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Education, Public Law & the Individual - Volume 15 Issue 1 Summer 2011 |
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Editorial
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Welcome to the first edition of EPLI for 2011.This edition is
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longer than usual as work commitments put paid to a full
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complement of editions last year. Now that the dust is
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beginning to settle on Coalition Government’s plans, Brian
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Lamb reports on some of the recent progress and likely
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developments in the area of SEN reform, a year on from the
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report of his Inquiry into parental confidence in the SEN
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system. Whilst there is much cause for optimism in Brian’s
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report, he identifies real threats to progress in the area of
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SEN from changes in the wider context. Elaine Maxwell’s
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article focuses on one of these identified threats, namely
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reform to legal aid, and provides an informative
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and
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persuasive critique of the Government proposals to make
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sweeping cuts in the availability of legal help for education
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cases.
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Next up is an updated version of David Wolfe’s guide to the
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law on statements of SEN, first published in EPLI in Autumn
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2008.
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This pithy but comprehensive round-up of the relevant
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caselaw is an invaluable resource for all those working in the
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area. In the following article, Oliver Hyams examines one
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aspect of the law on statements, the evaluation of the cost of
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placements, with a report on the recent Court of Appeal
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decision in
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Slough BC v SENDIST.
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We then have a piece from William Evans which calls for a
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“relational” perspective to education contracts and will be of
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particular interest to all those whose work covers the
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independent and FE/HE sectors, and last but not least a
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bumper crop of book reviews!
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As ever Nick Armstrong and I would welcome suggestions
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and contributions for the next edition.
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TESSA HETHERINGTON
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