Respite care – special educational needs
A request from a local authority’s education authority to its social service authority for the provision of respite care under s322 Education Act 1996 could be valid, notwithstanding that this amounted to the authority asking itself for help. However, respite care did not fall within the meaning of “special educational provision”, which clearly related to the child’s learning difficulties and not economic problems or lack of living accommodation faced by the parents; and problems in the home were not within the jurisdiction of the Special Educational Needs Tribunal.