Commentary on Sections of the Act Part 2 – Additional Learning Needs Higher education courses provided by further education institutions Section 87 - Application of reconsideration provisions to pupils and students resident in England
184.This section applies, with modifications, specific local authority functions under the Act to children or young people who are in the area of a local authority in England but attend a maintained school in Wales. The Act gives local authorities functions to reconsider decisions of, and plans maintained by, governing bodies of maintained schools, in respect of pupils in its area (see, for example, section 26). Appeal rights lie against those local authority decisions, rather than those of the governing body (see section 70). However, registered pupils at the school may be in the area of a local authority in England. In order to ensure that such English resident learners can challenge decisions of schools in relation to ALN, this section applies with modifications the sections which link to local authorities reconsidering school governing body decisions.
185.Accordingly, it is the local authority maintaining the school in Wales attended by the English resident child or young person that is responsible for reconsidering decisions about ALN (in accordance with section 26), reconsidering governing body IDPs (in accordance with section 27), and reconsidering governing body decisions to cease to maintain IDPs (in accordance with section 32). There are some differences in the application of these provisions regarding what the maintaining local authority may do, which reflect that there is a local authority in England with responsibilities under the Children and Families Act 2014 in relation to special educational needs. For example, the local authority may only direct the governing body to maintain, or prepare and maintain an IDP – it cannot itself maintain or take over responsibility for the IDP. In addition, the local authority is not required to prepare an IDP or direct a governing body to do so where it has requested the relevant English local authority to conduct an assessment of the child or young person’s needs under section 36 of the Children and Families Act 2014 or where an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan) is maintained for the child or young person under that Act. A local authority’s arrangements for avoiding and resolving disputes and independent advocacy services must also be available to such pupils and also to young people in the area of a local authority in England who are enrolled as students at an FEI in the area of the local authority in Wales (subsection (4)).