1. Catherine Pape, Specialist SLT and lay member of SENTW
The Special Educational Needs Tribunal for Wales (SENTW): view from a panel member
Catherine Pape, Specialist SLT and lay member of SENTW

2. Introduction Background to involvement Range of expertise
Not selected on basis of case
Conflicts of interest

3. What is the tribunal? Independent; funded by WG
Deals with appeals and claims
Regulations e.g. on time limits/ areas of jurisdiction / Welsh language/witnesses etc
Child has the right to bring their own case
Process takes approx 4-5 months from application to decision
Panel at hearing consists of 1 chair (legal) plus 2 ‘lay’ (expert) members. Some hearings are paper only

4. Appeals
Appeals (against LA decision) can be against: refusal to assess; refusal to make or maintain a statement; parts 2,3 4 of statement
Depending on the type of appeal an Order may be one or more of the following:
to carry out an assessment or re-assessment,
to make a statement,
to change the statement,
to change the school named in line with the parents wishes,
to continue a statement,
to cancel (cease to maintain) a statement.

5. Claims
Claims relate to disability discrimination (Equality Act 2010 ) and are made against a school in relation to Admissions, Education and access to any benefit, service and facility and Exclusions. This may include:
direct discrimination;
indirect discrimination;
discrimination arising from disability;
failure to provide a reasonable adjustment for a disabled child;
harassment; or
victimisation
SENTW can order education providers to take action to help make up for any opportunities that your child has missed and to help prevent discrimination against disabled pupils in the future.
SENTW cannot order payment of financial compensation.

6. The hearing
“ The Tribunal’s overriding objective is to deal with cases fairly and justly. It is the Tribunal’s expectation that parents, representatives, Local Authority officers and responsible bodies, will help further the overriding objective by co-operating with each other and the Tribunal for the purposes of progressing the appeal or the claim”
‘Bundle’ (paper evidence) submitted prior to hearing. Includes case statements from both sides plus supporting evidence and usually a working document highlighting outstanding areas of disagreement. Regulations re: late evidence
Parents and LA call witnesses to support their paper evidence. Usually parents come with or without their child; sometimes supported by legal rep/ advocate; with their witnesses; and LA rep attends with 1 or 2 witnesses; sometimes legal rep
Chair sets agenda; considers late evidence/ adjournment requests etc
Hearings start at 10am and finish by 4pm
Panel hears from both sides (parents first) and ensures everyone is heard who wants to be
Panel get together to make a decision which is sent out within 10 working days
Both sides have a right to appeal to the Upper Tribunal against the decision (n.b. Review hearings)

7. the role of the expert witness at a hearing: what the panel need to know
Detailed reports: independent therapists frequently produce reports with 50+ pages for the bundle. While this is not practicable for most NHS/ LA therapists; if you are attending in order to challenge the SLT provision requested by the other party you need to be well prepared to do so (i.e. thorough consideration of other SLT report(s) with evidence to back up any contended areas)
Specificity: evidence is needed on what the child needs; who it can and should be delivered by; and dosage. This can be difficult for SLT because we often don’t have the evidence base to be decisive about this. However, you may find that witnesses for the other party are less reticent, and in the absence of evidence to the contrary the panel sometimes have little choice but to go with the dose recommended. If a particular point isn’t challenged by the other party; the panel themselves can’t always challenge it (RCSLT position paper example).
What the child needs, not just what the service offers: frequently SLAs are explained in great detail in the bundle; but if the parents have evidence that the child needs something above what the service is offering then this needs to be addressed. If SLCN is detailed in part 2; it must be addressed in part 3.
Expertise and professionalism: the panel need to know about your experience and expertise; and the rep for the other party may question you on this. Rarely, there is animosity between parties and this has included SLTs accusing one another of negligent practise. The role of the witness is to help the panel to reach a just and fair decision, not to blindly support the position of the party they are there to speak for. The most satisfactory hearings from my perspective are often the ones where one or both sides are able to compromise.

8. Challenges
Hearings can be challenging for either or both parties (and for the panel) for many reasons; including:
Inadequate written evidence (out of date reports/ repetitions/ irrelevant info etc)
Poor representation
Poor selection of witnesses (NB SLTs)
Animosity between parties
Emotive topics
Lots of time waiting while parties go out to discuss aspects of the case that could have been agreed on prior to the hearing

9. What to do to make it less scary!
Don’t assume that the hearing will be difficult - everyone is there because they want a fair and just outcome for the child. The panel are unbiased and genuinely need your help to reach the right decision.
Understand the law – read relevant parts of the CoP before you attend the hearing. Read it anyway even if you don’t have tribunals coming up! The panel can only make decisions based on this law
Look at the SENTW website and familiarise yourself with the process if you haven’t been to a hearing before. Watch the ‘Aled’s tribunal’ video
Talk to your party’s rep and be clear about why you are being asked to appear and what you are likely to be questioned about. If you don’t agree with aspects of what your party are saying make sure you have discussed this and you know your position clearly
Read the case statements and SLT/ other relevant reports thoroughly, and use the working document to structure your thoughts. Don’t feel that you need to know the rest of the bundle off by heart!
Don’t be afraid to ask questions during the hearing. You can ask for a break if you need time to think or talk something over.

10. Questions?