Mrs Kalisz - Independent SEND Consultant, Sunderland (2026)

05/10/2026

🚩 "On every visit, the staff told us they’ll help in any way possible..." says a parent...
If you are currently in a SENDIST appeal fighting for an Independent School in Section I, you need to hear this reality check today: The Tribunal does not care what you were told verbally in a school corridor.
When you request an "Other Independent School" (non-Section 41) under Section 9 of the Education Act 1996, the Local Authority will hit back with one primary legal argument: "unreasonable public expenditure". To overcome that hurdle, you need a rock-solid paper trail. "They said they can help" will be dismantled by the LA’s legal team in minutes.
Before you pin your hopes on an independent placement, ask yourself these 3 vital questions:
1️⃣ Do you have a detailed written Assessment Report confirming they can deliver every single provision listed in Section F? It needs to be one that proves what this school will do better and more of to justify the placement over the LA's proposed setting!
2️⃣ Have they signed the POP form whereby they confirm they will admit your child and hold a place for them until the hearing date?
3️⃣ Will they attend the hearing as a witness? The Tribunal relies on written and oral witness evidence. Will a staff member stand up for your child on the day?
If your answers are YES - you have a fighting chance.
If your answers are NO - stop relying on verbal promises. Get the paper trail locked down immediately, or pivot your strategy toward settings with a statutory duty to admit.
📩 Need help navigating Section I or other SENDIST tribunal appeals? Don't fight the Local Authority alone. Reach out to us at [email protected] or send us a message to see how we can support your case.
💬 Are you appealing Section I? What evidence has your prospective school provided so far? Drop your experience in the comments.
📌 Save this post before your next school visit or Tribunal deadline!

01/10/2026

🪄"What this school has been doing is closer to miracle-making than delivering mainstream provision" That’s a quote from the Tribunal Judge in a recent case.
The Local Authority argued that there was no need for a specialist setting, because the child was managing in their current school. In fact, the school staff have continued performing daily miracles behind closed doors for many years to keep that child afloat!
👓 Here is a common blindspot in such cases: school staff don't realise how extraordinary their daily efforts are 🛸 and cannot blow their own trumpet! 🎺 🥳
There is a silent, unconscious assumption among passionate teachers and SENCos that "anyone in our situation would go these extra miles" They take their bespoke, high-intensity adaptations for granted, forgetting to measure what they do against what is:
1️⃣ Ordinarily Available Provision
2️⃣ in mainstream schools
3️⃣ across the country.
When staff treat heroic, un-ordinary support as "business as usual":
❌ They fail to acknowledge how far beyond standard mainstream provision they are operating.
❌ The true severity of the child's underlying needs is completely masked.
❌ The Local Authority uses the child's stability as "proof" that no extra statutory support is required.
🛣️ The road to (the child's educational) hell is often paved with good intentions and unacknowledged deeds (e.g. of SENCOs, teachers, TAs/LSAs...)!
If a child is thriving ONLY BECAUSE staff are going above and beyond what any standard school offer provides, that gap MUST be called out. Schools, parents, and advocates must explicitly contrast daily school practice against Ordinarily Available Provision.
Success achieved through undocumented miracles is NOT evidence of low need. It is evidence of extraordinary intervention.
💬 SENCos & Parents: Are you benchmarking your daily adaptations against Ordinarily Available Provision, or are your extra miles accidentally masking the child’s legal entitlements? Drop your thoughts below.
📌 Save this post for your next EHCP review, annual review, or Tribunal prep.

01/10/2026

Are you a part of the Special Needs Jungle petition?

01/10/2026

Quick manual for SEND parents: how to deal with the SEND reform.
What do you think of it?
(pinched with pride from Brad & The Goat)

24/08/2026

Receiving a Working Document v1.0 during a SENDIST appeal can feel overwhelming, but staying structured is the key to securing the right provision for your child.
Swipe through for the 5 fundamental rules to follow when reviewing and editing your Working Document:
1️⃣ No wishlists – Every single amendment or deletion MUST be backed by professional evidence or reports.
2️⃣ Cite your sources – Use MS Word comments to cite the exact report and page number for every edit.
3️⃣ Follow SENDIST formatting – Stick strictly to the standard key (Bold for parent additions, Bold Strikethrough for parent deletions).
4️⃣ Audit the LA’s evidence – Don't take proposed LA changes at face value. Ask for their evidence and inspect the original documents.
5️⃣ Protect the Golden Thread – Ensure every Need maps directly to an Outcome and a specific, quantified Provision. Eliminate vague phrases like "regular" or "as required."
Want to master the Need, Outcome & Provision matrix and build a watertight Working Document?
👉 Join the EHCP 360 Course: www.mrskalisz.co.uk/EHCP360
📌 Save this post for when you start drafting.
💬 Comment below: What is your biggest challenge when working through the Working Document?

12/08/2026

Looking to get your EHCNA request submitted before the new school year begins? 🎒
We have a few remaining slots available to draft EHCNA requests before the end of August. Submitting the request and the supporting evidence to the Local Authority before the end of the summer holidays gets the 20-week clock ticking as soon as possible.
📩 Drop us an email at [email protected] to secure your slot before they fill up!

04/08/2026

These two photos aren't just my Monday morning selfies from this week 🃏 - they are a living metaphor for a draft EHCP.
On the left: Raw, messy, unpolished, and lacking basic structure. That is the exact state of most draft EHCPs when they first land in your inbox from the Local Authority.
On the right: Polished, sharp, organised, and ready to do business. That is what a draft looks like after I’ve reviewed it and proposed evidence-based amendments/ deletions.
In Module 2 of EHCP360, I teach you how to execute this exact transformation on your child's actual paperwork.
We skip theoretical lectures and fake case studies. Across two 3-hour live practical labs in Module 2 alone, we open your real documents and get to work line-by-line:
🔹 Section B to F Matrix: We cross-reference every identified need in Section B directly against Section F provision, making sure no diagnosis or difficulty is left unaddressed.
🔹 Weasel-Word Removal: We strip out vague LA cop-outs like "access to," "as required," or "opportunities for."
🔹 Legal Quantifying: We insert precise hours, frequencies, and therapist qualifications taken straight from your professional reports.
You don't leave class with a to-do list - you leave with completed, submission-ready representations for your LA.
🗓️ Starts September 2026
🏷️ Early Bird Rate: £480 (£12/hr for 40 hours of live expert instruction)
👥 Strictly capped at 15 places for individual document work
👉 Learn how to transform your child's draft EHCP: www.mrskalisz.co.uk/ehcp-360
What is the single most ridiculous, unpolished line your Local Authority tried to put in your child's draft? Tell me in the comments!

03/08/2026

What would you do if you learnt that a teacher had smacked your child with SEND? 💔
It’s a scenario no parent should ever have to imagine, yet it happens. In a recent Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) panel outcome, a teacher was banned from teaching indefinitely after hitting a vulnerable Year 3 pupil with special needs. The teacher had also accepted a police caution for child assault following a referral to the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO).
While an indefinite prohibition order is a fair outcome in this specific case, it serves as an important reminder that parents have clear avenues for accountability when boundaries are crossed:
✅ For Qualified Teachers: All qualified teachers are legally bound by statutory Teachers' Standards and Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE). Serious misconduct can be escalated to the TRA, which has the power to prohibit individuals from teaching nationwide.
✅ For Teaching Assistants & Support Staff: Unqualified staff aren't regulated by the TRA, but you can lodge a formal complaint directly with the Headteacher, the school board of governors, or your council’s LADO.
✅ When a Crime May Have Been Committed: Corporal punishment (administered by a person who is not a child's parent and/or in a school setting) or physical assault on a child is illegal. Any instance where a criminal offence may have occurred can, and should, be reported directly to the Police.
Our children, especially those with special educational needs and disabilities who may not always be able to advocate for themselves, deserve an environment rooted in safety, respect, and dignity.
💬 How do you feel about outcomes like this? Let's discuss in the comments below.

31/07/2026

⏳ FINAL CALL: The £400 Celebration Offer for EHCP360 ends TONIGHT at midnight.
September is fast approaching. A new school year means new meetings, new draft paperwork, and new battles with your Local Authority.
Entering this term, you have three options:
☑️ Option A: Keep playing guessing games. Drown in 30-page draft plans, cross your fingers that the LA does the right thing, and send polite chasing emails that sit unanswered.
☑️ Option B: Pay £££££ to SEND advocates/ solicitors every single time something goes wrong (and I swear to you, something WILL go wrong every single year!).
☑️ Option C: Become your child's permanent legal advocate. Spend 12 days with me mastering the exact framework used to audit, amend, and enforce EHCPs, working live on your child's actual paperwork, to use the SEND law like a Pro!
💡 40 Hours Live Instruction | 12 Days | Specific document-focused Practicals | Strictly 15 Places
After midnight tonight, the celebratory £400 rate (£10/hour) expires and the price goes up!
Don't head into another school year feeling outgunned by your Local Authority.
🗓️ Starts September 2026
⏰ Midnight Deadline | July 31st 2026
👉 Claim one of the final remaining seats: www.mrskalisz.co.uk/ehcp-360

30/07/2026

⚖️ "What happens when the LA signs off on the EHCP... and then the support simply doesn't happen?"
This is where hundreds of parents get stuck. You spend months fighting for speech therapy or 1:1 support in Section F, only to hear: "We didn't get enough funding" or "We're still trying to recruit someone".
Here is the law: Section 42 of the Children and Families Act 2014 puts the legal burden squarely on the Local Authority (not on the school!) to secure the entirety of Section F provision. Council budget cuts and local staffing shortages don't override the statutory duty. If the provision has been specified in Section F, the LA is legally required to secure it. No 'ifs' or 'buts'!
Inside EHCP360, we go far beyond drafting paperwork. We cover active legal enforcement.
You'll learn how to stop relying on polite chasing emails that sit in a case officer's inbox and never get responded to, and instead use formal Pre-Action Protocol (PAP) letters that work magic bringing the LAs up to speed.
Stop begging for provision that the law has already secured for your child.
⏳ ONLY 2 DAYS LEFT for the Celebration Rate!
🗓️ Starts September 2026 | Strictly 15 Places
🏷️ £400 (£10/hr) offer ends July 31st 2026
👉 Learn how to hold your LA accountable: www.mrskalisz.co.uk/ehcp-360

Mrs Kalisz - Independent SEND Consultant

05/10/2026

01/10/2026

01/10/2026

01/10/2026

24/08/2026

12/08/2026

04/08/2026

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31/07/2026

30/07/2026

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