Special Educational Needs Tribunal Regulations 2001

JurisdictionUK Non-devolved
CitationSI 2001/600

2001 No. 600

EDUCATION, ENGLAND AND WALES

The Special Educational Needs Tribunal Regulations 2001

Made 27th February 2001

Laid before Parliament 28th February 2001

Coming into force 1st September 2001

In exercise of the powers conferred by sections 333(5), 334(2), 336(1) and (2) and 569(4) of the Education Act 19961, the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, with the agreement of the National Assembly for Wales in accordance with Article 5 of the National Assembly for Wales (Transfer of Functions) Order 19992and after consultation with the Council on Tribunals in accordance with section 8 of the Tribunals and Inquiries Act 19923, hereby make the following Regulations:

1 GENERAL

PART 1

GENERAL

Citation, commencement and application
S-1 Citation, commencement and application

Citation, commencement and application

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Special Educational Needs Tribunal Regulations 2001 and shall come into force on 1st September 2001.

(2) These Regulations apply to all appeals to the Tribunal where the notice of appeal is entered in the records of the Tribunal on or after 1st September 2001.

Interpretation
S-2 Interpretation

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—

the 1996 Act” means the Education Act 1996;

“the authority” means the local education authority which made the disputed decision;

“the case statement period” is the period specified in the notice given under regulation 18(1), including any extension ordered by the President under regulation 51(1);

“child” means the child in respect of whom the appeal is brought;

“child’s statement” means the statement of special educational needs relating to the child made under section 324 of the 1996 Act;

“disputed decision” means the decision or determination in respect of which the appeal is brought;

“the clerk to the tribunal” means the person appointed by the Secretary of the Tribunal to act in that capacity at one or more hearings;

“hearing” means a sitting of the tribunal constituted for the purpose of receiving evidence, hearing addresses and witnesses or doing anything lawfully requisite to enable the tribunal to reach a decision on any question;

“parent” means, except in regulations 7, 30(2) and (8) and 39(6), a parent who has made an appeal to the Tribunal under the 1996 Act;

“records” means the records of the Tribunal;

“the Secretary of the Tribunal” means the person for the time being acting as the Secretary of the office of the Tribunal;

“the tribunal” means the Special Educational Needs Tribunal but where the President has determined pursuant to regulation 4(1) that the jurisdiction of the Tribunal is to be exercised by more than one tribunal, it means, in relation to any proceedings, the tribunal to which the proceedings have been referred by the President;

“working day”, except in regulation 28, means any day other than—

(a) a Saturday, a Sunday, Christmas Day, Good Friday or a day which is a bank holiday within the meaning of the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971; or

(b) a day in August;

“written evidence” includes evidence recorded in any way.

(2) Nothing in these Regulations authorises a body corporate to take any steps in proceedings or to attend a hearing other than by a representative.

Members of lay panel
S-3 Members of lay panel

Members of lay panel

3. No person may be appointed as a member of the lay panel unless the Secretary of State in respect of England, and the National Assembly for Wales in respect of Wales, is satisfied that he has knowledge and experience of children with special educational needs and that he is not eligible for appointment to the chairmen’s panel.

Establishment of tribunals
S-4 Establishment of tribunals

Establishment of tribunals

4.—(1) The President may from time to time determine the number of tribunals to exercise the jurisdiction of the Tribunal.

(2) The tribunals shall sit at such times and in such places as may from time to time be determined by the President.

Membership of tribunal
S-5 Membership of tribunal

Membership of tribunal

5.—(1) Subject to the provisions of regulation 32(5), the tribunal shall consist of a chairman and two other members.

(2) For each hearing—

(a)

(a) the chairman shall be the President or a person selected by him from the chairman’s panel; and

(b)

(b) the two other members of the tribunal shall be selected from the lay panel by the President.

Proof of documents and certification of decisions
S-6 Proof of documents and certification of decisions

Proof of documents and certification of decisions

6.—(1) A document purporting to be a document issued by the Secretary of the Tribunal on behalf of the Tribunal shall, unless the contrary is proved, be deemed to be a document so issued.

(2) A document purporting to be certified by the Secretary of the Tribunal to be a true copy of a document containing a decision of the tribunal shall, unless the contrary is proved, be sufficient evidence of its contents.

2 MAKING AN APPEAL TO THE TRIBUNAL AND STATEMENTS OF CASE

PART 2

MAKING AN APPEAL TO THE TRIBUNAL AND STATEMENTS OF CASE

(A) THE PARENT

(A) THE PARENT

S-7 Notice of appeal

Notice of appeal

7.—(1) An appeal to the Tribunal shall be made by notice which—

(a)

(a) shall state—

(i) the name and address of the parent making the appeal and if more than one address is given, the address to which the tribunal should send replies or notices concerning the appeal;

(ii) the name and date of birth of the child;

(iii) that the notice is a notice of appeal;

(iv) the name of the authority which made the disputed decision and the date on which the parent was notified of it;

(v) if the parent seeks an order that the child’s statement be amended, to which Part or Parts of the statement the appeal relates;

(vi) if the parent seeks an order that a school (other than one already named in the child’s statement) be named in it, either the name and address of that school or a sufficient description of the type and nature of the school which the parent considers would constitute an appropriate placement for the child;

(b)

(b) shall be accompanied by—

(i) a copy of the notice of the disputed decision;

(ii) where the appeal is made under section 326 of, or paragraph 8 of Schedule 27 to, the 1996 Act, a copy of the child’s statement;

(iii) where the notice of appeal states the name of a school in accordance with paragraph (a)(vi) above, written confirmation that the parent has informed the school that he proposes to request that it be named in the statement;

(c)

(c) shall include or be accompanied by a statement of the parent’s reasons for appealing;

(d)

(d) may appoint a representative in accordance with regulation 12.

(2) The parent shall sign the notice of appeal.

(3) The parent must deliver the notice of appeal to the Secretary of the Tribunal so that it is received no later than the first working day after the expiry of two months from the date on which the authority gave him notice, under Part IV of the 1996 Act, that he had a right of appeal.

(4) In this regulation “parent” means a person to whom the 1996 Act gives the right to appeal to the Tribunal.

S-8 Reasons for appealing

Reasons for appealing

8.—(1) If the notice of appeal does not include, and is not accompanied by, reasons for appealing which the President considers sufficient to enable the authority to respond to the appeal, he shall direct the parent to send particulars of the reasons to the Secretary of the Tribunal within 10 working days of his direction.

(2) Regulations 21 and 25 shall apply to a direction under paragraph (1).

(3) Particulars of reasons sent in response to a direction made in accordance with paragraph (1) shall be treated as part of the notice of appeal.

S-9 Statement of parent’s case, and supplementary provisions

Statement of parent’s case, and supplementary provisions

9.—(1) During the case statement period, the parent may deliver to the Secretary of the Tribunal a written statement of his case, which may include the views of the child, and all written evidence which he wishes to submit to the Tribunal.

(2) In exceptional circumstances, the parent may amend the notice of appeal, deliver a supplementary statement of reasons for appealing or statement of case or amend a supplementary statement of reasons for appealing or statement of case, if permission is given by—

(a)

(a) the President, at any time before the hearing; or

(b)

(b) the tribunal at the hearing.

(3) The parent shall deliver to the Secretary of the Tribunal a copy of every amendment and supplementary statement for which permission was given.

(4) If the President gives permission under paragraph 2(a) he shall consider extending the case statement period.

S-10 Withdrawal of appeal

Withdrawal of appeal

10. The parent may withdraw his appeal—

(a) at any time before the hearing of the appeal by sending to the Secretary of the Tribunal a notice signed by him;

(b) at the hearing of the appeal.

S-11 Further action by parent

Further action by parent

11.—(1) The parent shall give the Secretary of the Tribunal the information requested in the enquiry made under regulation 20.

(2) If the parent does not intend to attend or be represented at the hearing, he may, not less than five working days before the hearing, send to the Secretary of the Tribunal additional written representations in support of his appeal.

S-12 Parent’s representatives

Parent’s representatives

12.—(1) The parent may in the notice of appeal or by giving written notice to the Secretary of the Tribunal at any later time—

(a)

(a) appoint a representative;

(b)

(b) appoint another representative to replace the representative previously appointed, whose appointment is cancelled by the later appointment;

(c)

(c) state that no person is acting as the parent’s representative, which cancels any previous appointment.

(2) To appoint a representative, the parent must give the name, address and profession of the representative.

(3) If a...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT