tribunal to name St Joseph’s on the applicant’s
Statement of Educational Needs.
[4] Leave was granted by Treacy J on 22 March 2012. At the leave stage the
Board of Governors of St Joseph’s and the South Eastern Education and Library
Board had been proposed respondents. Treacy J ordered that both these parties
should become notice parties leaving the respondent Tribunal as the lone
respondent in this matter. The grounds upon which the plaintiff sought relief set
out in the Order 53 Statement included:
• The Tribunal had irrationally distinguished between the facilities and
resources available to St Joseph’s and St Columbanus.
• The decision breached the applicant’s right to be educated in an ordinary
school pursuant to Article 7 of the Education Order 1996 (sic) by imposing a
policy that Down Syndrome children should only be educated in schools with
previous experience of children with Down Syndrome.
• Breaches of the applicant’s rights pursuant to Article 2 of the First Protocol
and Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights and
Fundamental Freedoms.
• The decision was in breach of Article 53 of Schedule 2 to the Education Order
1996(sic)
I observe that I have assumed that the legislative references should be more
accurately described as the Education (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 and
paragraph 5(3) of Schedule 2 of that Order.
Statutory background
[5] Paragraph 5 of Schedule 2 of the Education (Northern Ireland) Order 1996
(“the 1996 Order”) as amended by Article 12 and Schedule 1 of the Special
Educational Needs and Disability (Northern Ireland) Order 2005(“SENDO”) under
the heading “Making and Maintenance of Statements under Article 16” provides as
follows where relevant:
“5.-(1) Every board shall make arrangements for
enabling a parent –
(a) On whom a copy of a proposed statement has
been served … to express a preference as to the
grant-aided school at which he wishes
education to be provided for his child and to
give reasons for his preference
…….
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