Abstract

This straightforward, comprehensive guide to the legal rights of children and young people with special educational needs includes all the most recent developments in law, and clearly explains the key issues in a complex system.

Helping parents to understand the legal entitlements of their child, Nettleton and Friel explain the new Education, Health and Care Plans which have replaced the Statements of Special Educational Needs. They explain what an Education, Health and Care Plan is, how assessments are carried out, and how annual reviews, amendments, rights of appeal and tribunals work in practice. They also include help with 25 of the most common problems encountered, a discussion of relevant cases, extracts from the official published guidance issued, and a draft Reasons for Appeal.

This essential handbook for parents of children with special educational needs will also be a key reference for teachers, charities, Local Authority officers, and lawyers in other fields.

This book is a disciplined read but one that is essential for anyone trying to make sense of the complexities of litigation and special educational needs... Clear guidance via a comparison of the previous system to the current system is a central theme of the book. This includes details as to how a statutory assessment for an EHC plan works; how the Code of Practice works and how the system provides for parents who are requesting an EHC plan plus how to make an appeal.
Kathryn Solly
Montessori International
This book takes a complex and confusing subject and 'unplaits the fog', giving clear explanations of the new legislation. It is an excellent read that I will want to return to time and time again. It will allow parents and professionals to negotiate the maze that is a child's entitlement.
Stephen Bradshaw, MD of Children’s Services, Cambian Group
This is and indispensable reference work for the Afasic Helpline and I would recommend it to anyone interested in engaging further with the issues.
Alison Huneke, Afasic Helpline Manager
Afasic News
This book is not an easy read but, set out as it is in short chapters, themselves broken down into yet shorter sections, it lends itself to brief periods of intense concentration... this comes highly recommended for everyone who is about to enter, or is already in, the daunting SEN maze.
James Squires
Signal
The authors of the new version, Melinda Nettleton and John Friel, have an intensely personal interest in the area of special needs and the law both as parents and lawyers. The book is written from the perspective of a parent or carer seeking to support a child with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)... Additionally, there is consideration of a number of practical issues in dealing with EHC plans... It is clear that the authors care passionately about their subject matter and want to share their own undoubted expertise and experience in the area of the SEND framework with those parents and carers they anticipate will be struggling to understand the new system and negotiate its territory for the benefit of their children. The book is engaging and compelling.
Mark Blois, Parner, Browne Jacobson LLP
Nasen Special

Melinda Nettleton is the founding member and Principal Solicitor of SEN Legal and a Trustee of HACS (Hillingdon Autistic Care and Support). She is the mother of three children, one of whom has Special Educational Needs. She divides her time between London and Bury St Edmunds, UK.

John Friel is a barrister at Hardwicke with expertise in public law issues. He has won leading cases in the House of Lords, Court of Appeal, and High Court, and is featured in The Legal 500 and Chambers UK as an Education Law specialist. He is the author of Young Adults with Special Needs: Assessment, Law and Practice - Caught in the Acts, also published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers, and is based in London, UK.

Excellent guide to the current legal rights of children and young people with special educational needs.
Autism eye
A timely, important and accessible text designed to guide parents and others working on behalf of children and young people with significant and severe Special Educational Needs through revised legislation. This 'must-have' book offers direction, insight and understanding, delivered by authors with years of personal and legal experience working within the field.
Dr Lindsay Peer, CBE, educational psychologist
Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of having a child with a disability is trying to make sense of the provisions available from the state. John Friel and Melinda Nettleton's book is absolutely essential for any parent faced with this predicament - and I speak from personal experience.
Rosa Monckton, parent and disability rights campaigner