Two-part webinar mini series by DSC's Court of Protection and Education teams

In May and June, the Court of Protection and Education teams at Doughty Street will be pooling their expertise to provide a two-part webinar mini-series to address the overlap in capacity and education issues in both their respective fields for those aged between 16 and 25. 

The first webinar will consider education matters within court of protection proceedings for COP practitioners and the second webinar will consider capacity matters within education proceedings for education practitioners. 

The speakers will include: Gemma Hobcraft, Louise Price, Oliver Lewis and Asma Nizami.

Exploring issues with access to education and how to address them in Court of Protection proceedings

1 hour webinar - 23 May 2024 @ 5 – 6pm

An individual can benefit from an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) up until the age of 25. An EHCP will describe the young person’s special educational needs and specify what provision they need to meet those needs as well as the outcomes they would like to achieve. 

When acting on behalf of a protected party who is aged between 16-25 it can be vitally important to understand education options for them, including whether they should have an EHCP, whether the provision in it is being delivered and if not what can be done about that, as well as understanding what steps can be taken if they don’t have a plan.

In this talk we will:

• Provide an overview of an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP)
• Provide an overview of the Tribunal system for EHCP appeals 
• Consider what steps can be taken within court of protection proceedings for a 16- 25-year-old P who already has an EHCP and consider what steps may be able to be taken if they don’t have an EHCP but may benefit from one. 
• Troubleshoot and provide practical examples on how to progress education matters within COP proceedings. 

Register your place here. 

Exploring capacity concerns and how to address them in education proceedings

1 hour webinar – 12 June 2024 @ 5 – 6pm

The importance of understanding capacity is captured in the SEN Code of Practice which states that: ‘[y]oung people over compulsory school age have the right to participate in decisions about the provision that is made for them and be consulted about provision in their areas, although there is nothing to stop them asking their parents, or others to help them make the decision. However, some young people, and possibly some parents, will not have the mental capacity to make certain decisions. Provision is made in the Children and Families Act to deal with this. Under the Act, lacking mental capacity has the same meaning as in the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005.’  It is important for education practitioners to be aware of and understand the provisions of the Mental Capacity Act 2005, the jurisdiction of the Court of the Protection and what role it can have in relation to education decisions where a young person or their parent/carer lacks or may lack capacity. This webinar aims to assist with developing this understanding. 

In this webinar we will: 

• Provide an overview of the key parts of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 in relation to capacity and best interests
• Provide an overview of the jurisdiction of the Court of Protection and when it may be appropriate to invoke this jurisdiction in relation to education decisions 
• Consider what happens when post-16 there are concerns arising as to a young person’s capacity in relation to decisions concerning their education including what steps need to be taken in FtT proceedings 
• Provide practical advice as to what steps may need to be taken in FtT proceedings if there are concerns in relation to a young person’s capacity to make education decisions.

Register your place here.

We would welcome attendees including (via the webinar registration process) any questions or topics that it would be helpful for us to address (please keep questions general and don’t include any confidential information)  so that we can make these sessions as useful as possible for our audience. We may not be able to address all questions, but where they are submitted two weeks before the webinar, where possible, we will endeavour to address them during the webinar.