We are a small group of 6 parents whose children all attend Bright Futures School for children with autism in Oldham. We are all taking our children's cases to SEN tribunal to try to get our local authority to fund special 'social communication' programmes in the home because we know that cutting edge research shows that if parents are supported to change the way they communicate and interact with their child, it is possible to reduce the severity of the child's autism. Our argument in each of the cases is:

a) That parent-led social communication home programmes are educational provision (and so the cost of these should be met by the Local Authority)

b) That each child needs this provision in order to meet their educational needs in full.

We have already been successful in raising over £3K in our first round of crowdfunding and some of these funds have been carefully used to obtain legal guidance for the first two tribunal hearings. However, we are now in a position where there have been conflicting decisions on whether parent-led social communication home programmes are educational provision in these two First Tier Tribunal hearings. For this reason, we are hoping to appeal to the Upper Tier Tribunal (UTT) for a definitive ruling on the point of law in question. In order to do this, we need to employ a barrister to perpare the legal argument and take the case to the UTT. 

We all agree that it is both sensible and cost-effective to use funds raised for an appeal, as a definitive decision in our favour on the point of law at the UTT will mean we don't have to argue that point in the 4 subsequent First Tier Tribunals. We have £2,145 from our previous fundraising that can go towards legal fees for the UTT appeal.  We need a further £2,055 to cover the barrister and solicitor's legal fees in total.

If we win the appeal at UTT we will set a legal precedent that a parent-led home programme of social communication is educational provision. This has the potential to help hundreds of other families secure similar provision in the home for their children via their child's Education, Health and Care Plan. If we win, parents will at last be able to make a similar argument at a tribunal for state-funded ongoing advice and guidance on how to reduce the severity of their child's autism and how to help their child develop the competencies they need to maximise their chances of making and maintaining friendships, gaining meaningful employment, having good mental health and living independently.

Seventy people recently attended a conference on 'relationship-based approaches for autism' where there was a focus on parent-led home programmes:  all of the attendees are waiting to hear what happens with our appeal......so we have a ready made network of families who would be able to use any legal precedent we secure.

We are currently seeking 'stays' (postponements) for the outstanding tribunals pending the UTT appeal decision and our barrister and solicitor are working on our case for appeal.