Last year 63 appeals were lodged against the council, up from just 18 five years ago, reports Sebastian Mann, Local Democracy Reporter
The number of families taking Waltham Forest Council to a tribunal over special educational needs and disability (SEND) issues has more than tripled since 2020.
Over this period a total of 167 families appealed to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal to complain about the council’s handling of their children’s education, health and care plans (EHCPs).
EHCPs are legal documents that outline the needs of a child or young person and any extra support they may require at school.
In 2020, just 18 appeals were lodged against the Labour-run council. In 2024, this jumped to 63 – almost double the previous year’s rate of 34.
The SEND tribunal ruled in favour of the parents in more than half of cases each year. In both 2022 and 2023, the tribunal backed the parents in 69% of appeals.
In around a quarter of cases, the tribunal ruled in favour of the town hall. The remainder of cases were settled through a compromise between the families and the council, while some were discontinued when the family moved out of Waltham Forest.
Education watchdog Ofsted reported that, following an investigation in February, EHCPs in Waltham Forest were being produced “too late” for certain children, with many waiting longer than a year for help. “This means some children and young people are not accessing the right support across education, health and social care,” the report stated.
At a full council meeting last night (Thursday 24th), Conservative councillor Catherine Saumarez said that while she recognised the steps being taken to improve Send care, the figures showed “an awful lot of parents frantically going through tribunals, fighting tooth and nail, at vast legal cost and to the council as well, for what they are entitled to”.
Kizzy Gardiner, the council’s cabinet member for children and young people, said: “There isn’t a single council member, politician, family member or child in the country who would say Send services in this country work effectively”.
Cllr Gardiner added: “Do I think it works well? Absolutely not. I think we need to do things better, as a country and in Waltham Forest.”
She quoted the Department for Education’s report from 2022, which described the country’s Send services as being in a “vicious cycle of late intervention, low confidence and ineffective resource allocation”.
Cllr Gardiner has previously said the council would “create and consult on an area improvement plan addressing, amongst other things, the quality of EHC plans, transition to adulthood pathways, and improving communication across the SEND system”.
The council oversees special education in collaboration with NHS North East London, an integrated care board (ICB) in charge of health services in eight boroughs.
In some instances, children had to wait six months or more for a wheelchair, while others received equipment that was faulty or unsuitable for their needs.
“These issues impact on all aspects of children’s and young people’s daily lives and limit their opportunities and outcomes,” the inspectors wrote.
Issues relating to equipment and timelines were matters for the ICB and health partners, and not ones which would be routinely picked up through the tribunal process, according to the council.
Claire Bithell, a local parent and member of Waltham Forest SEND Crisis, previously said the council’s “many failures” had made “our children’s lives harder now and will harm their futures”.
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