2004 Act - Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 – the law that deals with references.
2010 Act - Equality Act 2010 – the law that deals with claims.
2018 Rules - The First-tier Tribunal for Scotland Health and Education Chamber Rules of Procedure 2018 – the law that deals with the Tribunal’s practice and procedure.
7 Golden Rules - 7 Golden Rules for Participation, Children and Young People’s Commissioner, Scotland (CYPCS)
additional support - Support which is additional to or different from the mainstream educational provision made generally for children or young people of a certain age.
additional support needs - If you cannot benefit from school education without additional support, you have additional support needs.
Children with additional support needs may include those who:
• are neurodiverse, such as autism, dyslexia or ADHD
• are looked after or care experienced
• are deaf
• are being bullied
• are particularly talented
• have mental ill health, such as anxiety
• have a learning disability, such as Down’s Syndrome
• have emotional or social difficulties
• are young carers
appeal - This is another word for the type of application you can make to the Tribunal.
appellant - The person who makes a reference to the Tribunal.
ASN Tribunal - the Additional Support Needs jurisdiction within the Health and Education Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland
ASN tribunal – the 3 people who will consider a claim or reference and make a decision – one will be a convener who is an experienced lawyer and the other two are specialist members, with expertise in education, social work or health.
The tribunal has nothing to do with your school, social work, education authority or the NHS.
The bundle - All of the documents lodged with the Tribunal by the parties.
The e-bundle - A bundle is usually placed into an electronic pdf file and is called an e-bundle.
capacity - This means the legal ability to do something.
A tribunal will look at what it is you want to happen and take into account your level of maturity and understanding before making a decision about whether you are able to legally do something.
If you need something to help you to communicate, this does not mean you do not have the legal ability to do the thing.
capacity or wellbeing reference - An appeal by the child or their parent against the decision of the education authority on their assessment of the child’s capacity or wellbeing.
case officer – A member of staff who provides support to the Tribunal. The case officer is not a Tribunal member. The case officer will be your contact at the Tribunal.
the Chamber - The Health and Education Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland.
child - UNCRC Article 1 says a child is anyone below the age of 18 years.
In a reference, a child is anyone aged up to and including 15 years, who receives nursery or school education for the purposes of the 2004 Act. A young person is anyone aged 16 years and above, who remains in school education.
In a claim, a child is any pupil of any age who is receiving or who has received school education.
Where the UNCRC is being argued in a reference or a claim, for the purpose of the UNCRC argument, a child is anyone below the age of 18 years.
claim – An application to the Tribunal under the Equality Act 2010 arguing that an education authority or an independent school or a grant-aided school has discriminated against a pupil because of a disability.
claimant - The person who makes the claim to the Tribunal.
clerk - A member of Tribunal staff who attends the hearing and helps with witnesses and the use of documents.
Code of Practice - Supporting Children’s Learning, Statutory Guidance on the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act (as amended) Code of Practice (Third Edition) 2017. A new Fourth Edition of the Code of Practice is expected soon.
co-ordinated support plan (CSP) - This is the only legal education plan in Scotland. This is different from an IEP (Individualised/Individual Education Plan), which is not a legal plan.
The education authority must prepare a CSP for you if you have complex or multiple additional support needs that are likely to last for more than 1 year and these need significant additional support to be provided by the education department and someone else, for example social work or the NHS.
A CSP will contain a lot of information about you including what your additional support needs are, your educational objectives, the support you need to achieve those objectives and who should provide the support.
CSP child reference - A reference brought by a child in relation to a CSP.
discrimination - To treat someone unfavourably or put them at a disadvantage. Discrimination is unlawful under the Equality Act 2010.
document - Includes all or part of a document, or any other item on which information has been recorded or is stored, for example, a video clip, film, tape or audio file.
ECHR - European Convention on Human Rights.
education authority - The local authority (Council) who is responsible for your education. This will usually be the Council for where you live.
Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 - Law made by the Scottish Parliament, which created the Tribunal and the type of Tribunal application which is called a ‘reference’. Education authorities have legal duties under this law for children with additional support needs.
evidence - The written and oral (verbal) material a party will use to support their case.
grant-aided school - A school which receives financial grants from the government.
Guidance on Capacity and Wellbeing - Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 (as amended) Extending Children’s Rights – Guidance on the assessment of capacity and consideration of wellbeing (2017)
hearing – A legal meeting where a tribunal listens to evidence from witnesses and hears legal arguments before it comes to a legal decision.
A tribunal hearing does NOT take place in a court room or a court building.
A tribunal hearing will follow rules of evidence.
in-person hearing - A hearing that takes place at a specified hearing venue.
remote hearing - A hearing that takes place online or by telephone.
hybrid hearing - A hearing that is partly in person and partly online.
independent advocate – A person who supports a child to give their views.
They are called ‘independent’ because they are not part of the tribunal or the education authority and have no personal interest in the dispute.
They are called ‘advocates’ because they can speak on your behalf.
independent school - A school where full-time education is provided for pupils of school age, and which is not managed by an education authority.
legal member - An experienced lawyer, who is a member of the Tribunal. The legal member will chair a case management hearing an evidential hearing.
lodge - Sending a document to the Tribunal that is to be included in the written evidence or arguments for a party.
managers - The people who are responsible for managing an independent school or a grant-aided school.
parent – This is your mum or dad or your guardian or any other person who has parental responsibilities for you, for example, a grandparent.
party/parties - In a reference parties are called the appellant (the person bringing the application) and the respondent (the person arguing against the application).
In a claim parties are called the claimant (the person bringing the application) and the responsible body (the person arguing against the application).
Physical or mental impairment - Something that makes it difficult for you to carry out your ordinary day to day activities without extra help or adjustments. This could include conditions like profound deafness or autism.
placing request - A request made by a parent or young person (aged 16 years and above) to an education authority, for a child or young person to become a pupil in a particular school. A placing request must be made in writing.
pupil - In a claim, the pupil is the child or young person who the claim relates to.
reference – An appeal about a decision or failure to do with a:
a) co-ordinated support plan
b) placing request
c) post school transition duty
d) a decision on the child’s capacity or wellbeing
respondent - Means the education authority responsible for the child’s education in a reference.
responsible body - If you attend a local authority (Council) school the responsible body will be the education authority (Council) responsible for the school. If you attend a private or independent school, the responsible body will be the owners of the school. If you attend a grant-aided school, the responsible body will be the trustees of the school.
rules - The rules are the law that sets out the procedure the Tribunal should follow in references and claims. These are found in The First-tier Tribunal for Scotland Health and Education Chamber Rules of Procedure 2018.
school - An institution for the provision of primary or secondary education (or both) which is managed by an education authority or is a grant aided school or an independent school. It includes a nursery school and a special school. A school may not be called a school: what matters is not its name, but the type of education it delivers.
SCTS - Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service, who provide administrative support to the Tribunal.
specialist member - This is an experienced professional in education, health or social work who sits on a tribunal. There will be two on each tribunal. The two specialist members and the legal member make up the three-member tribunal.
supporter - A person who may come to a hearing to help a party during the hearing. A supporter can be a relative or friend of the party. A supporter may provide moral support, help to manage Tribunal documents, take notes and provide advice on points of law and procedure. A supporter may also advise a party on points they may wish to raise with the Tribunal during the hearing. Permission of the tribunal is needed before a supporter may attend a hearing.
UNCRC - United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
UNCRC child - A person below the age of 18 years as provided in Article 1 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).
UNCRC article - This means the UNCRC articles which are now part of Scots law. You can find a copy of these here UNCRC Articles Archive - The Children and Young People's Commissioner Scotland
UNCRPD - United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2006
wellbeing - This means how safe, healthy, achieving, nurtured, active, respected, responsible and included you are.
witness - Someone who gives evidence to the tribunal. They can do this by attending a hearing or by writing a witness statement. Some witnesses do both.
Young Person - A person aged 16 years and above who remains in school education (for the purposes of the Education (Additional Support for Learning)(Scotland) Act 2004 only).
