The Special Educational Needs Tribunal Regulations 1995

PART 1 GENERAL

Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Special Educational Needs Tribunal Regulations 1995 and shall come into force on 1st January 1996.

Interpretation

2.  In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires —

“the 1993 Act” means the Education Act 1993;

“the authority” means the local education authority which made the disputed decision;

“child” means the child in respect of whom the appeal is brought;

“disputed decision” means the decision or determination in respect of which the appeal is brought;

“the clerk to the tribunal” means the person appointed by the Secretary of the Tribunal to act in that capacity at one or more hearings;

“hearing” means a sitting of the tribunal duly constituted for the purpose of receiving evidence, hearing addresses and witnesses or doing anything lawfully requisite to enable the tribunal to reach a decision on any question;

“parent” means a parent who has made an appeal to the Special Educational Needs Tribunal under the 1993 Act;

“records” means the records of the Special Educational Needs Tribunal;

“the Secretary of the Tribunal” means the person for the time being acting as the Secretary of the office of the Special Educational Needs Tribunal;

“the tribunal” means the Special Educational Needs Tribunal but where the President has determined pursuant to regulation 4(1) that the jurisdiction of the Special Educational Needs Tribunal is to be exercised by more than one tribunal, it means, in relation to any proceedings, the tribunal to which the proceedings have been referred by the President;

“working day”, except in regulation 24, means any day other than—

(a)

a Saturday, a Sunday, Christmas Day, Good Friday or a day which is a bank holiday within the meaning of the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971;(1) or

(b)

a day in August.

Members of lay panel

3.  No person may be appointed as a member of the lay panel unless the Secretary of State is satisfied that he has knowledge and experience in respect of—

(a) children with special educational needs; or

(b) local government.

Establishment of tribunals

4.—(1) Such number of tribunals shall be established to exercise the jurisdiction of the Special Educational Needs Tribunal as the President may from time to time determine.

(2) The tribunals shall sit at such times and in such places as may from time to time be determined by the President.

Membership of tribunal

5.—(1) Subject to the provisions of regulation 28(5), the tribunal shall consist of a chairman and two other members.

(2) For each hearing—

(a) the chairman shall be the President or a person selected from the chairman’s panel by the President; and

(b) the two other members of the tribunal other than the chairman shall be selected from the lay panel by the President.

Proof of documents and certification of decisions

6.—(1) A document purporting to be a document issued by the Secretary of the Tribunal on behalf of the Special Educational Needs Tribunal shall, unless the contrary is proved, be deemed to be a document so issued.

(2) A document purporting to be certified by the Secretary of the Tribunal to be a true copy of a document containing a decision of the tribunal shall, unless the contrary is proved, be sufficient evidence of matters contained therein.

(1)

1971 c. 80.