CHILDREN with special educational needs are to benefit from changes to the law which came into force this month.

Lawyer Alison Lobb, from law firm Morecroft Urquhart, has welcomed the changes as part of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act.

Alison - from Morecroft Urquhart's Moreton office - is one of the only lawyers in the region to specialise in the field.

She says: "The Act expands the Disability Discrimination Act to specifically cover schools and colleges. It revamps provisions for children with special educational needs."

Children with special educational needs may not currently be allowed to attend some schools or might be excluded from certain activities.

The Special Educational Needs and Disability Act allows parents to take schools' decisions to a Special Educational Needs Tribunal, which can then order schools to remedy problems and apologise.

Alison explains: "It cannot award financial compensation or force schools to make changes to the physical environment.

"However, the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act will go hand-in-hand with the current Government drive to improve all schools to benefit pupils with special educational needs."

Under the Act, parents will have the right to insist that their children attend a mainstream school and local educational authorities are obliged to work with them to help them make the right choices.

Alison says: "The Special Educational Needs and Disability Act will provide a major boost to children and their families by expanding the options open to pupils with special educational needs."

Parents concerned that their children are not getting the provision they need should contact their local educational authority.