As the UK’s largest dedicated fostering charity, TACT have always advocated for young people, and lobbied for change at a governmental level. Andy Elvin, TACT’s CEO and Chair of the Fairer Fostering Partnership, has always been a visual presence in the media, showing that it’s one thing to say that you advocate for children, but it’s another thing to actually do it. Recently, our Education Service supported a young person to appeal a decision made by a local authority about whether they had Special Educational Needs (SEN) and required an Individual Development Plan moving forward. 

Our young person, who has been with her foster carers for 12 years, finished her GCSE’s this year (2025). Although she received additional support whilst at primary school, for some reason this ceased when she started secondary school – despite the fact that she still required this support.

With challenges that included struggling to read, telling the time and numeracy, her foster carers were concerned for her future. Along with our team, they had been pushing to get additional educational support for her for a while. That’s when our Education Service stepped in to help. 

From Appeal To Tribunal

When appeal and mediation efforts were unsuccessful, our Head of Education advocated on behalf of our young person and the case was taken to a tribunal.  

Thorough preparation was critical and was a real team effort between our Education Service, Supervising Social Worker and foster carers.  As a team, they were able to evidence and demonstrate that our young person met the legal criteria for having additional learning needs. 

The tribunal process, which involved looking at reports and additional information from teachers, social workers, an Educational Psychologist and other professionals, proved that our young person had learning difficulties requiring educational support on a day-to-day basis. It was then agreed that her Individual Development Plan should be reviewed when transitioning into college.

The importance of educational advocation

Our Education Service strives to improve the educational experiences of our children and young people. The service not only provides advice, but will attend meetings such as PEPs (Personal Education Plans) or reviews where there are educational concerns.

Should any further action be required, such as an Additional Learning Needs appeal, our Education Service can act as a case representative. 

Advocation can achieve real results, and can change a young person’s educational landscape for the better. It is highly important that we continue to advocate for children and young people on an individual and national level to raise issues and drive solutions.  

Read more about our Education Service.