When is a local authority in breach of its human rights duties to a pupil with SEN?
Athe case of A v Essex County Council [2007] All ER(D) 213 (Jul) concerned a child with SEN. He suffered from severe autism, epilepsy, and learning difficulties. He also self-harmed, and had 10 to 15 short epileptic fits every day. The boy attended the LS School for children with severe learning difficulties, named as appropriate in his statement of SEN. The LS School, however, asked that he be removed, because his violence constituted a danger to pupils and staff. OUT OF SCHOOL The boy was kept at home pending medical assessment. The school sent him work and he had speech and language therapy. For a few months, he attended the LS School for activity and individual teaching sessions. The boy was medically assessed and received funding for a residential placement. He had respite care three days a week. The local authority approached 26 schools and he began at a residential school later that year. He had been out of education for 19 months. A paediatrician’s report said this had had a te
