Bristol SEND Charity Accused of New SEND Conflict of Interest

The service has also been accused of covert surveillance in the past

An independent service to support families and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (Send) in Bristol, is being accused of having a conflict of interest regarding one of its directors.

SENDIASS is a statutory service which must be provided by local authorities. It must be free, impartial, confidential and operate independently of the local authority.

Bristol’s Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information, Advice and Support Service (SENDIASS) is provided by charity SEND And You, formerly known as Supportive Parents.

The service has been embroiled in the historic and ongoing row over covert surveillance of members of the Bristol Parent Carer Forum in 2021/2022. Send and You was found to have reported back on what was being said and by whom within a support group meeting, even discussing the clothing being worn.

A senior member of the service at the time also deliberately engaged forum members with potentially negative opinions of the local authority in a fishing expedition.

Send and You also collated posts on X, sending them to senior education officers in Bristol, with false and misleading accusations.

The service has now become involved in another row after one of the charity’s trustees has been causing upset for Send parents living in another local authority area.

Trustee Michael Anthony Lane, an unregistered barrister who has had a career working on Sendist Tribunal cases on behalf of local authorities and against families is now causing upset with families in Camden.

He is now a local authority Tribunal and Mediation Officer for the department of Children and Learning in the London Borough of Camden.

SENDIST stands for the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal. It’s the legal process by which appeals can be made on disputes with local authorities regarding Education Health and Care Plans (EHCP). This includes requests for assessment, the contents of plan or even the education setting named.

On the SEND and You website, he is described as a volunteer who ‘hopes we can encourage our LA’s to improve their service, particularly concerning the lawfulness of decisions they make, for the sake of children, parents, and young people using the service.’

But a Send parent in London, accused the Trustee of ‘gaslighting’ and causing Send families ‘distress’ in their Tribunal action against Camden Council in his day job. It’s a “conflict of interest” they said.

Lane publicly describes himself as an ‘unregistered barrister and mediator with extensive experience working at the SEND Tribunal supporting both Local Authorities and parents.’

He is currently doing so whilst maintaining his role at Send and You.

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