100 families appeal SEND council decisions

One hundred Stoke-on-Trent families appealed against Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) decisions last year - the highest number on record.

Disagreement with school placement decisions was the most common reason for an appeal, accounting for nearly half of cases in 2023/2024.

Daniela Santoro, chair of the council committee which recently reviewed the city's SEND provision, said the stress appeals caused parents was "horrific".

The number of appeals to the SEND tribunal service has been rising both locally and nationally, with just 12 of Stoke-on-Trent City Council's decisions appealed against six years ago.

Councillor Santoro, who also works as a barrister, said: "I know from my day job that the stress appeals cause my clients is horrific.

"During the review we spoke to parents and what we overwhelmingly found that mothers acted like lionesses in the court – those are their words, not mine – while the fathers just couldn't express how they felt.

"That broke my heart. In a lot of cases, relationships fail because of the stress of going to court."

Most appeals were withdrawn after families agreed to a resolution with the city council. A total of 21 of last year's appeals went to a tribunal, with three of these being found in favour of the council.

Members of the children and family services scrutiny committee recommended an expanded use of mediation to prevent disputed decisions escalating to tribunals.

The number of families choosing to go through formal mediation fell from 90 in 2021/22 to 56 last year.

Simon White, interim director of children and family services, agreed the current system for resolving conflicts between parents and local authorities could be better.

"The whole system is set up so there is conflict. So parents are encouraged to go to tribunals to win," he said.

"We are creating an environment which is adding to their stress. It's already stressful enough having a child with special educational needs."

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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