CEREDIGION County Council has faced 14 appeals against decisions affecting children with special educational needs in the last three years.

A Freedom of Information request shows that parents or guardians registered 14 appeals with the Special Educational Needs Tribunal for Wales between 2014 and 2017 after the council made a decision concerning a child’s needs.

And the council spent almost £9,000 on legal fees fighting the appeals, the Cambrian News can reveal.

Parents and guardians can appeal a variety of council decisions, including a ‘refusal to assess’, whereby the council refuses to assess a child’s needs; a ‘refusal to statement’, where the council refuses to issue a statement of SEN following an assessment; a ‘cease to maintain’ decision, where the council believes the child no longer requires a statement of SEN; and against ‘parts’ of a statement which lay out what the child’s needs are and what should be done to meet these.

The council was also asked how much it had paid in legal fees to fight the appeals, and it revealed that it paid £6,048 in 2014, nothing in 2015 and £2,624 in 2016.

A council spokesperson said: “The circumstances of each appeal is unique. Therefore in every case, Ceredigion County Council determines the most appropriate course of action depending on the circumstances of the individuals concerned. It would not be appropriate to comment further on individual cases.

“The number of appeals in 2015/16 was higher than in previous years but it is pleasing to report that the number has significantly reduced over the last 12 months.”

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