Community Care Law Update - The Year in Overview - Part 1 (Children)

A roundup of legislative, case law and policy developments from 2022-2023 in the areas of age assessments, children's social care, and education law, delivered by a panel of specialists.

This was the first of a two-part webinar series on Community Care Law. The second webinar focused on adults.

Programme

• Education – Ollie Persey, Garden Court Chambers
• Age Assessments - Nadia O'Mara, Garden Court Chambers
• Children Act, Sections 17 and 20 - Tessa Buchanan, Garden Court Chambers

Speaker Panel

Nicola Braganza KC, Garden Court Chambers (Chair)
Nicola specialises in discrimination claims, both in public law and as private law claims, in public law, involving human rights violations, in education and community care, and in immigration and asylum.  She has particular expertise in representing highly vulnerable adults and children. She is ranked in the Legal 500 and in Chambers & Partners as a leading barrister in employment law for her discrimination work, immigration, and civil liberties and human rights. Nicola also sits as a Fee-paid Judge in the First Tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability) and in the Employment Tribunal.

Nicola also acts for clients in a range of other tribunals including the First-tier Tribunal (Mental Health), at inquests and inquiries, internal disciplinary hearings, the Nursing and Midwifery Council and other regulatory bodies. Nicola sits as a Fee-paid Judge in the First Tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability) and in the Employment Tribunal.

Tessa Buchanan, Barrister, Garden Court Chambers
Tessa acts in a wide range of community care matters. She has a particular interest in representing children and is often instructed in cases involving challenges to failure to provide support or accommodation under the Children Act 1989; cases involving children who are leaving or have left care; and challenges to age assessments of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. She is ranked in Chambers and Partners (Band 3). 

Ollie Persey, Barrister, Garden Court Chambers
Ollie is ranked as a Tier 1 Rising Star in the Legal 500 in his core practice areas, which include education and community care. His community care practice spans age assessments, asylum support, welfare benefits, and health & social care and acts in complex & urgent cases as sole counsel and led junior. 

He acts for children, young people and families in all forums where education law issues arise, including the First-tier Tribunal, the Upper Tribunal, the Administrative Court, university panels, governing body disciplinary committees and independent review panels. He specialises in representing children and Deaf people, drawing upon his expertise in education law and his knowledge of British Sign Language (‘BSL’).

Nadia O'Mara, Barrister, Garden Court Chambers
Nadia is regularly instructed and has had a number of successes in challenges to age assessments on behalf of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and in matters involving the entitlement of children and adults to support under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, Children Act 1989 and Care Act 2014. Nadia has extensive experience working with children and adults at risk, including survivors of trafficking, torture and gender-based violence as well as clients with special educational needs and mental health issues.