ADN was represented by Gráinne Mellon, leading Alex Temple. They are both members of the Garden Court Chambers Education Law Team.
Gráinne and Alex were instructed by Dominic Pellew of SinclairsLaw.
ADN is a 15-year-old disabled child with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). His special educational needs are such that he requires a special school. In December 2022 his family were told that he would not have a school place from September 2023. His local authority, Hounslow, agreed to find a new place. However, their approach to searching for a school was highly flawed and they failed to make progress.
Despite being of statutory school age and despite criticism and intervention, including from the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, ADN remained without a school place from September 2023 onwards- a period of over 19 months, and from the ages of 13-15 years old. He missed two full academic years at school.
In addition to the absence of a school place, ADN also received limited education outside of school during this time. He received some limited and sporadic tutoring at home, however, due to delays by Hounslow (including in sourcing provision; pausing provision for assessment and annual reviews; providing direct payments) ADN received no tuition whatsoever for six months in 2024.
Education outside the home was secured only after proceedings were issued in February 2025, however, this was on a limited and part-time basis only. Up until this point, ADN had been deprived of any peer group and had been completely isolated at home (over a period of 17 months).
ADN’s family, as a last resort, brought a claim for judicial review challenging Hounslow’s failure to secure ADN’s special educational needs, contrary to s. 42 Children and Families Act 204, and failure to secure education other than in a school in the interim, contrary to s. 19 Education Act 1996. ADN’s father additionally claimed that the local authority breached his right to education under Article 2 Protocol 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights contrary to s. 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998.
The case proceeded to the day of final hearing on 3 April 2025, where the Defendant at the door of the court consented to the court making three declarations of illegality and two mandatory orders.
In particular, the Defendant agreed to secure a school for ADN within five weeks, and secure education outside of the school pending ADN commencing his new school.
The local authority also consented to the court ordering that it had acted in violation of the Claimant’s right to education under article 2, protocol 1 of the ECHR, by denying him the right to education from September 2023.
Separately, the local authority also made an offer to ADN and his family of damages, in addition to an award of damages made to them by the LGSCO in December 2024.
This outcome gives ADN a vital route back into education after a long, damaging and unnecessary absence. Hounslow’s concession that they breached his right to education was of huge significance to ADN and his family, who are now working towards preparing ADN for a long- awaited return to school.
ADN’s father stated:
“We are pleased this case has finally resolved but we do not think this would have happened without court proceedings. It should not be this hard for families. The fact the local authority agreed they had breached my son’s right to education is especially important for us because it shows that this was their fault- that they didn’t do everything they should have done to get my son a school. The impact on my son has been profound. He desperately wanted to be in school and used to get dressed and wait at the door for someone to take him to school during all of this. I only hope he will now be able to recover and make progress again soon and I hope no other family or child has to go through what we have been through just to get the basic of rights for our child.”
Dominic Pellew, Solicitor at SinclairsLaw, stated:
“The Local Authority’s repeated failures to find a suitable school or provide alternative education were damaging to my client. It is a significant outcome that the Local Authority has now acknowledged their actions as a breach of this child’s human rights.”
ADN was represented by Gráinne Mellon, leading Alex Temple of Garden Court Chambers’ Education Law Team. They were instructed by Dominic Pellew of SinclairsLaw.
