What we do

We provide advice and training in relation to education law, including:

• Special Educational Needs (SEN) and / or Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) – including appeals to the SEND Tribunal and enforcement.
• Children missing schooling or out of school.
• Children from families with No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) accessing the right education and support.
• School exclusions, internal exclusions and use of isolation.
• Discrimination in schools (for example, race, special educational needs) and the removal of school transport.

We also help organisations and frontline advice services by providing:

• Help with general queries and training sessions.
• Support for specific cases/advocacy by frontline organisations (for example, one-off advice or tactical guidance).

Who we can help

• Local organisations and charities that support parents and children in education matters.
• Frontline advice services who need support or referral routes for more complex education law issues.
• Our public law team may be able to assist with challenging decisions by the local authority such as where a child is out of school, the provisions of an EHCP aren’t being provided or in relation to transport.

Who we cannot help

We cannot assist with issues relating to further education, higher education, or negligence claims in education.

We do not currently have capacity to provide casework for parents or carers whose child needs an EHCP, is excluded, or is being discriminated against at school.

Get in touch

If you are a parent or carer needing advice about your child’s education rights, or an organisation seeking second-tier legal support for education law matters, please contact us:

• Phone: 020 7732 2008
• Email: education@southwarklawcentre.org.uk
• For complex or eligible cases we may refer you to specialist representation pathways.

Second-Tier Advice Service for Education Law

We also offer a Second-Tier Advice Service for professional referrers and organisations working in education and children’s services. This is designed for charities, community groups, local authority teams, and other frontline services supporting children and families with education law issues.

What we offer

• One-off specialist telephone or email advice on education law issues.
• Guidance on complex matters such as EHCP appeals, discrimination, exclusions, and children out of school.
• Support to help your organisation better assist the families you work with by clarifying legal rights, next steps and referral routes.

Eligibility & How to Access

This second-tier service is only available to professional referrers and organisations (not individual members of the public). If you are supporting families and need this specialist legal hold-point service, please complete our digital referral form here:

Education – Second Tier Advice Referral Form

Once your referral is received, our advisers will review your case and contact you to arrange an appointment.

Why choose us?

• We are a charity governed by a local board of trustees with deep expertise in education law and discrimination.
• Our team understands the local context of Southwark and Lewisham, including issues faced by families with NRPF status and minority ethnic backgrounds.
• We provide free, confidential, quality advice and representation where eligible, enabling children to access the education to which they are legally entitled.

By working together, we can ensure children in South East London receive the education to which they are legally entitled, and that organisations supporting them have access to expert legal guidance when it matters most.

If you arrived here via a search engine, you may have looked for terms such as “education law adviser Southwark”, “SEN EHCP appeal Southwark”, “school exclusion legal advice Lewisham”, or “education discrimination law service South East London”. You’re in the right place—please scroll up or click through to find the support you need.