What's involved for Education Authorities
It is our aim to provide the best possible service to all Education Authorities involved in the Tribunal process. Each Education Authority’s experience of the Tribunals differs, some authorities have been involved in several references and others have not been involved in any.
Making a Reference
If a parent disagrees with the Education Authority about certain matters relating to a CSP or the refusal of a placing request they have two months from the date when the authority gives them its final written decision to make a reference to ASNTS.
Scheduling the Hearing
When we receive a reference which falls within our jurisdiction, we will send a letter to the Education Officer informing them that we have registered a reference. We will also send the authority copies of all the documents which the parent has sent us and invite the authority to respond we will also enclose "
Standing Direction to EA's on information on the child".
At this point we will also set a date for the hearing which will only be changed in very exceptional circumstances.
You have 6 weeks (30 working days) to prepare your response to the reference. The Hearing will generally take place about 3 weeks after the end of the response period.
Case statements
When the authority receives a letter informing them that a reference has been registered, they are asked to respond no later than the end of the case statement period. The Education Authority has 30 working days to consider if there are further documents they wish to include or if they want to send a statement of arguments. Please note that if the information in the reference is detailed, the authority will be able to make an informed response and will have no need to duplicate the documents already received from the parent. The authority’s response must say whether it opposes the reference and, if it does, it must say why and provide evidence of this.
There is no requirement on the parent to produce a case statement but there is a requirement for the Education Authority to respond otherwise they may no longer be entitled to take part in those proceedings. (The Additional Support Needs Tribunals for Scotland (Practice and Procedure) Rules 2006, rule 10(4))
Once the case statement period has ended we will send you the ‘bundle’. This contains all the information provided by both parties, as well as the original reference. These bundles are also sent to the parent and to Tribunal members to help everyone prepare prior to the Hearing.
The Hearing
A Tribunal of 3 people will hear the reference. The Convener, who has a legal qualification, will chair the hearing. The Members have a background in Education or Health or Social Work and have knowledge and experience of children or young persons with additional support needs within the meaning of the Act.
Procedures for the hearing, witnesses, representatives and the decision itself are the same for parents and authorities. Full details are on the parent’s section of this website.
Appeal Rights
There is currently no provision for the Tribunal to review its own decision. The Convener can only correct a clerical mistake or omission on the decision document. Any appeal must be made to the Court of Session. An appeal can only be made where an error of law has been identified. This is usually where the Tribunal has not correctly applied the law or has not adequately explained its decision.