naming schools and arranging transport

R (M) v. Sutton London Borough Council (2007) – in this recent case the parents wanted a mainstream school which the local authority was content to name in the Statement. However, the local authority refused to provide transport because there was another school which was nearer which, it argued, could equally meet the child’s needs.

The parents appealed to the High Court.

Goldring J indicated that whilst the Code of Practice on Special Educational Needs permitted the local authority to decline the costs of transport because a nearer mainstream schools existed, in this instance the local authority failed to name those schools which could meet those needs – they had simply put in the Statement that the pupil’s needs could be met at ‘other mainstream schools’.

Practice point: in cases where the choice is between different mainstream schools, the failure to name in the Statement the nearer school which can meet the needs of the pupil could result in local authorities paying the costs of transport to the school of the parents’ choice even if that is not the nearest school to where the pupil lives.