Sue and Colin currently provide care for two girls. They tell us how TACT’s Education Team assisted them in going to tribunal when their eldest girl’s school refused to provide her with the support they believed she needed.

To us fostering means giving children a life that they deserve, one that they wouldn’t have had otherwise.

We initially wanted to adopt because we thought we couldn’t have children naturally, however we surprisingly conceived our first son whilst on the waiting list for IVF. When he was older we decided to try adoption again, however we fell pregnant a second time during the adoption process and had to pull out. This weighed on us and was still in the back of our mind that we wanted to care for more children if we could, so when our youngest turned four years old we decided to go down the fostering route.

We went to start fostering with our local authority but they actually recommended we go with TACT instead! They spoke of how they’re not profit-driven as they’re a charity and they put children at the heart of everything they do. Once we became approved carers with TACT we never looked back, and I truly believe if we hadn’t gone with them then the tribunal with our oldest foster daughter’s school never would’ve happened.

Our oldest foster daughter (C) has always struggled at school especially with Maths and English and can’t process or retain information very well. Every time we’d check in with the school or attend a parent’s meeting they’d say, “she’s doing amazingly, she’s excelling!”, their favourite word was excelling – but we knew she wasn’t.

They would always gloss over her work and grades and say that it was okay because she was always so polite and well behaved. She was put on the Special Educational Needs (SEN) register whilst at primary school. We don’t know when it stopped or why, but C didn’t receive any additional support during secondary school despite struggling.

It was early 2024 that [TACT’s] Education Team first got in contact with us after our Social Worker escalated the situation to them. They were so knowledgeable and had answers to all our questions, and even in the first meeting with the school, the Education Team were head and shoulders above what everyone knew in terms of educational rights and what support should be provided.

After the initial appeal that the Education Team led following the local authority’s decision that C did not have additional learning needs, we attempted to go through mediation with the Dispute Resolution Service. Unfortunately the local authority wouldn’t engage with it so it couldn’t happen. That’s when the Education Team suggested we take her case all the way to tribunal.

They prepared all of the information, evidence and documents for us and constantly reassured us that they would do everything they could to get a positive outcome. It was two years from when they first intervened to the tribunal happening and we couldn’t have done any of it without them.

We remember speaking to our Social Worker on the morning of the tribunal. She asked if we were nervous and we said “No not at all, we can’t wait, we’ve got this”, and she was surprised by our confidence but we knew the Education Team were going to win it for us, there was no doubt in our mind. And we were right to be confident – the evidence provided was undisputed and the panel found that not only does our foster daughter have a learning difficulty, but she is also considered to have a disability.

The panel was also concerned that C’s support remained the same as her peers even when progress wasn’t being made over the course of her school years. They also agreed that C’s Individual Development Plan should be reviewed when transitioning into college.

C is now at college and within just a couple of months they picked up on her struggles and immediately provided intervention and support for Maths and English. Now we know that she has a learning disability it is also much easier for us to advocate for her and get support in place before anything becomes an issue.

She is hoping to take up carpentry at college as she has a real passion for it, and the Education Team have also been involved in helping with this. We can’t wait to see what her future holds.

Read more about how TACT’s Education Service advocates for young people.