Special educational needs and disability discrimination in schools

All children have the right to a fair education, and no school is above the law. At Russell-Cooke, our disability discrimination in school solicitors provide expert legal support to ensure children and young people receive the education and support they are legally entitled to. We assist with Special Educational Needs (SEN) provisions, including Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs), school placements, appeals, and ensuring schools comply with their obligations under the Equality Act 2010.

Navigating the education system can be overwhelming, especially when the very institutions responsible for supporting children may be failing them. Parents often face complex legal battles to secure their child’s fundamental rights. Understanding these rights, and how to enforce them, is key to ensuring children with disabilities receive the right support at school and beyond.

Our disability discrimination solicitors are leaders in Equality Act claims and have successfully created Upper Tribunal case law that establishes clear legal guidance on how schools must approach disability discrimination cases. We work to protect children from unlawful exclusions, unfair treatment, and failure to make reasonable adjustments. Discrimination in education can be distressing, and we are committed to holding institutions accountable while offering empathetic, strategic legal guidance.

Disability discrimination support

We have a proven track record of bringing successful Equality Act claims against schools as well as negotiating resolutions where this is best.

We can help you with:

• securing reasonable adjustments at school, including exam arrangements
• meetings and written communication with your child’s school
• drafting and progressing an Equality Act claim to the First-tier Tribunal for disability discrimination, including direct and indirect discrimination, unfavourable treatment, failure to make reasonable adjustments, victimisation, and harassment
• witness statements and other evidence gathering
• subject access requests
• settlement agreements

Special educational needs (SEN) legal assistance

We are trusted allies of the neurodivergent community. We combine our professional expertise with the lived experience of several team members who are either neurodivergent themselves and/or parenting children with SEN to ensure your child gets the best possible school placement and special educational provision. We are particularly well known for securing comprehensive ‘education otherwise than at school’ (EOTAS) packages, and full EHCP funding for ordinary independent schools and highly specialist residential placements.

We can also help you with:

• securing appropriate support and reasonable adjustments in a maintained or independent school for a child without an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP)
• school meetings and communication
• making a request for an Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment
• getting an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP)
• annual review of an EHCP
• reviewing and advising on a draft or draft amended EHCP
• appeals to the First-tier SEND Tribunal (SEN Appeal), including challenging local authority (LA) decisions such as refusal to assess or reassess, to issue, amend or cease to maintain an EHCP, as well as against the content of the EHCP, including placement
• instructing independent experts to assess your client and provide advice
• home-to-school transport for children with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities
• getting your child into the right school for their needs, including ordinary independent and highly specialist residential schools
• securing a comprehensive EOTAS package
• securing interim education for children out of school
• subject access requests and data rectification
• challenging disability discrimination, including bringing Equality Act claims to the First-tier Tribunal

Our highly specialist team of education lawyers has a proven track record of success, particularly for children with the most complex and profound needs and those facing disability discrimination. We are trusted by other professionals to assist their clients, including Court of Protection Deputies and case managers, and are regularly instructed by other lawyers to advise and represent them in relation to their own children.

We also have extensive experience handling successful disability discrimination claims against all types of schools. We understand the sensitivities of these cases and work towards the best possible outcome for families. In some situations, it may be best for a child to stay in their current school, where issues need to be resolved carefully through a negotiated settlement. In other cases, where the relationship with the school has broken down completely, robust legal action may be required to hold the school accountable.

Our experts are all ranked in Chambers and Partners and Legal 500 legal directories. Here are some comments made about us. 

Detailed costs information is provided at the outset. Charges are usually based on our hourly rates plus administrative charges and disbursements. Regular costs updates are provided as the case progresses and if your requirements or the circumstances of the work change.

The current range of hourly rates for members of the team is from £180 plus VAT to £400 plus VAT.

We do not advise on a legal aid or ‘no win no fee’ type basis.