Lesson 2.1
The laws that protect your child
Information, not legal advice. Applies in England. Reviewed June 2026.
A short video for this lesson is on its way. Everything it will cover is in the lesson below.
When the system feels stacked against you, it helps to know there is law on your side. You do not need to memorise it. You just need to know that a handful of laws exist, what each one gives you, and that they are real, enforceable rights, not favours.
There are three that matter most. Learn what each is for, and the whole system starts to make sense.
The Children and Families Act 2014. This is the main law for special educational needs in England. It is the Act that creates EHC plans (Education, Health and Care plans) and sets out the duties a local authority owes your child. The most important of those duties lives here: once support is written into the plan, the Local Authority must put it in place. It is not a “we will try”. It is a legal must.
The Equality Act 2010. Many children with special educational needs are also disabled in the legal sense. This Act protects them from discrimination and says schools and other bodies must make “reasonable adjustments” so a disabled child is not put at a disadvantage. It sits alongside the Children and Families Act, not instead of it, and it can apply even when a child does not have an EHC plan.
The SEND Code of Practice 2015. This is statutory guidance, not an Act, but it carries real weight. It explains how Local Authorities and schools must apply the law in practice, and they have to “have regard to” it. When a Local Authority does something that goes against the Code, that is a strong point you can raise. The Code is free to read on gov.uk.
Put simply: the Act gives the rights, the Code explains how they must be applied, and the Equality Act adds protection from discrimination on top. You do not have to quote chapter and verse. Knowing these three exist, and roughly what each does, is enough to stand your ground.
This is information, not legal advice, and it covers England only. The law differs in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, so check your own nation if you are elsewhere. For free, expert help on your specific situation, IPSEA is the place to start.