Education, Health & Social Care Services For Under 25s

It may be useful to refer to our list of Abbreviations Used in Community Care Law and Abbreviations Used in SEN and Disability Law.

The legal landscape changed as a result of the Children and Families Act 2014 which created Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) in order to encourage a coordinated response to the needs of children and young people. Deputies and families require specialist advice at a number of stages in order to ensure that clients’ needs are being met and that you as the Deputy are fulfilling your responsibility to act in the child or young person’s best interests, and safeguard their financial position.

As one of very few specialist firms that provide Education and Community Care Law services to Professional Deputies and Attorneys, we can assist on an ad hoc or ongoing basis by:

• Providing expert advice during the settlement process for personal injury or professional negligence claims to ensure community care and educational provision and funding is properly considered, including indemnities for future legal costs;
• Obtaining an EHC plan or amending an existing plan;
• Performing ‘health checks’ of EHC plans, particularly at key stages such as; when a draft plan is first proposed; when needs progress or change; at phase transfers – primary to secondary; secondary to post-16; post-19 including transition to adult social care; or if a new placement is being considered;
• Advising on client’s eligibility for NHS Children’s Continuing Care (CCC) or for young adults NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC);
• Acting for Deputies in any challenges to the NHS or local authorities regarding entitlement to state funded care or educational provision;
• Carrying out regular case audits to ensure that the client is accessing all appropriate services and sources of funding;
• Offering advice on preparing for transition to adult services.

We also provide Employment Law services for Deputies and Attorneys who are arranging ‘care at home’ packages for their clients, either by employing carers directly or by using an agency.

If you are a Professional Deputy or Attorney and require advice and assistance on any Education Law or Community Care Law matter, we offer a range of Education Law Services For Professional Deputies & Attorneys.

From our offices in Brighton & Hove, Croydon, Gatwick & Crawley, Eastbourne and Shoreham, we serve clients from across the country and overseas, through their preferred means of communication.

If you require specialist Community Care and Education Law advice for your clients with health and care needs under the age of 25, contact us today on 01273 609911, or email info@ms-solicitors.co.uk to see how our Community Care Law Team can help.